Good day. I myself did not suffer from pediculosis in childhood, but I heard a lot about the difficulties of other people with this problem. For example, a cousin's daughter managed to pick up lice somewhere.
I remember how my sister called me and told me in horror that she had found some insects in her child’s hair.
She didn’t even understand what it was. It is better to know as much as possible about such parasites, then it will be much easier and simpler to fight. Want to know how lice look on your head? I will now paint the main features of the appearance of parasites.
The content of the article:
- 1 How head lice look - photos, treatment, prevention. Where do lice come from
- 2 What do lice look like on a child’s head
- 3 Lice in the hair: treatment for the disease
- 4 What do lice look like in the photo? And how to distinguish head lice from other parasites?
- 5 Lice in the hair of children and tips on how to deal with this problem
How head lice look - photos, treatment, prevention. Where do lice come from
Pediculosis is a parasitic disease caused by lice. Lice can be of three varieties - head louse, body louse and pubic louse. The problem of pediculosis in modern times has not lost its relevance.
It is also easy to get lice by using bedding on trains, in a bathhouse or in a sauna. In the vast majority of cases, head lice is associated with head lice.
What do parasites look like?
Many people care about how the head louse looks. Lice move very quickly (speed 23 cm per minute), it is difficult to notice them.
- The insect has a grayish or whitish color, its length is about 2-3 mm, has 6 legs.
- It is much easier to notice lice eggs - nits, head lice lay them in huge numbers.
- Nits have a yellowish-white color and are tightly attached to the hair (0.7 cm from the skin), they cannot be shaken off like dandruff or sand.
- They have a small size, not more than 1.5 millimeters.
- As a rule, lice and nits are located on the scalp, but sometimes can be on the eyebrows or eyelashes.
The life cycle of head lice (life expectancy) is 3 weeks, an insect can live outside the head for no more than a day, nits 2 weeks.
Lice eat only blood, itching of the scalp develops approximately 2-4 weeks after infection and is caused by the fact that when piercing the skin, lice secrete saliva.
Where do lice come from - causes of head lice
Where do head lice come from? Many have a misconception regarding the issue of how head lice are transmitted. Many people think that they are jumping or even flying. But this is not so, these insects do not have wings for this.
- Human head louse is transmitted through direct contact.
- When using general hygiene items with the patient (towel, bedding, comb) or hats.
- A louse can run across the hair if there is contact, it is especially likely if the hair is long.
- There is an opinion that only asocial people suffer from head lice, but ordinary people may have head lice, the causes and transmission methods are so diverse that anyone can become infected with them.
- The places where pediculosis is most often infected are kindergartens, schools, summer camps, baths, saunas, pools, hotels, trains, and hairdressers.
Pediculosis is of great epidemiological importance. In the stomach of head lice, there are favorable conditions for the growth and reproduction of certain microorganisms. These include the causative agents of typhus and relapsing fever.
They are excreted with the excrement of head lice or when it is crushed. If the scalp has damage, then typhoid infection will occur. It is also possible infection if the pathogen enters the mucous membranes or when rubbing it into the skin.
Symptoms of Pediculosis
The first clinical manifestations of the disease may be in a few weeks. The head louse gets to the new owner, attached to the hair. To breed, she needs food. She feeds on blood, piercing the skin with a proboscis.
Small spots may remain in the bite sites, and itching also appears in these places. Then the female begins to lay eggs. They are attached tightly to the hair, so with normal shampooing, they do not wash off. A few days later, young lice appear from them.
When examining the scalp, damaged areas of skin with yellow crusts are visible. There may be signs of inflammation of the hair follicles - folliculitis. In places of the largest concentration of head lice (behind the ears, on the temples and on the back of the head) there are changes characteristic of eczema.
On examination, you can see the nits. Empty nits are grayish in color. Full nits are white or yellowish. When they are crushed between the nails there will be a click.
In advanced cases, the hair on the head sticks together and hair tangles are formed. When combing the scalp, the course of the disease is often complicated by furunculosis of the scalp or other pustular lesions. If untreated, lymphadenitis develops, cervical and behind-the-ear lymph nodes enlarge and become inflamed.
Diagnostic methods
Diagnosis of this disease is quite simple. It is enough for the dermatologist to carefully examine the scalp and hair. In the presence of nits and scratches on the hair, the diagnosis of pediculosis is confirmed. Sometimes you can comb lice onto a white sheet of paper.
How to remove head lice - how to treat head lice?
