Head Lice problems and cure
Head lice is an extremely common problem which can be found anywhere in the world. School-going children, aged between 3 and 12, are especially prone to head lice as it is very contagious and can be passed on very easily to someone. Poor hygiene has nothing to do with head lice, contrary to popular belief. Your child may get head lice if he comes in contact with someone who is already infested or if a common hat or brush or pillow is shared. You may warn your children and ask them to be cautious but even then they are not completely safe from an outbreak.
If you find that your child is infested, you should immediately check if other family members have also been infested and treat them accordingly. It usually will take around two or three weeks before you find that they are completely free of head lice. You cannot put off treating head lice hoping that it will go away but you should not worry as head lice can be treated quite easily by using any shampoo which contains pyrethrin.
Treatment of head lice requires a lot of patience and much of your attention. The instructions given on the shampoo are to be followed carefully so that the lice can be treated properly in one complete session. The amount of shampoo to be used depends on the length and thickness of the hair of the infected person and this should be taken into consideration at the time of use. The lice eggs are not penetrated by pyrethrin and a re-infestation is quite common within ten days of the first session. But not to worry since any lice that may be left are usually killed when pyrethrin shampoo is applied for a second time.
During the treatment, bedding and clothing will require regular washing. Using hot water for washing is highly recommended. Pillows should not be shared. A vacuum cleaner should be used to vacuum all your furniture thoroughly. Head lice cannot live very long once they are off of your head so chemical treatments are not necessary in your home. You should make sure that your children do not share combs or brushes or hats with others. Towels and scarves should not be shared either. Following these steps carefully will protect your family from head lice infestations for good.
Related Info:
The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is an obligate ectoparasite of humans.[1] Head lice are wingless insects spending their entire life on human scalp and feeding exclusively on human blood.[1] Humans and chimpanzees are the only known host of this specific parasite, but many other species of lice are known which infest most orders of mammals and also birds.[1]
The head louse differs from the related body louse in preferring to attach eggs to scalp hair rather than to clothing. Although the two species are visually identical, they do not normally interbreed, although they will interbreed in laboratory conditions. From genetic studies of them, they are thought to have diverged as species about 107,000 years ago, when many humans began to wear a significant amount of clothing.[2][3] A yet more distantly related species of hair-clinging louse, the pubic or crab louse (Pthirus pubis), also infests humans. It is visually different from the other two species, and is much closer in appearance to the lice which infest other primates.[4] Lice infestation of any part of the body is known as pediculosis.[5]
Head lice differ from other hematophagic ectoparasites such as the flea in that lice spend their entire life cycle on a host.[6] Head lice cannot fly, and their short stumpy legs render them incapable of jumping, or even walking efficiently on flat surfaces.[
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