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Head lice is a parasitic disease. It would seem that it was a disease of the old days – children in peasants’ all fours used to suffer from it; today is a thing of the past. Nothing similar! It still attacks children’s heads and adults’ heads. The only thing that has changed is the way of fighting head lice – today it is much more effective.
Louse is faithful to man. Even more than a dog. And longer: according to scientists, it has accompanied us for over 20 million years. Fortunately, in our climate, head lice, apart from shame, do not cause serious consequences – as is the case, for example, in the tropics.
Head lice – types
Lice, scientifically called pediculosis, can be caused by three types of these ungrateful arthropods: the head louse, the pubic louse or the clothes louse. All three of these types are found wherever a person lives: all over the world and in any climate. In Poland, we most often encounter head lice, less often pubic lice, and the least frequently – clothing lice – this problem mainly affects the homeless, people from the margins and extremely neglected in terms of hygiene. Probably this last fact is the “father” of the rumor that the presence of lice is combined with dirt. Which is why the message “your child has lice” makes the hapless parent ablaze with shame.
Lice – illness
Meanwhile, the truth is completely different: head lice equally like clean and neglected heads. There is nothing against modern countries: in Belgium, the problem of head lice affects as much as 10 percent. children, in the Czech Republic 14, and in the USA every year almost 9 million people have to fight lice. It is also not true that head lice are mainly a rural problem, and that it is rare in the city. The statistics belies such “truths” – the Chief Sanitary Inspectorate records the most cases of head lice in Warsaw, Poznań, Wrocław and Łódź – although there is no shortage of lice in smaller clusters of human lice. In general, although health awareness among Poles is growing, and the level of general hygiene has improved everywhere, the number of head lice cases has almost doubled in recent years.
The causes of head lice
Where does this problem come from? According to doctors, head lice is associated with the modern lifestyle. First of all, there are more and more of us and we live closer and closer to each other. A louse can wander to a new host even when traveling in a crowded tram. Because although it is not as lively as a dog flea, it can also handle movement quite well. The second opportunity to catch lice is in large groups of children: schools, kindergartens, camps, playrooms, summer camps – all these are great opportunities for “tourism” for lice. When children play with each other, crouching close to the head, the louse has no restrictions on movement. It should also be remembered that modern children spend a lot of time with their peers and in exceptionally large groups. Head lice can also be transmitted through items that come into contact with the hair, such as brushes, combs, caps, berets, hair ornaments (rubber bands, hairpins, clasps, headbands).
Head lice is mainly a problem for children aged 3 to 15 years. In the past, hygienists at school were required to regularly inspect the heads of children, so they could quickly catch cases of head lice and alert their parents. Today, it is forbidden to look at a baby’s head without parental consent, so when a child infected with head lice comes to school, the lice can spread almost unchecked. Its frequency increases in summer, when children go hiking during their holidays.
Pubic lice affects sexually active adults – it is transmitted mainly through sexual contact – but also children and adolescents from 3 to 10 years of age, because pubic lice can migrate from the pubic area of the mother or father to the child also while cuddling or sleeping in one bed (also spread through bedding).
Head lice symptoms
The main symptom of head lice is severe itching of the scalp. It is so annoying that the child scratches his head to blood and scabs, sometimes tearing the hair almost to the bare skin. Even watching your child not do it does not help – severe itching causes a child infected with head lice to scratch himself even while sleeping.
Why is it itching? When a blood-sucking louse gains food, it digs its mouth organ into the skin. While sucking, it also releases toxins under the skin, which causes the itching sensation. Scratching causes cuts and abrasions to the epidermis. Serum liquid may ooze from the bitten place, sticking the hair together. If the head is additionally neglected and the hair is greasy, the scratched place may develop a bacterial infection, impetigo, and even local enlargement of the lymph nodes caused by local inflammation. Post-bite lesions and scratched areas may also appear on the nape and neck, near the hairline. When we look at the head infected with head lice, we can also find characteristic nits – i.e. lice eggs. They are whitish, tiny and firmly attached to the hair. Unfortunately, they may be invisible on fair hair.