Earlier, when head lice were detected, the treatment was ineffective. Common methods of treatment were kerosene, tar soap, dichlorvos, vinegar, or cranberry juice. We strongly recommend against using all these methods.
In the pharmaceutical market there are various drugs for the treatment of head lice. They are in the form of sprays and shampoos (see the most complete review of all shampoos for lice and a guide with instructions, prices and reviews).
The most common remedies include:
- Hellebore water
- Malathion Shampoo - Pedilin
- Permethrin preparations, for example, Nittifor, Nyx, Medifox concentrate for the preparation of an emulsion 5%, Medifox gel pediculicidal, Hygia, Veda 2.
- Benzyl benzoate preparations, for example, Foxilon Lotion.
- Phenotrin - Parasidosis Shampoo
- Mineral Oils - Paranit Shampoo
- Complex drug Para Plus (permethrin, piperonyl butoxide, malathion)
- Cyclomethicone and Isopropyl Myristate - Full Marx Liquid
- 5% sulfuric ointment
- Boric Ointment
The choice of drug for treatment is carried out by a dermatologist. Before using any of the drugs, you must carefully read the instructions, strictly follow them. All of these drugs are toxic.
After applying these products, it is necessary to comb the hair with a metal comb. The teeth of the comb should be very rare. Since it is difficult to get rid of head lice and nits, and not all of them die when processed by means.
You can remove the nits with your hands, but it will take a significantly longer amount of time. Plastic combs cannot separate nits from the hair shaft. To facilitate the removal of nits with a comb, you can apply olive oil to your hair. It also has anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects.
After processing with chemicals for the next 2 days, do not wash your hair with shampoo. Also, do not use conditioners, hair balms (2 weeks), as they create a film and prevent the penetration of permethrin and other substances.
That is, to use for the removal of head lice either chemical agents or air conditioning.
Many people think that it is necessary to shorten long hair. This is not necessary, as the nits are located at the roots of the hair, no further than 5 centimeters from the surface of the head.
After treatment, a person should not visit crowded places (school, kindergarten, theater, cinema) for two weeks.
Since lice do not live outside the head for more than 1 day, the likelihood of re-infection is not high, but it is, therefore, it should
You should also disinfect all combs, hairpins - for this they should be placed for 1 hour in water with shampoo from lice, or in an alcohol solution. Or rinse thoroughly with small and put in a bag for 2 days in the freezer.
Items that can not be washed - hats, coats, etc. can either be dry cleaned or just packaged in bags for 14 days - during this time the nits will die.
Lice prophylaxis
It is always necessary to observe the rules of personal hygiene, monitor the condition of the hair. It is better for holders of long hair in public transport to put their hair under their clothes or to collect them in a ponytail.
Never use other people's combs, hairbands or hairpins. Do not use other people's hygiene items, towels. Do not sleep on bedding in a train, it is better to take from home with you. Do not wear other people's hats.
If someone in your family has discovered this parasitic disease, then instead of treating the patient, measures should be taken to prevent the spread of head lice.
It is necessary to boil and iron pillows, pillowcases, sheets, towels, hats of the patient. Warn all contact persons (children in kindergarten or school, relatives), undergo examination by a dermatologist.
What do lice look like on a child’s head
Lice are long-known and, unfortunately, common parasites in humans. The head louse settles in the scalp and causes a lot of inconvenience, both for children and adults. The parasite does not choose the habitat by age, position in society, so the problem can affect any of us.
The problem does not apply to the lower social strata of society, since it is often observed in people from wealthy families who do not neglect the rules of hygiene. But still, children suffer most from pediculosis.
Infection options
Infection with lice occurs through the migration of parasites from one person to another. At the same time, lice do not know how to fly or jump, but are able to move very quickly, which contributes to such a rapid spread of the problem.
Modern medicine distinguishes several pathways of infection with pediculosis:
- Visiting places where there is a large concentration of people, among which there may be carriers of parasites.
- Access to public pools or beaches.
- A visit to the sauna, in which people with pediculosis are present.
- Public transport.
- Sharing clothes, especially hats, with a person who is infected with lice.
From the moment of infection, about a week passes, when the patient observes the first signs of head lice. They can be seen only after 1.5-2 weeks. This is another reason why the problem is so common in children's groups.
Many children are carriers of parasites, completely unaware of this, since they have not yet observed characteristic signs due to recent infection.
How to recognize lice
In order to timely determine the pediculosis in a child, it is necessary to pay attention in time to the slightest complaints of itching in the scalp. Pediculosis has specific symptoms, which makes the problem recognizable.
