The head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic bug that lives in human hairs and eats small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. Lice (the plural of louse) are a very common issue, especially for kids. They're contagious, bothersome, and often hard to eliminate.
While they're frustrating to deal with, lice aren't dangerous. They don't spread out illness, although their bites can make a kid's scalp itchy and irritated, and scratching can cause infection.
It's finest to deal with head lice quickly as soon as they're discovered because they can spread quickly from person to person.
Indications of Head Lice
Although they're really little, lice can be seen by the naked eye. Here are things to look for:
Lice eggs (called nits). These look like tiny yellow, tan, or brown dots before they hatch. Lice lay nits on hair shafts near to the scalp, where the temperature is perfect for keeping warm until they hatch. Nits look sort of like dandruff, just they can't be removed by brushing or shaking them off.
Unless the infestation is heavy, it's more typical to see nits in a kid'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 (baby lice). If head lice is not dealt with, this procedure repeats itself about every 3 weeks.
With lice bites come itching and scratching. The itching may not always start right away-- that depends on how delicate a child's skin is to the lice. It can sometimes take weeks for kids with lice to start scratching.
For some kids, the irritation is moderate; for others, a more irritating rash may develop. If your medical professional believes this is the case, he or she may treat the infection with an oral antibiotic.
You might have the ability to see the lice or nits by parting your child's hair into small areas and checking for lice and nits with a fine-tooth comb on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the nape of the neck (it's uncommon for them to be discovered on eyelashes or eyebrows).
A magnifying glass and bright light might assist. It can be tough to find a nymph or adult louse-- often, there aren't many of them and they move fast.
See your medical professional if your kid is constantly scratching his/her head or suffers a scratchy scalp that won't go away. The medical professional needs to be able to tell you if your kid is plagued with lice and needs to be dealt with. Not all kids have the timeless symptoms of head lice and some can be symptom-free.
Be sure to inspect with your kid's school nurse or child care center director to see if other kids have actually recently been dealt with for lice. If you find that your child does, undoubtedly, have lice or nits, contact the personnel at the school and child care center to let them know.
Are Lice Contagious?
Lice are highly infectious and can spread quickly from person to person, especially in group settings (like schools, child care centers, slumber parties, sports activities, and camps).
Though they can't fly or jump, these tiny parasites have actually specifically adjusted claws that let them crawl and stick firmly to hair. They spread out primarily through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothing, bedding, combs, brushes, and hats likewise can pass them along. Kids are most vulnerable to catching lice because they tend to have close physical contact with each other and share individual products.
And you might question if Fido or Fluffy may be catching the bugs and passing them on to your household. Rest assured that pets can't capture head lice and pass them on to individuals or the other way around.
Treatment
Your physician can suggest a medicated shampoo, cream rinse, or lotion to kill the lice. Medicated lice treatments normally kill the lice, but it might take a couple of days for the itching to stop.
Ensure that the medication is safe for your kid's age. While non-prescription shampoos are safe for kids as young as 2 months, other medications are only safe for kids 2 years and older. It's crucial to follow the instructions exactly due to the liceremovallosangelescare.com fact that these items are insecticides. Applying too much medication-- or using it too often-- can increase the danger of harm. Follow the instructions on the item label.
Treatment may be not successful if the medication is not used properly or if the lice are resistant to it. After treatment, your physician might suggest combing the nits with a fine-tooth comb and likewise may suggest repeating treatment in 7 to 10 days to eliminate any newly hatched nits.
Removing By Hand
If your kid is 2 months old or more youthful, you ought to not utilize medicated lice treatments. You'll need to remove the nits and lice by hand.
To get rid of lice and nits by hand, use a fine-tooth comb on your child's damp, conditioned hair every 3 to 4 days for 3 weeks after the last live louse was seen. Moistening the hair beforehand is advised because it briefly immobilizes the lice and the conditioner makes it simpler to get a comb through the hair.
There's no need to buy electronic combs that declare to eliminate lice or make nits easier to eliminate. No studies have been done to back up these claims. You likewise do not require to buy special vinegar services to apply to the scalp prior to selecting nits. Great old-fashioned water works simply great.
Wet combing is likewise an option to pesticide treatments in older kids. Petroleum jelly, mayo, or olive oil are in some cases utilized in an attempt to suffocate head lice, these treatments may not work. If medicine doesn't work and you desire to try these techniques, talk to your medical professional.
Make sure you remove nits thoroughly weekly for at least 3 weeks in a row, and watch your kid carefully 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