The head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic bug that lives in human hairs and feeds upon tiny quantities of blood drawn from the scalp. Lice (the plural of louse) are an extremely common problem, particularly for kids. They're contagious, annoying, and sometimes hard to eliminate.
While they're frustrating to deal with, lice aren't dangerous. They do not spread out illness, although their bites can make a child's scalp itchy and irritated, and scratching can cause infection.
It's finest to deal with head lice quickly when they're found because they can spread out quickly from person to person.
Indications of Head Lice
They're very small, lice can be seen by the naked eye. Here are things to try to find:
Lice eggs (called nits). Lice lay nits on hair shafts close to the scalp, where the temperature is best for keeping warm till they hatch.
Unless the problem is heavy, it's more typical to see nits in a child's hair than it is to see live lice crawling on the scalp. Lice eggs hatch within 1 to 2 weeks after they're laid.
Adult lice and nymphs (infant lice). If head lice is not treated, this process repeats itself about every 3 weeks.
With lice bites come itching and scratching. The itching may not always begin right away-- that depends on how sensitive a kid's skin is to the lice. It can sometimes take weeks for kids with lice to start scratching.
For some kids, the inflammation is mild; for others, a more bothersome rash might develop. If your doctor believes this is the case, he or she may deal with the infection with an oral antibiotic.
You might be able to see the lice or nits by parting your child's hair into little sections and checking for lice and nits with a fine-tooth comb on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the neck of the neck (it's rare for them to be discovered on eyelashes or eyebrows).
A magnifying glass and brilliant light might assist. It can be tough to discover a nymph or adult louse-- often, there aren't many of them and they move fast.
See your physician if your child is continuously scratching his or her head or suffers a scratchy scalp that won't disappear. The doctor needs to be able to inform you if your kid is infested with lice and requires to be treated. Not all kids have the timeless symptoms of head lice and some can be symptom-free.
Be sure to check with your kid's school nurse or child care center director to see if other kids have just recently been treated for lice. If you discover that your kid does, certainly, have lice or nits, get in touch with the staff at the school and childcare center to let them understand. Discover what their return policy is. The majority of normally enable kids to return after one topical treatment has been completed.
Are Lice Contagious?
Lice are highly infectious and can spread quickly from person to person, particularly in group settings (like schools, child care centers, slumber parties, sports activities, and camps).
Though they can't fly or jump, these small parasites have specifically adapted claws that let them crawl and stick firmly to hair. They spread mainly through head-to-head contact, however sharing clothes, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats also can pass them along. Kids are most prone to catching lice because they tend to have close physical contact with each other and share personal items.
And you may question if Fido or Fluffy may be capturing the pests and passing them on to your household. However rest assured that animals can't capture head lice and pass them on to people or the other way around.
Treatment
Your doctor can suggest a medicated hair shampoo, cream rinse, or lotion to eliminate the lice. These might be over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications, depending upon what treatments have actually already been attempted. Medicated lice treatments generally kill the lice, however it might take a few days for the itching to stop. For really resistant lice, an oral medication (medication taken by liceremovallosangelescare.com mouth) might be prescribed.
Make sure that the medicine is safe for your kid's age. While non-prescription shampoos are safe for kids as young as 2 months, other medicines are just safe for kids 2 years and older.
Treatment might be unsuccessful if the medication is not used properly or if the lice are resistant to it. After treatment, your medical professional may suggest combing the nits with a fine-tooth comb and likewise may suggest duplicating treatment in 7 to 10 days to eliminate any newly hatched nits.
Eliminating By Hand
If your kid is 2 months old or more youthful, you should not use medicated lice treatments. You'll require to get rid of the nits and lice by hand.
To remove lice and nits by hand, use a fine-tooth comb on your kid's damp, conditioned hair every 3 to 4 days for 3 weeks after the last live louse was seen. Wetting the hair in advance is advised due to the fact that it temporarily paralyzes the lice and the conditioner makes it much easier to get a comb through the hair.
There's no need to buy electronic combs that claim to eliminate lice or make nits much easier to eliminate. You also do not require to purchase unique vinegar options to apply to the scalp before choosing nits.
Wet combing is likewise an option to pesticide treatments in older kids. Though petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, or olive oil are in some cases utilized in an effort to suffocate head lice, these treatments may not work. If medicine doesn't work and you want to attempt these approaches, talk to your medical professional.
Make sure you remove nits carefully weekly for a minimum of 3 weeks in a row, and see your kid closely to see if any live lice return.
For more information, contact:
Lice Removal Los Angeles Care
777 S Alameda St #29
Los Angeles, CA 90021
310-935-1644