So, pediculosis can be suspected if there are the following signs:
- Severe itching of the scalp, and itching is not necessarily observed in the scalp.
- The appearance of irritation, papules or erythema on the scalp.
- Sleep disturbance, child anxiety due to constant discomfort in the hair.
Observing such symptoms, it is imperative to examine the head for parasites. Recognizing an insect is not difficult, even if you have never encountered such a problem before, you have no idea how to distinguish it from other insects.
What do lice and nits look like on a child’s head?
When examining the head, it is not immediately possible to notice the louse, especially if the infection has occurred recently and the population is not too large. Recognizing the parasite is simple.
Its main features:
- Lice are gray or whitish.
- The length of the body is not more than 6 mm. The shape is elongated, so insects are a bit like ants. Only the abdomen in lice is more massive.
- It has six legs that are extended forward on the torso.
- The insect has no wings.
Parasites move very quickly, so most doctors when examining the head for the presence of pediculosis focus on nits. Finding them is much easier.
Nits can be identified by the following criteria:
- Yellowish white small balls attached to the hair.
- Basically, females lay nits at a distance of about a centimeter from the scalp.
- The size of the nits is tiny, the diameter is not more than 1.5 mm.
- It is difficult to remove the nits from the hair, they are well attached to the hair with a special composition that releases lice.
- When you click on the nits, a characteristic click is heard.
Small white nits can be confused with dandruff. But unlike lice eggs, dandruff is easily removed from the hair and does not emit a crack when pressed. To correctly recognize the problem, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the photo of lice in the child’s head.
It is for this that doctors advise to study the characteristics of the parasite. The ability to determine the head louse allows you to diagnose pediculosis much faster, which helps to get rid of the problem as soon as possible.
Lice in the hair: treatment for the disease
In order to maintain your health, you must not only eat right, but also follow the rules of hygiene. Otherwise, parasites will start on your body and cause a lot of problems.
The main reason for its appearance is lice. These insects can be of three types:
- head louse;
- cootie;
- pubic louse.
Nowadays, this disease continues to be relevant. When examined by a dermatologist, pediculosis is often detected. To a greater extent, this disease affects those people who have to contact with a large number of people. This disease is especially common in kindergartens and schools. You can become infected with it:
- on trains using non-sterile laundry;
- in baths and saunas.
In most cases of head lice, the main cause of this disease is head louse.
What does a head louse look like?
Many people who have encountered this disease are interested in the question of what this parasite looks like. It features a high speed of movement. In one minute, he overcomes a distance of 23 cm. Therefore, it is quite difficult to notice it.
The parasite has a grayish or whitish color. The body length is usually 2-3 mm. This insect has six legs.
The easiest way to notice is not lice, but their eggs. This parasite lays them in large numbers. They are called nits. You can recognize them by yellowish-white color. They are tightly attached to the hair. Shaking them off your hair like sand is impossible. They have a small size - not more than 1.5 mm.
The main habitat of lice and nits on the human body is the scalp. Sometimes these parasites can inhabit human eyebrows and eyelashes.
Three weeks - this is how much the life cycle of head lice is. Being outside the head, this insect can survive no more than 24 hours, and the nits can survive up to two weeks.
The main food for lice is blood. Settling on a person’s head, they cause itchy skin. This usually occurs 2-4 weeks after infection. It occurs because lice pierces the scalp and secretes saliva.
Causes
People who have experienced a disease such as lice are wondering why lice occur. There are many misconceptions about these insects and how to move them. So, some believe that lice can jump and even fly. The last statement is false since these parasites have no wings.
The risk of transmission is especially high if the infected person has long hair.
A common belief is that only asocial people suffer from head lice. However, this is not true, since there are a lot of ways to transmit lice. Even a healthy person, taking care of his health, is not protected from head lice.
If we talk about places in which they are most often infected with lice, then they include:
- kindergartens;
- schools
- saunas;
- hairdressing salons.
Pediculosis is a disease of great epidemiological importance. The stomach of head lice has good conditions for the development and reproduction of certain types of microorganisms.
Their excretion occurs with the excrement of head lice when they are crushed. If there is damage to the scalp, then this can lead to typhoid infection. The risk of getting sick is also high if the pathogen enters the mucous membrane or is rubbed into the skin.
Symptoms of Pediculosis
When head lice appeared in a person’s hair, the first signs of the disease can be noticed within a few weeks.Once at the new owner, the head louse is first attached to his hair. To start breeding, she needs food.