To get rid of lice and nits easier, it is worth using special combs. For example, we recommend the Vitamma Fino lice and nits comb set available on Medonet Market. You can also use Lice Out – head lice kit – lotion, shampoo + comb. First, a lotion is applied to the hair, and then a shampoo is used. After each preparation, you should thoroughly comb your hair according to the instructions.
- Also try an electronic comb against head lice and nits
Symptoms of clothing lice
We can suspect an attack of clothing lice when our armpits and groin, neck and back itch, and when examining the itchy spot, we discover small erythematous lumps at the site of the louse bite. Exposed body parts such as the face and forearms are free from lice. There may also be small discolored scars (most often around the nape and back). We will not find lice by themselves, because clothing lice live in clothes and bedding, they climb a person as if to a restaurant – only for “meals” – and return to the cozy corners of the fabric. How can you get infected? Through underwear, clothes or bedding.
As an aid in the treatment of head lice, Bioherba soap with tar for atopic skin will be useful, as it soothes inflammation, has drying and anesthetic properties. The smell of tar repels lice effectively.
Symptoms of pubic lice
A dokładnie w okolicy krocza, ud, podbrzusza, pachwin i narządów płciowych – możemy podejrzewać kontakt z wszami łonowymi. Upodobały one sobie okolicę łonową, okoliczne pachwiny, podbrzusze (zwłaszcza, jeśli jest owłosione), ale kiedy jest ich naprawdę dużo, potrafią składać gnidy nawet na owłosieniu twarzy – brwiach, rzęsach czy brodzie. Charakterystyczne są też tzw. plamy błękitne – szare lub sino-fioletowe plamki w miejscu ukąszenia przez wesz (mogą sięgać nawet klatki piersiowej).
Treatment of head lice with dimethicone
Fortunately, it is not complicated. In the past, children were rubbed on their heads with kerosene, vinegar and other drugs to poison the lice; the hairy part of the head was kept under water for half an hour to drown the lice, and other miracles were performed. The head was also shaved to zero so that the lice had nowhere to hide. Then shampoos containing DDT were used, unfortunately, they were also potentially harmful to the child due to their high toxicity. In addition, the lice developed resistance to DDT fairly quickly. Today it is enough to go to the pharmacy and buy a shampoo against head lice, ideally containing dimethicone, a synthetic silicone oil which, thanks to its low surface tension, penetrates even the smallest crevices. It obstructs the lice’s breathing apparatus, causing them to suffocate. What’s more, a one-time treatment is enough, because dimethicone also kills nits – in the past you had to repeat the treatment many times, comb the nits and cut your hair. Treatment should extend to the whole family!
After the treatment is over, you need to disinfect all items used for hair care (brushes, combs) by boiling for 5 minutes. You should wash underwear, bed linen, towels and contaminated clothing at a high temperature (minimum 55 degrees Celsius, and better more). If something cannot be washed, e.g. plush toys, tightly close them in a plastic bag and leave them for three weeks – without access to the host, the louse will die after a few days, but we have to wait for the nits to hatch and the new lice created in this way to die . You also need to thoroughly vacuum all carpets, armchairs and sofas so that no parasite hides there.
Try the preparations available on Medonet Market that will help you get rid of lice and return to normalcy:
- Hair bands for lice QUIET EVERYTHING – especially useful for girls,
- Lice patches SILENT – to stick in a hat or on clothes,
- Lice shampoo QUIET EVERYTHING – perfect for the whole family,
- Lice comb QUIET ALL – dense, metal with a non-slip handle.
In the case of pubic lice, it is recommended to thoroughly shave the genital area and use the remedy recommended by the doctor. In the case of head lice, contaminated clothes and bedding must be washed at a high temperature (above 60 degrees, preferably boiled) and then thoroughly ironed with a hot iron.