Index
We are talking about tiny insects that feed on human blood from the scalp, where they also lay their eggs.
Lice have 3 life stages: the egg (nit), the nymph, and the adult.
Nits
Nits itself is a smooth, oval-shaped structure that is strongly attached to the hair fibers at a distance of approximately 1.5 cm from the scalp with the help of a glue-like substance, which makes them incredibly difficult to delete.
Nits are whitish gray, tan or yellow, about the size of a grain of sand.
They are the size, shape and color similar to that of a sesame seed.
Nits can blend in with lighter colored hair, making them difficult to detect, so a full combing with a lice comb is recommended.
Nymphs
Nymphs are baby lice. They are the same as adult lice but smaller. Nits develop into nymphs in 9 to 10 days.
Adult lice
Adult lice are difficult to see, and although they are larger than nits, they move quickly when disturbed.
Lice have a life cycle of up to 30 days, but on an individual’s head, where they feed on blood several times a day, without food they die.
Dandruff is often mistaken for nits, but due to their special adhesive, they are not as easily removed as dandruff.
A child can have as little as one nit or several hundred depending on the severity of the infestation.
Head lice are not a health hazard, a sign of poor hygiene, or a cause of illness. They are very common among school-age children and can spread to the rest of the family.
Head lice outbreaks are common and infest people of all socioeconomic backgrounds and all age groups.
Many lice infestations do not cause any symptoms and probably less than half of them are itchy, so you have to check your hair regularly for the various signs:
Itch
Itching is a reaction to the saliva of lice, which they inject to prevent the blood from clotting and will depend on how sensitive the scalp is.
Tickling the scalp
Although sometimes some children do not scratch, they may complain that they feel things moving through their heads.
Scalp irritation
There may be signs of irritation or small red bumps or sores caused by excessive scratching.
Infections
Scratching irritated skin can cause injury.
Lesions on the scalp can lead to secondary bacterial infections (this can lead to swollen lymph nodes, as well as redness and discomfort on the skin, which can ooze and become scabbed over).
Other than this, lice have not been reported to transmit disease or be dangerous.
Lice treatment
Bright light or sunlight should be used to inspect the hair.
To look for nits, the hair is divided into small sections, moving from one side of the head to the other and looking close to the scalp.
If only nits and no lice are found, it should be checked again every day for 1 week to make sure there are no live lice.
Consult a doctor before using chemical treatments in cases of:
- Pregnant or lactating women.
- Babies under 2 years of age.
- People with sensitive skin or dermatitis.
- Care must be taken to ensure that the drug is safe for the child’s age.
While over-the-counter shampoos are safe for children as young as two months old, medically formulated ones are only safe from two years of age.
When there is a lice infection, all members of the family may also need treatment.
Re-treatment is necessary after 7-10 days because lice in unhatched eggs cannot be killed by the first treatment.
If lice are still found after the second treatment, another technique or chemical treatment with a different active ingredient should be tried.
If infestations persist despite correct use of treatment, a physician should be consulted about alternative methods of treatment.
How to remove or eliminate lice
The most common methods for treating head lice are:
Manual removal of lice
When infection occurs in children younger than two months, no medically formulated lice treatment should be applied. Removal of lice and nits must be manual.
Wet styling
The best way to check for lice is to apply a generous amount of hair conditioner and comb through with a coarse comb to detangle the hair.
The conditioner stuns the lice for about 20 minutes and makes it easier to glide the fine comb (or nit) through the hair.
Then comb the hair with a very fine tooth comb and shake it over a light colored handkerchief regularly so that lice and their eggs can be checked for.
This treatment should be repeated every three to four days for three continuous weeks after starting the treatment to combat the infestation.
Chemical treatment
When chemical treatments (pediculicides) are used, the lice are killed. But it is necessary to remove the nits later and repeat the treatment after seven days.
Home remedies for lice and nits
Some people suggest home remedies such as mayonnaise, petroleum jelly, olive oil, vinegar, or margarine. Although these products can make it difficult for lice to breathe.
There is little evidence that wet styling (removing lice by combing wet hair with a fine-tooth comb) works on its own.
There is no evidence that products like tea tree oil or aromatherapy work to treat lice, which is a recommended home treatment for removing lice.
Dimethicone silicone oil is effective against live lice, nymphs, and nits. But it is not recommended for children under 2 years old. A second treatment is suggested after 8 to 10 days.