As mentioned above, the main food for this parasite is blood. With her rim she pierces the skin and sucks blood. You can determine the location of a lice bite by small spots. It is in these places that itching most often occurs.
Pediculosis can be determined by the main symptom, which is itching in the affected area. It has the greatest expression in the occipital region, as well as in the temples and behind the auricle. When this disease occurs, a person has a decrease in appetite. In addition, sleep is disturbed.
With an external examination of the patient's head, you can notice patches of skin with yellow crusts. This may indicate inflammation of the hair follicles - the follicle. Changes characteristic of eczema can be detected at the sites of the largest accumulation of lice on the head.
These places are most often ears, whiskey and the back of the head. A closer inspection of the head reveals nits. A grayish color is characteristic of empty nits. Those that have a white or yellowish tint are full. After crushing them, you can hear a click between the nails.
In advanced cases of head lice, the hair on the head sticks together, as a result, mats are formed. When combing the scalp, complications such as furunculosis can occur.
Other pustular lesions may also occur. If there is no treatment, then lymphadenitis develops, an increase in the cervical and behind the ear lymph nodes.
Disease Diagnostic Methods
Quite simple is the diagnosis of this disease. All that is required of a dermatologist is to carefully examine the hair and scalp of the patient.
When a person discovers head lice, they usually resort to folk remedies that are not effective in the treatment of head lice. Kerosene, tar soap, vinegar - these funds are rarely used today.
Medications
Modern medicine currently offers a large number of drugs that help get rid of head lice in a short time. Using them in accordance with the instructions, you can quickly remove head lice.
For the most part, anti-head lice products are special sprays and shampoos. If we talk about the most common, then we highlight the following:
- hellebore water;
- phenotrin;
- Shampoo Paranit;
- 5% sulfuric ointment;
- boric ointment.
The drug for getting rid of head lice is prescribed by a dermatologist. Before using any of these drugs, you must carefully read the instructions.
In particular, such drugs are not recommended:
- pregnant
- small children;
- allergy sufferers;
- people who have respiratory tract pathologies.
After each use of the medicine prescribed by your doctor, you need to comb your hair with a metal comb. Use should be an accessory that has rare teeth.
Since not all nits can be destroyed during treatment with the drug, for the effectiveness of treatment it is necessary to remove them from the head with your hands.
However, this will take more time. If you use a plastic comb to comb your hair, it will not help to separate the nits from the hair shaft.
In order to facilitate this task, you should apply olive oil to your hair before use. This product helps to cope with this task easier. In addition, it has anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects.
If you do not use toxic drugs for treatment, then you can apply conditioner to the hair, and then comb each strand with a comb. This must be done for 1, 5, 9, 13 days.
Faced with pediculosis, many shorten their hair. Do not do this, because lice live at the roots of the hair. They do not attach to the hair further than 5 cm from the surface of the head. Having cured of this disease, a person should avoid visiting establishments with a massive crowd of people for two weeks.
Prevention
Due to the fact that lice can live outside the head for only one day, the risk of re-infection will be small. After getting rid of lice on your hair, you need to clean the apartment, bedding, as well as clothes should be washed. It is necessary to provide a temperature of 54 degrees Celsius during washing. At this temperature, lice die within 5 minutes.
In addition, it is necessary to disinfect combs and hairpins. To do this, the accessories must be placed in water into which the lice shampoo is added. Or they can be sterilized in an alcohol solution. Another option is to wash them with soap and then put them in the freezer.
Items that cannot be washed, such as hats, can be dry cleaned or packaged in a bag for 14 days. During this time, lice die.
A fairly common problem is lice in the hair. It can occur not only in children, but also in adults. Pediculosis carries a certain discomfort, so every person, of course, wants to get rid of this disease.
To recover from it in a short time, when the first symptoms of the disease appear, you must consult a doctor. He will conduct an inspection. If the diagnosis is confirmed, then treatment will be prescribed.
It is necessary to use such drugs as prescribed by the doctor. When you get rid of head lice, you need to disinfect things, as well as perform cleaning in the apartment. In the future, observing the rules of hygiene, you can avoid the appearance of lice in the hair.
What do lice look like in the photo? And how to distinguish head lice from other parasites?
Lice, parasitic on the human body, are divided into three groups: head, pubic and body (otherwise linen). Each species is characterized by its own appearance and features of life, they do not meet each other in any way. Therefore, the treatment in each case is different!
