The head louse is a small, wingless parasitic bug that lives among human hairs and feeds on small quantities of blood drawn from the scalp. Lice (the plural of louse) are an extremely common issue, specifically for kids. They're contagious, irritating, and sometimes hard to eliminate.
While they're annoying to deal with, lice aren't harmful. They don't spread out disease, although their bites can make a kid's scalp scratchy and irritated, and scratching can lead to infection.
It's finest to deal with head lice quickly once they're discovered since they can spread quickly from person to person.
Indications of Head Lice
They're really little, lice can be seen by the naked eye. Here are things to search for:
Lice eggs (called nits). These look like small yellow, tan, or brown dots prior to they hatch. Lice lay nits on hair shafts near to the scalp, where the temperature is best for keeping warm up until they hatch. Nits look sort of like dandruff, only they can't be gotten rid of by brushing or shaking them off.
Unless the infestation is heavy, it's more typical to see nits in a child'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 remaining shell looks white or clear and remains securely attached to the hair shaft. This is when it's most convenient to find them, as the hair is growing longer and the egg shell is moving away from the scalp.
Adult lice and nymphs (infant lice). If head lice is not dealt with, this process repeats itself about every 3 weeks.
Scratching. With lice bites come itching and scratching. This is really due to a response to the saliva of lice. The itching might 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. They may grumble, though, of things walking around on or tickling their heads.
Little red bumps or sores from scratching. For some kids, the irritation is moderate; for others, a more annoying rash might develop. Excessive scratching can cause a bacterial infection (this can cause swollen lymph glands and red, tender skin that might have crusting and oozing). If your medical professional thinks this holds true, he or she might deal with the infection with an oral antibiotic.
You might be able to see the lice or nits by parting your kid's hair into little areas 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 rare for them to be discovered on eyelashes or eyebrows).
A magnifying glass and intense light may help. It can be tough to discover a nymph or adult louse-- frequently, there aren't many of them and they move quickly.
See your physician if your child is continuously scratching his/her head or complains of a scratchy scalp that will not go away. The medical professional must be able to tell you if your kid is infested with lice and needs to be dealt with. Not all kids have the traditional symptoms of head lice and some can be symptom-free.
Be sure www.liceremovallosangelescare.com to inspect with your child's school nurse or child care center director to see if other kids have actually recently been dealt with for lice. If you discover that your kid does, indeed, have lice or nits, get in touch with the personnel at the school and child care center to let them know. Learn what their return policy is. Many usually enable kids to return after one topical treatment has been completed.
Are Lice Contagious?
Lice are highly infectious and can spread out quickly from person to person, specifically in group settings (like schools, childcare centers, slumber parties, sports activities, and camps).
They can't fly or jump, these small parasites have specially adapted claws that let them crawl and cling firmly to hair. They spread out mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothes, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats likewise can pass them along. Kids are most vulnerable to catching lice since they tend to have close physical contact with each other and share personal items.
And you might wonder if Fido or Fluffy may be capturing the pests and passing them on to your family. However rest assured that animals can't capture head lice and pass them on to people or the other way around.
Treatment
Your physician can advise a medicated shampoo, cream rinse, or cream to kill the lice. Medicated lice treatments typically eliminate the lice, however it may take a couple of days for the itching to stop.
Make sure that the medicine is safe for your child's age. While over the counter hair shampoos are safe for kids as young as 2 months, other medications are just safe for kids 2 years and older.
Treatment may be not successful if the medication is not used properly or if the lice are resistant to it. After treatment, your medical professional may recommend combing the nits with a fine-tooth comb and likewise might recommend repeating treatment in 7 to 10 days to kill any newly hatched nits.
Getting rid of By Hand
If your child is 2 months old or more youthful, you ought to not use medicated lice treatments. You'll need to get rid of the nits and lice by hand.
To get rid of lice and nits by hand, utilize 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. Wetting the hair beforehand is advised because it momentarily paralyzes the lice and the conditioner makes it simpler to get a comb through the hair.
There's no need to purchase electronic combs that claim to eliminate lice or make nits easier to get rid of. You likewise don't require to buy special vinegar services to apply to the scalp prior to picking nits.
Wet combing is likewise an option to pesticide treatments in older kids. Though petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, or olive oil are often utilized in an attempt to suffocate head lice, these treatments may not work. If medicine does not work and you wish to try these techniques, talk with your doctor first.
Make certain you get rid of nits thoroughly each week for a minimum of 3 weeks in a row, and view your kid 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