Lice, how to recognize them.
Scalp lice are a tiny, grayish-white insect just 3-4 mm in size. Both the female and male lice can suck blood and with their legs they can cling firmly to the hairs.
The female louse lives about a month during which she lays 7-10 eggs per day which she “fastens” firmly at the base of the host individual’s hair.
The eggs are fertilized in 8 days releasing the nymphs which mature in another 8 days. Mature lice feed by sucking the host’s blood onto the scalp and adjacent areas of the face and neck.
Lice do not jump or fly.
The mature louse can survive up to 55 hours away from the host’s skin.
Lice do not fly, nor do they use pets as intermediate hosts.
They also have no preference for clean or dirty heads.
Phthisis is a parasite that has been present in the human race since ancient times.
Humans are infested by 3 species of lice:
The scalp lice,
the body louse and
the pubic louse.
Approximately 3% of children up to the age of 15 years at any one time suffer from phobias.
– This means that at any one time in Greece there are about 50,000 children who need to deal with this emergency problem.
– Along with them, their immediate family is usually facing the problem or risk.
– Phthisis can affect anyone, no matter how much they take care of their hygiene. It is usually transmitted by head contact with an “infected” head or related objects (e.g. a hat).
The drug treatment is.
– Difficult and time-consuming for parents.
– Not suitable for young children and pregnant women.
– Unpleasant for the children.
– Often unsuccessful.
Who it concerns…
It is particularly relevant in childhood because it is easily spread from child to child during play. Through shared items (brushes, towels, bed linen, etc.) even from children’s clothes hanging on hangers next to each other at school or nurseries. It most often affects people of the white race and girls. It is important to detect and treat it quickly to prevent it from spreading to other people.
What are the symptoms of phthisis?
The irritation caused when the phlegm sucks blood from the skin and its saliva leads to intense itching.
Which can cause abrasions and skin contamination.
So, any child who scratches his head should be checked for lice.
What you can easily see are the eggs of the dander that are stuck to the base of the hair.
They are very small white eggs, which when they are too many give you the impression that the child has dandruff. The difference is that they don’t fall off when you shake your hair because they are stuck to the hair.
If you look hard enough, you will also find phylacteries, which are very small grey-coloured animals that walk on the child’s head.
If your child has been wearing them for a long time, there is a chance that he or she will develop recurrent pyoderma in the neck and ear area. Staphylococcal infections in the same areas, even swollen lymph nodes.
In these cases you need to mobilise and look for an immediate solution.
The best care
Various topical antifungals such as pyrethrins and pyrethroids, malathion, lindane and benzyl alcohol are commercially available. All of them are intended for children over two years old.
They are applied topically to the child’s head and need to be repeated after 7 days.
Unfortunately, it has been observed that lice have developed resistance to chemicals. Thus, most often the child is burdened with drugs without any effect.
Since 2016, the first lice and lice treatment centre in Greece has been operating and has relieved more than 6000 children from the problem of lice.
The discharge is permanent, it is done in about 2 hours in a single session. The main thing is that we don’t use any medicines and chemicals on the children’s sensitive heads.
More details about the lice and bedbug treatment center I will tell you in another article.
My advice…
The sooner you notice it, the easier it will be to deal with it, if you don’t notice it in time and the phytosis has relapsed… Don’t freak out there is a solution!
🆘👉 LiceBusters 👈🆘
Elizabeth Makri.