Head
The most common type of lice parasitizing on humans lives exclusively on the scalp, preferring to settle behind the ears, on the back of the head and at the neck.
Head lice differ from their counterparts, body and pubic lice, primarily in size: they are larger, adults can reach 4 mm in length. Due to its large size, head lice can be easily distinguished in the hair upon examination. In the usual state, the body of the louse is transparent, after a bite, the blood of the carrier stains it in red.
Lice do not have wings. The body of the head lice is elongated, slightly extended downward, with uneven outgrowths along the edges. The narrow, oblong shape of the body with the paws directed forward and to the sides allows them to easily move through the hair.
Additional tenacity and maneuverability of insects is given by protrusions on the edges of the abdomen and rounded limbs of the legs in the form of claws.The eyes of lice are underdeveloped. In order to navigate in space, they use fairly long antennae located in front.
Lice larvae (called nymphs) are smaller - approximately 0.8 mm in length. They have a light shade of the body, so the first couple of weeks after infection (until the larvae grow) it seems that the hair has white sand or dandruff. But with the course of life, they darken, feeding on the blood of the wearer, and grow in size.
Nits (lice eggs) of all species look approximately the same. Their color ranges from white to light yellow. In shape, they resemble a drop. Female lice leave them directly on the hair (more often - at the very base of the hair), securing them with a sticky secret, which hardens very quickly and provides reliable fastening of the nits to the hair.
The life cycle of an individual is about one and a half months. The first 5 days the louse spends as nits (eggs), then 8-9 days as a nymph (immature larva). Over the course of her life, a sexually mature female lays up to 300 nits.
How to treat head lice? To begin, I advise you to try chemerichnaya water.
Pubic
Carpenter is the second name for pubic lice. They live on the hairline of the inguinal region, in the armpits, eyebrows and eyelashes.
Pubic lice are very different from the head lice - both in appearance and in behavior, so in natural conditions they do not interbreed.
In appearance, the pubic louse is similar to a small crab: it has a flattened rhomboid body, more massive legs than the head louse. Body color varies from beige to brown.
The antennae on their heads are directed not forward, as in head lice, but to the sides, since they more often move along the surface of the skin, and do not climb through the hair.
Pubic lice nits have certain differences from head or body lice nits: a more pointed, spindle-shaped form and a darker color. Pubic lice catch eggs at the very base of the hair, almost on the skin.
Clothes
The isolation of these lice as a separate species is conditional: they are derived from the head, only their environment is different: most of the time they spend on human clothes, clinging to tissue, moving to the body only for blood supply.
Their favorite habitats are folds of clothes and pockets. Winged lice can live only in dirty clothes, so they usually start up with homeless people, soldiers in long walks, in any unsanitary conditions.
The only difference is the larger, spindle-shaped abdomen, which makes them look like fleas. However, body lice do not know how to jump, so confusing them with fleas is almost impossible.
Body lice bites are the most noticeable. Since the hairline on the body is not very pronounced, it is very easy to recognize the signs of bites. They resemble mosquito bites: reddened tubercles on the skin that are very itchy. Body lice bites often cause severe allergies.
Lice in the hair of children and tips on how to deal with this problem
Pediculosis, according to the Ministry of Health, is common among approximately 2% of the total population of the Russian Federation. Most of the infected are children. Where do lice come from? They are infected by other children, for example, in a school or kindergarten.
The age of the baby does not matter. The main thing is the presence of hair, at least short.
First of all, you need to understand what “lice” are and how they differ from “nits”. The first are parasitic insects that feed on keratinized epithelium and blood from the upper layers of the epithelium.
Nits are their eggs (although it’s more correct to call them “cocoons”). Females lay several thousand of them per day.
Of these, only 5-10% remains on the hair. However, even 2-3 nits on the head will be enough for a new colony of parasites to form there in a few weeks. That is why, in order to get rid of head lice, the first thing to fight is not with the insects themselves, but with their cocoons - it is much more difficult to destroy them.
The trunk consists conditionally of 2 parts - the head and the back, which is connected by a narrowed transition. Mostly lice are found at the temporal lobe or at the back of the head (there is the thinnest skin).
But nits are small whitish cocoons, up to 1 millimeter in size (most often - 4-6 microns). They are attached directly to the hair. Very durable, do not wash out. When squeezed, they burst with a characteristic “crack”.
It is also worth mentioning about the so-called "clothes" lice. In children, this is a rarity. Unlike ordinary ones, these parasites live in clothing, and not in hair.
