lice

Symptoms in lice

This overview will focus primarily on head lice. How can you tell if your child has head lice? It’s simple: if you see live lice or lice eggs , called nits, in your child’s hair or scalp, then your child has lice. Other signs of a lice infestation are:

• Itchy scalp
• Inflamed spots on the scalp
• Dark spots on the pillow or on the shoulders

Lice are usually found on the neck, behind the ears, on the back of the head or on the temples. Severe itching is typical . However, lice do not always itch! The itch is an immune response to the saliva of lice. It can take several weeks for it to appear. Usually, the more frequently someone has lice, the quicker it starts to itch.

Causes of head lice infestation

Head lice are insects about 2 to 3 mm in size . They live exclusively by sucking human blood, so they are practically mini-vampires.

Head lice can be grey, brown or black, and red if they have just sucked blood. They cannot jump or fly, only climb . Nevertheless, lice are very contagious. They move quickly and avoid the light (another vampire trait!).

A person who has just contracted head lice usually does not show any symptoms and can therefore unknowingly spread lice. They spread by head contact : the little animals crawl from one head to the other. Rare but possible: spread through shared combs, hats, or bike helmets.

Here’s what you should know about head lice :

• Head lice infestation is not due to poor hygiene.
• Head lice do not usually spread viruses or bacteria.
• Head lice only survive for a few days outside of the head.

From egg to louse

A female louse lays 6 to 8 eggs near the scalp every day. The nits are very small, about the size of a pinhead. They are firmly attached to the hair near the scalp by a sticky secretion .

The nits are initially dark and barely visible. Once the lice hatch, the empty nits will be white or translucent and easy to see. These egg residues do not come off by themselves, but must be removed with a lice comb.

Young lice hatch after 8 to 9 days. After that, they continue to grow for 9 to 12 days. Adult lice live in the hair and scalp for about 30 days . Head lice are most active in summer. Therefore, they often spread at the beginning of a new school year.

diagnosis of lice

You don’t usually need a doctor to diagnose head lice. You can usually see the lice and nits in the hair with the naked eye . Both are mainly found near the scalp. The white nits are often easier to see than the lice because the animals have evolved to match the hair color of their hosts.

lice in adults

Head lice mainly affect children. Day-care centers and schools offer the little pests ideal conditions for finding new hosts. However , adults can also get head lice – unless they are bald. By the way, animals cannot get lice; the parasites have specialized in humans. Clearly: Head lice should also be fought resolutely in adults.

Treatment options for lice

Everything you need to treat lice can be bought at a pharmacy without a prescription . We wish you good luck and a lot of patience in the fight against the little bloodsuckers!

Don’t forget: If a family member has lice, everyone in the family should be checked for the parasites and, of course, treated if infested. Most of the time, however, it happens quite automatically that you inspect the hairbrush with eagle eyes when there is a case of lice in the family.

Treat lice with a lice comb and lice treatment

If you want to fight lice, you should combine 2 effective strategies : lice comb and lice remedy. You can get both at the pharmacy. There are generally 2 different types of lice remedies: medical products and medicines.

Start using a medicinal product . The silicone or vegetable oil it contains ensures that the lice are unable to suffocate or dispose of the fluid they make after ingesting blood. The oil is massaged into the hair and scalp and acts locally. You can see on the packaging how long it has to act.

If this treatment doesn’t help, you should try an over-the -counter medication . This is an insecticide that needs to remain in the hair and scalp for 24 hours. The medicinal lice treatment should be repeated 8 days after the first implementation.

Lice are only found in the hair and scalp. So other hairy parts of the body should not be treated with medicinal products or drugs. However, lice can also get into the eyebrows or eyelashes . In this case, however, it is sufficient to rub a little Vaseline over it so that the lice suffocate.

No matter what you use to fight lice, you should also comb through your hair with a lice comb . You should do this several times a week for about 2 weeks after the second treatment with a lice remedy. This is the only way to ensure that the head lice really go away.

Once lice are expelled from the hair and scalp, they quickly become sluggish and immobile. They can then no longer easily nest in hair tufts. The bed linen does not necessarily have to be changed. To be on the safe side, however, you should clean brushes and combs thoroughly or replace them immediately.

Lice treatment tips

In the fight against lice, you should take the following tips to heart:

• Inform the day care center or school. This is in your best interest too, as checking all children for lice reduces the risk of reinfestation with lice.
• Wash the hair with regular shampoo.
• Use a conditioner: This makes the lice easier to see and easier to comb out.
• Drape a white towel over your shoulders when treating lice. This way the lice and nits are more visible. Then wash the towel at 60°.
• Divide the hair into many small sections and work systematically section by section.
• Comb the hair thoroughly with a lice comb. A white comb will help you identify lice and nits better.
• Run the comb through from scalp to tip of hair, wiping after each pass.
• Use a magnifying glass to make sure you don’t miss a louse or nit.

What if the lice come back? If you find lice again despite lice treatment, the instructions for the lice treatment may not have been followed correctly . Of course, it is also possible that new lice have simply settled in. Therefore, if a child has lice, all other children in the daycare group or school class should also be checked for lice and treated if necessary. In principle, your child can go back to daycare or school the day after the first treatment.

This is how Med-Healths can help with lice

Not sure how to treat lice? Get advice on the subject from a doctor at Med-Healths . They can also tell you if your case is lice or just dandruff. By the way, you can also send the doctor a photo via Med-Healths .