The head louse is a small, 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 a really typical problem, especially for kids. They're contagious, annoying, and often hard to eliminate.
While they're frustrating to deal with, lice aren't unsafe. 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 once they're found because they can spread quickly from person to person.
Indications of Head Lice
Although they're very small, lice can be seen by the naked eye. Here are things to try to find:
Lice eggs (called nits). These appear like tiny yellow, tan, or brown dots before they hatch. Lice lay nits on hair shafts close to the scalp, where the temperature is best for keeping warm till they hatch. Nits look sort of like dandruff, only they can't be eliminated by brushing or shaking them off.
Unless the infestation is heavy, it's more common 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. After hatching, the staying shell looks white or clear and remains securely attached to the hair shaft. This is when it's most convenient to identify them, as the hair is growing longer and the egg shell is moving far from the scalp.
Adult lice and nymphs (baby lice). If head lice is not dealt with, this process repeats itself about every 3 weeks.
With lice bites come itching and scratching. The itching might not always start right away-- that depends on how delicate a kid's skin is to the lice. It can sometimes take weeks for kids with lice to start scratching.
Small red bumps or sores from scratching. For some kids, the irritation is mild; for others, a more bothersome rash might establish. Excessive scratching can lead to a bacterial infection (this can trigger swollen lymph glands and red, tender skin that might have crusting and exuding). If your physician thinks this is the case, she or he may treat the infection with an oral antibiotic.
You may have the ability to see the lice or nits by parting your child's hair into small sections and looking for lice and nits with a fine-tooth comb on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the neck of the neck (it's unusual for them to be discovered on eyelashes or eyebrows).
A magnifying glass and intense light might assist. But it can be tough to find a nymph or adult louse-- often, there aren't much of them and they move fast.
See your physician if your kid is continuously scratching his/her head or suffers an itchy scalp that won't disappear. The physician should have the ability to tell you if your child is plagued with lice and needs to be treated. Not all kids have the timeless symptoms of head lice and some can be symptom-free.
Also make sure to contact your child'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, indeed, have lice or nits, get in touch with the personnel at the school and childcare center to let them understand. Find out what their return policy is. A lot of usually enable kids to return after one topical treatment has actually been completed.
Are Lice Contagious?
Lice are highly contagious and can spread out 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 leap, these tiny parasites have actually specifically adapted claws that let them crawl and cling strongly to hair. They spread out mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothes, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats also can pass them along. Kids are most susceptible to capturing lice since they tend to have close physical contact with each other and share individual products.
And you may wonder if Fido or Fluffy might be capturing the pests and passing them on to your household. However rest assured that pets can't capture head lice and pass them on to individuals or the other way around.
Treatment
Your doctor can suggest a medicated hair shampoo, cream rinse, or lotion to kill the lice. These might be non-prescription (OTC) or prescription www.liceremovallosangelescare.com medications, depending on what treatments have already been attempted. Medicated lice treatments generally kill the lice, but it may take a few days for the itching to stop. For extremely resistant lice, an oral medication (medication taken by mouth) might be recommended.
Make sure that the medication 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. It's crucial to follow the instructions exactly because these items are insecticides. Using excessive medication-- or using it frequently-- can increase the danger of harm. Follow the directions on the product label.
Treatment might be not successful if the medication is not used correctly or if the lice are resistant to it. After treatment, your doctor might recommend combing the nits with a fine-tooth comb and also may recommend duplicating treatment in 7 to 10 days to eliminate any newly hatched nits.
Eliminating By Hand
If your kid is 2 months old or younger, you must not utilize medicated lice treatments. You'll require to get rid of the nits and lice by hand.
To get rid of lice and nits by hand, use a fine-tooth comb on your child's wet, conditioned hair every 3 to 4 days for 3 weeks after the last live louse was seen. Moistening the hair ahead of time is advised due to the fact that it temporarily incapacitates the lice and the conditioner makes it simpler to get a comb through the hair.
There's no requirement to purchase electronic combs that declare to kill lice or make nits easier to remove. No studies have actually been done to support these claims. You likewise do not need to buy special vinegar services to apply to the scalp before picking nits. Excellent old-fashioned water works simply great.
Wet combing is likewise an option to pesticide treatments in older kids. Though petroleum jelly, mayo, or olive oil are often used in an attempt to suffocate head lice, these treatments may not work. If medication does not work and you desire to attempt these approaches, talk to your medical professional.
Make sure you remove nits carefully every week for at least 3 weeks in a row, and view your child 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