Visually very similar, but smaller. They lay their nits in the fabric (only if it is natural).
The reasons for their appearance on the head and the route of infection
Lice can be infected exclusively by contact. That is, in direct contact with the infected person or with his personal belongings (in particular, clothes, combs, hairpins, hair bands, underwear).
By the way, recent studies by scientists and the WHO (World Health Organization) prove that pediculosis affects predominantly owners of short hair, which often wash their hair (at least 3 times a week).
Based on this, lice prefer clean hair without excess sebum.
How to recognize: symptoms and signs of pediculosis in a child
An obvious symptom of head lice is irritation of the scalp, as well as constant severe itching (mainly in the temples, behind the ears, on the back of the head).
But these symptoms correspond to fungal infections, and even allergies. That is why, to make an accurate diagnosis, a visual examination of the scalp is performed. The presence of lice on the nits on the hair is determined.
How to detect lice and nits in a child? The easiest way to use a special shallow comb. His teeth are so close that louse and even nits cannot crawl through them.
Accordingly, they can try to comb out the parasites. If at least one insect or egg is found in this way, then this is a guarantee that the child already has pediculosis.
By the way, the search for lice in a child should be done exclusively with disposable medical gloves. This is the only way to protect yourself, and later your loved ones from infection.
Do I need to go to the doctor
The question arises: “What should I do if a child has lice?” Pediatricians are involved in pediculosis treatment. But seeking medical help is not necessary.
The main thing is to isolate the child and prevent him from staying in groups (in order to prevent infection of others). And how to save a child from lice? To do this, you can use any of the available pharmacy pesticides, such as dust shampoo or soap.
In just 1-2 washing your hair in this way you can completely get rid of head lice, but for the next 5-7 days, prophylaxis and a daily visual examination of the scalp are introduced (this can also be done independently).
But if the child also has inflammation and peeling, then you should still consult a doctor. At least in order to assure yourself that there is no allergic reaction or infection.
And how to deal with pediculosis in children at home? By right, the best “folk” method of pediculosis treatment is the most ordinary table vinegar.
By the way, the doctors themselves use it in practice, since such a tool is absolutely safe, it can be used even by the smallest children. And in terms of effectiveness, it is not inferior to pharmacological drugs against lice.
How to withdraw using vinegar
First of all, vinegar is diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 1 (in the end, you get a 4.5% solution).
Then - the hair is moistened with the resulting solution, covering them with a towel on top. After 20 minutes, they wash their hair in the usual way (preferably with laundry soap without preservatives and dyes).
It is worth considering that vinegar does not affect nits. However, it dissolves the sticky substance with which they are attached to the hairs. But the lice themselves from the solution become lethargic, fall off even with the usual rinsing of the head under running water.
The next day, the procedure should be repeated again. The main thing is to comb out the hair very well after that with a special comb (sold in any pharmacy).
How many times do you need to wash your hair with vinegar? Doctors recommend at least 3 times, and then carefully inspect the hair daily for nits. Even if there are several of them there, pediculosis will return soon.
If vinegar for some reason did not help or lice appeared again, then you can use a radical method of treatment - shaving bald. Without hair, lice die after 1-2 days.
What to do after treatment
And after treatment, all the personal belongings of the child, whether it is bedding, T-shirts, jackets, T-shirts, must be boiled or washed at a temperature of 80 degrees or higher.
If the child has things that can not be washed or treated with a steam generator, it is recommended to put them in a sealed bag (with a zipper) and hang them either in the cold or in the sun.
Lice, oddly enough, are very afraid of lack of air and low temperature. In the future, things are enough just to shake or rinse in cool water.
But any accessories for hair care (hairpins, combs) are best treated with vinegar or a special pesticide (sold in a pharmacy). The unpleasant odor from such a "disinfection" disappears quickly enough.
What preventive measures are often used
Unfortunately, there are no effective measures to prevent pediculosis today. Anyone can infect them, regardless of their status, grooming, age and compliance with personal hygiene rules.
But this, as practice shows, is not enough.
What can parents do? First of all, at least 1-2 times a month to conduct a similar examination, and secondly, monitor the behavior of the child.
It also does not hurt him to personally talk about such a disease. And the main thing is to explain that lice is not something shameful.
Unfortunately, at the moment, many have such an erroneous opinion. If he actively scratches his head, then most likely he already has parasites.
It is impossible to prevent infection, but everyone has the power to timely detect a disease in a child and take appropriate measures to eradicate parasites.
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