There is a widespread belief: lice appear in unkempt and neglected children who grow up in dysfunctional families. In fact, this is absolutely not the case. Pediculosis is quite a common thing in any children's team. According to the WHO, lice is considered one of the most common diseases in the world. And you can pick it up both on the playground and in the "elite" kindergarten. So if your child has lice, there is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of. If you follow certain rules, you can get rid of parasites quickly and easily.
How to tell if a child is infected with head lice
Usually, educators or teachers immediately report this. After all, lice, like chickenpox, - spreads to children's heads in just a couple of days. If no signals have been received from the educational institution, you can pay attention to the following signs:
- The child suddenly appeared on the roots of the hair dandruff. In fact, these are nothing more than nits - eggs of parasites, from which lice then hatch. Visually, nits are similar to a reduced sesame seed: they are oblong, white or light yellow in color. Nits are located at the roots of the hair, at a distance of no more than 1 cm from the head
Unusual "dandruff" in a child's hair is nothing more than lice eggs or nits / istockphoto.com
- You have noticed several insects in the child's hair. It is difficult to see lice in hair in the early stages of infection. They are very small (2-4 mm) and move surprisingly fast. Often it seems to the parents that it "seemed", because even with a careful examination of the head, one or two parasites cannot be caught. Examine the child several times - you may not find lice, but nits.
- The child complains of severe itching of the head. Most of all itches on the back of the head and behind the ears. In these areas of the head, the body temperature is higher, so the lice are very comfortable there, and it is there that they are most active. Itching itself is not dangerous - it is common allergic reaction on the saliva that the insect secretes when bitten. An antihistamine can be given to relieve this reaction. However, the presence of severe itching suggests that the child already has a lot of lice.
Severe itching of the head is a sign that there are already a lot of lice / istockphoto.com
How can you remove lice from a child
As a rule, it is not difficult to remove lice from a child. Today in pharmacies there are many special shampoos that are excellent at fighting these parasites. Many parents do not even go to the doctor, coping with the problem on their own. However, for this you need to adhere to several important rules:
- Do not run to the pharmacy if you find a couple of nits on the child's head. Treatment with special shampoos is carried out only if live parasites are running through the hair. This is a fundamental condition for the use of such drugs. Remove found nits from hair and observe for several days. Perhaps head lice will bypass you this time.
- With head lice, the head with special means must be treated twice, with an interval of nine days. This is important to avoid recurrence of the disease. After the medication, you need to carry out a technical treatment of the head - in other words, carefully comb out the hair with a comb with private teeth (comb).
After shampooing, be sure to comb your hair with a fine-toothed comb / istockphoto.com
- Be sure to handle the baby's belongings and bedding. They must be machine washed at a temperature not lower than 60 degrees. If you are afraid to spoil some things, pack them tightly in an airtight bag and hide for a few days. Without regular nutrition (bites), lice can live no more than a day. Therefore, after three days, things will definitely not be contagious.
- Treat toys, baby's room and apartment. We are not talking about calling the Sanepid service at home. General cleaning is enough. For the treatment of an apartment, it is better to buy special means for parasites. Be sure to observe safety measures: children and pets should be sent for a walk during processing, or better - taken to their grandmother. By the way, you can leave the contaminated apartment yourself. As with toys - after three days there will be no live lice in the house.
For adults, there is no need for prophylactic treatment. If you suspect that you have contracted head lice from a child, first you need to carefully examine the head and find confirmation of your fears. It is not recommended to carry out treatment for lice for prevention purposes either for children or adults.
Why do lice appear again
Sometimes it happens like this: you adhered to all the rules, carefully processed yourself, the child, the apartment and, just in case, the staircase. However, two to three weeks later, the lice reappeared. This can happen for two reasons. Or you still missed some trifle while processing things and surfaces. Or the treatment turned out to be ineffective in your case.
If the first time it was not possible to remove the lice, you need to see a doctor / istockphoto.com
Be that as it may, in case of recurrence of head lice, it is better to take the child by the hand and send to the doctor. The fact is that these parasites sometimes have resistance to basic drugs that are used in special shampoos. Then the doctor will prescribe a different course of treatment for you, and select a remedy with an alternative active ingredient. It is better not to do this on your own - all antiparasitic agents are quite toxic, and with frequent use it is quite possible to “wash up” an overdose with some kind of drug.
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