Benzyl alcohol 5% lotion is effective against live lice, but a second treatment is recommended after 9 days.
Isopropyl Myristate / Cyclomethicone (Resultz) but should only be used in children 4 years of age and older. Lice are dehydrated and they die. Apply to dry scalp and rinse with warm water after 10 minutes. Repeat after 1 week.
Shampoo
Insecticides are chemicals that kill insects, currently two insecticides are approved to treat lice:
• Pyrethrins.
• Permitrina.
Pyrethrin and permethrin are used in lotions and shampoos, they are safe substances when used in humans over two months of age. You don’t need a prescription.
Over time, lice have become resistant to some of the chemicals used in lice shampoo to eliminate them. So some products may be less effective than they used to be. But it is still worth a try.
To apply the shampoo, the following should be considered:
- Follow the instructions on the container carefully.
- Do not leave the shampoo on or rinse the hair for longer than indicated.
- Rinse hair with cold water after treatment. It is best to rinse over a sink, not in the bath or shower, so that other parts of the body do not come into contact with the product.
- Repeat the treatment after 7 to 10 days, in case new lice emerge from the nits.
These treatments can sometimes cause the scalp to itch or leave a mild burning sensation. If your child scratches after treatment, this does not necessarily mean that the lice have returned.
How to prevent lice
Parents who have experienced lice outbreaks are very familiar with the disheartening louse cycle.
Many parents are aware from their own experience that lice infestation can be a long battle, especially when there are children at home because they are constantly in a group context such as daycare, schools, extra curricular activities among others.
If the child comes home from school or daycare or summer camp with a case of head lice.
They rush to the pharmacy and buy a lice treatment product, apply it to their children (and usually themselves as well, as lice tend to spread quickly in families), comb out dead lice and nits day after day.
The following tips are some simple guidelines to get rid of lice and their eggs, as well as to help prevent possible reinfestations:
A child with lice should not be sent to school, should receive treatment at home and return to school the day after receiving the appropriate treatment, to avoid infestations in the classroom.
Likewise, the institution must be informed so that the parents can carry out a review of the children.
In the event of a lice infestation, family members and close contacts (a contact is anyone who has been close enough to an infected person to be at risk of contracting the infection from that person) should be inspected for signs of infection. infestation and receive treatment if they are infested.
Bedding and clothing should be washed in very hot water, and then, using a hot cycle, for at least 20 minutes, tumble dried.
Also dry clean anything that cannot be washed with soap and water (such as some stuffed animals). Or store them in hermetically sealed bags for at least three days.
Vacuum rugs, carpets, upholstered furniture and throw away the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag.
All accessories used for hair care, such as combs, brushes, hair accessories, should be soaked with alcohol or medically formulated lice shampoo for one hour.
They can also be washed in very hot water or simply thrown away.
Sometimes it is very difficult to get rid of these pesky little critters. If all the recommendations to eradicate lice have been followed, but the lice persist, this may be because:
- Some nits remained in the hair even after the treatment.
- The child continues to be exposed to people who have lice.
- The treatment being applied is not effective.
Typically the approach to removing lice is to kill the live lice.
But this approach ignores the most critical part of getting rid of a lice family: destroying the eggs or nits. It is not uncommon for nits to turn a simple case of lice into an almost chronic condition.
When faced with an infestation problem, it should be made clear to children that they have suffered a lice infestation, that it is not their fault and that no matter how embarrassed they have having lice, it is something that can happen to anyone.
How lice reproduce
After fertilization, the female louse places her eggs in the hair near the scalp, to give the nits the optimal temperature conditions for their development.
Lice or nits are often found near the neck on the back of the head and behind the ears. Less frequently, they can appear on the eyelashes or eyebrows.
An adult female louse can lay up to 10 nits per day, and generally the time it takes for those eggs or nits to hatch is 7 to 10 days, this is the time between becoming infected and developing symptoms.
If left untreated within 30 days, a louse can lay up to 100 eggs in that span of its life.
The time during which an infected person can infect others is as long as the eggs or lice are alive.
An advantage of lice is that they do not survive more than 2 days outside a human host and if the treatment is administered as indicated, their eradication is possible.
Causes of contagion
Lice are very contagious and spread rapidly from one person to another, especially in group settings such as schools, daycare centers and other educational centers, pajama parties, sports activities, summer camps, among others.
Lice that normally parasitize animals such as cats and dogs do not parasitize humans, so people cannot get lice from animals and they do not represent a vector for contagion.
