Head Lice And Prevention Strategies

A head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is a small parasitic insect which lives on the human scalp and feeds exclusively on human blood. No other animals besides humans are known to host the parasite. Though its lifespan is only approximately 1 month, a female louse lays between 5-150 eggs (nits) during that time. The young louse emerge from the egg in an initial nymphal stage. They molt three times during that phase, then develop into nymph 2 and nymph 3 stages before developing into adult male or female louse.

Head lice reproduce rapidly and adult females lay 3 to 4 eggs a day, on average. Generations last about a month and lice of any stage gorge themselves on blood, biting skin four to five times a day. The female passes a glue-like excretion during oviposition from a gland near the rear of the body which helps the eggs adhere to the hair of a host. While any part of the scalp may be affected, lice tend to lay their eggs on the nape of the neck and the area behind the ears.

PRESSURE SORES STAGES

The most common symptom of infestation is pruritus on the head, which typically will intensify about 3 to 4 weeks after the initial infestation occurs. Bite reactions are generally mild and can seldom be seen between the hairs. The bites themselves are sometimes visible, especially on the neck of people with long hair. In rare instances, individuals who scratch the itchy bites too much can develop secondary infections with impetigo and pyoderma. Swelling in the lymph nodes and fevers are rare complications. Head lice are not believed to transmit pathogenic microorganisms.

So how does one get rid of head lice? That is a tough question to answer considering there is no 100% method to get all of the eggs after one treatment. Some of the methods used include chemical treatments, hot air, combs, head shaving, etc. Using kerosene (alone or used with oil and vinegar), hair bleach and dyes, antibiotics, or ivermectin for lice treatment, or using garlic and Vitamin B to prevent lice.

You can comb them out, zap them with chemicals or simply keep scratching. But head lice have a habit of maintaining a firm grip on their habitat.And the bad news is they are becoming increasingly resistant to the most common treatments.Scientists believe that 80 per cent of the bugs are immune to over-the-counter lotions. They found lice were untroubled by the chemicals permathrin and phenothrin, found in popular bug-busting brands.

So we find that we cant do much to treat head lice infection.Like they say prevention is the best cure.The experts say the process of natural selection means the insects have developed a resistance to the lotions. The findings will not just leave children, parents and teachers scratching their heads. It will almost certainly start a scramble to discover a lotion to do the job better.

Head Lice And Prevention Strategies

PRESSURE SORES STAGES