Head Lice Information
You have known other people who have had problems with head lice, you imagine that every homeless person in thee country is challenged with it but, you certainly did not expect it to ever become a reality in the life of you and your children!
Then, then unthinkable happened. Someone in your family was discovered to have hair lice. Maybe you discovered it yourself or more likely you got a call from the school nurse telling you of the problem and asking you to come pick up your child. How embarrassing! Now you have to fix the problem of lice and you’re not sure about the best way to deal with it.
Almost everyone has had lice at some point in their lives whether they knew about it or not. These days, the schools and daycare facilities are very aware of the threat, keep their eyes open for it and ask you to take the child home and fix the problem before they can return. You may remember how it was handled by some other family member or a friend. But what you want is to know the BEST way of handling it. Well the very best way is to get the proper information and education about treatment and prevention and then begin the correct treatment as quickly as possible.
You may ask: what does it really mean when the nurse or doctor tells you your child has hair lice. Head lice are little bugs or insects that live and thrive in the hair. They are not really dangerous and they are not the cause of or carriers of disease. Directly explained, they are a tiny insect without wings that is a parasite. They live in human hair and they get their nourishment by feeding on blood which they draw in very small quantities from the human scalp.
Having head lice is a common occurrence in children of all races and soci-economic levels. The more hair there is and the thicker and longer it is the more prone the child will be to getting infected with them. That means the problem occurs more often in girls than in boys. While everyone who has hair is a possible candidate, it is the children between the ages of 2 and 13 that are most vulnerable.
Because lice are transferred directly, there are certain things you should look for anytime you have children that are in contact with other kids at school, sports, playing in the neighborhood or park or in other social settings. Watch for children scratching their scalp. That is a common tell tale sign.
The adult lice, the young nymphs and the eggs are all hard to see and are easily missed during normal daily grooming. The itching can start early in an infestation of lice on a human or it could take a couple of weeks or more. That is largely dependant upon the sensitivity of the skin,
Probably the thing you want to be aware of and keep on the look out for the most are the nits or lice eggs. The nits can be a light tan, yellow or brown before they hatch and the shell of the egg after hatching is often a small white or clear speck in the hair. The nits are small but they can be seen with the naked eye of someone with normal 20-20 vision. They are usually attached to the hair shaft close to but not necessarily right next to the scalp.
Some people mistake dandruff for nits and visa versa. It is easy to differentiate between the two. Dandruff will easily brush out of the hair while nits will not and you can feel a nit between your fingers while that is not so with dandruff. It is wise to look for the nits rather than the actual lice because the nits are easier to detect unless the head has a very thick infestation of lice. The eggs will usually take between 7 to 14 days to hatch.
When a nit first hatches, it is usually tan and then within one to two weeks it becomes a full grown louse – usually tan and somewhat translucent. The adults are about the size of a sesame seed. In order to survive lice need a constant supply of heat and food which is found in the scalp. It is important to remember though that they can survive for up to 2 days off the scalp on bedding, scarves, combs etc.
After identifying that you or your child indeed has lice, that is the time to immediately get involved in treating the issue. The best thing to do is a little research and homework so you personally understand what your options are. It would not hurt to call your doctor and see what they advise but do your homework before your put any non-prescription or prescription drugs or commercial treatment on you child. Check out the information on this site and others and then make a wise decision and be prompt and thorough in it’s implementation.
