Many parents fear the name head lice, let alone its infestation. They are crawling, wingless insects that live on scalp, and parents fear their infestation in their kids. Their presence is really embarrassing and uncomfortable but they do not cause any illness as such. The female head lice are capable of giving numerous eggs that are like a needle top in size and they stick around the hair roots.
After the head lice hatch, small empty shells called nits they leave behind. The nits stick to hair, which are mistaken for dry skin flakes. The difference between dandruff and nits is, dandruff goes away with washing, whereas normal shampoo procedure cannot remove nits from your hair. Children belonging to the age group of 4-11 years are more prone to head lice infestation because of the close contact between kids at school.
The head lice infestation becomes known when one feels an itchy scalp, and the itchiness can be more behind the ears and above the neck. Another symptom of head lice infestation is the presence of nits in hair. Parents should check their children’s head on a regular basis and should ensure that their head is clean. In case, parents find nits and head lice in their child’s head, they should never panic and should start thinking about a way-out.
Treatment of head lice
Parents should start treatment only if they find some live head lice or nits in their child’s hair. There are two major types of head lice treatment available:
Insecticide products
Such products contain natural insecticides or other chemicals that kill head lice and nits. There is a wide assortment of such insecticide products available in the market. One time use of such products do not eliminate the head lice infestation, so you require to do this treatment for a minimum of two times so that the eggs left on the scalp after the first treatment go away when you do it the second time.
You need to be extremely careful regarding the application of insecticide products, as they can be quite capable of harming the scalp along with the lice and nits. This the reason why doctors recommend that only go for this treatment if you thing the head lice infestation is quite serious. You are supposed to follow each guideline mentioned on the label, and it is always better to ask a pharmacist for advice on which product you should use.
Pregnant mothers should refrain from the usage of these insecticide products, and it is not at all safe to use them on children who are under two years of age. The side effects of insecticides can vary from the scalp irritation to dizziness and even vomiting in children.
Wet combing
This is a treatment, which parents can use daily to help their child get rid of the serious head lice infestation. They should use a comb whose teeth are 0.2 to 0.3mm apart and should comb every segment of hair.
Basic preventions
Parents are responsible to check their child’s head almost daily so that even if they find one single lice they can prevent its development. As the only way to get head lice is through a close contact, so everybody in the family must get their hair checked repeatedly. Moreover, if the parents find a head lice in their child they should go to their school and tell the teachers to announce in the class and to inform the parents of other children so that no child in the class suffers from head lice infestation.
