Head Lice: What oldsters ought to understand
Spotting a little, white speck in your child's hair is enough to form several oldsters panic. Sure, head lice score high on the yuck issue, however they typically do not cause serious illness. Here you will find all the knowledge you would like to urge a lice infestation in restraint.
What area unit Head Lice?
Head lice area unit small six-legged insects that hold the scalp and neck and kill human blood. every louse is concerning the dimensions of a seasoner and might be laborious to identify. Lice eggs, known as nits, area unit affixed onto hairs close to the scalp and might be even tougher to ascertain.
Who Gets Head Lice?
Head lice area unit commonest in young youngsters attending day care, preschool, or grade school. youngsters of this age usually play along closely and with a lot of hair-to-hair contact, and that they might share brushes, hats, hair clips, and also the like. Adults WHO support youngsters even have the next risk of obtaining head lice
How Head Lice unfold
Lice sometimes unfold through direct head-to-head contact that permits the pests to crawl from one person's hair into another's. Lice may also survive for a brief amount on covering or different personal things, thus a shared brush will facilitate a louse notice a brand new host. Lice cannot jump or fly from one person to a different.
How to Spot Head Lice
Although lice and their nits area unit little, they're visible to the optic. Head lice may be white, brown, or dark grey. they're most frequently found within the hair at the rear of the neck or behind the ears. The nits area unit spherical or oval specks that area unit tightly affixed to hairs close to the scalp. If you are trying to slip the nits off, they will not budge. Recent analysis suggests comb through wet hair is a perfect thanks to spot associate degree infestation.
Symptoms of Head Lice
Spotting a live louse is commonly the sole sign of associate degree infestation. Nits alone does not ensure associate degree infestation. In several youngsters, head lice do not cause any discomfort. once symptoms do happen, the foremost common downside is itch which will begin weeks or maybe months once the lice move in.
Head Lice Allergies
Itching from lice is caused by associate degree allergy to their bites. Scratching might result in sores or raw skin on the scalp. though uncommon, sores associated with scratching will become infected by skin bacterium. decision a doctor promptly if the skin becomes red, swollen, or painful; or the body fluid nodes within the neck become tender. These could also be signs of a skin infection.
If you think Head Lice
Head lice won't get away on their own. If you think your kid has associate degree infestation, there area unit many steps you must take promptly. Take your kid to the doctor to substantiate the identification. inform your child's day care or college thus different students may be checked. Examine all different members of the menage for signs of lice. Finally, treat everybody who's infected at constant time.
Getting obviate Lice
You can notice lice-killing treatments over the counter. they're made of extracts of chrysanthemums or an artificial version that's similar. they're thought of safe, however they will not be counseled for young youngsters. These product kill live lice however not nits. Follow directions on the label rigorously concerning however long the medication ought to be left on the hair and the way it ought to be washed off. A second treatment could also be required nine to ten days later. If 2 treatments do not do the duty, see your doctor for stronger medication.
Ridding Your Home of Lice
Although lice do not survive long on bedding, it is best to clean the sheets of anyone being treated for lice. covering worn within the past forty eight hours ought to even be washed in quandary. whereas oldsters area unit generally told to wash and quarantine all of a child's stuffed animals, consultants say this can be not necessary. If your kid sleeps with a favourite plush toy, place it during a hot drier for twenty minutes. that ought to kill any lice.
Home Remedies for Head Lice
Some oldsters claim dressing, white vinegar, or tea tree oil area unit effective natural remedies for head lice. dressing is claimed to smother lice if it's applied thickly and unbroken on nightlong below a cap. Vinegar is reported to dissolve the glue that keeps nits stuck to the hair. whereas there's no scientific proof to support these home remedies, pediatricians say there is no damage in attempting them, however do not use them because the main treatment.
Fine-Toothed Combs
Using a fine-tooth comb conjointly helps. This comb has teeth fine enough to drag out lice and their nits. It worked for the traditional Egyptians -- nit combs are found in their tombs. the downside is that it takes time and patience to comb all nit out of a child's hair. it's going to be more practical to comb the hair once treating with a medicated shampoo to urge obviate any stragglers.
Head Lice Myths
Head lice don't seem to be an outbreak of the lower categories, nor a signal of poor hygiene. They have an effect on youngsters across all levels of financial gain, people, and cleanliness. The bugs will survive underwater for up to six hours, thus youngsters WHO bathe often area unit even as vulnerable. the nice news is lice do not carry diseases.
Head Lice in class
According to the yank Academy of medicine, a healthy kid shouldn't be unbroken home from college owing to lice. It recommends that a toddler stay in school however avoid head contact with others. once treatment, dead eggs might stay during a child's hair till they're removed. Some colleges have a "no nits" policy, that means the eggs should be removed before the kid returns to category. The yank Academy of medicine discourages this policy.
Guarding Against Head Lice
If you've got young youngsters, there is sadly little or no you'll be able to do to bar head lice. youngsters are youngsters, and after they place their heads along or share hair bows, lice get a price ticket to ride. Your best defense is to look at your child's hair associate degreed scalp often thus you'll be able to catch an infestation early. Prompt treatment can facilitate forestall the bugs from spreading to the remainder of the family.
source : http://www.webmd.com/children/ss/slideshow-lice-overview
