Pediculosis

What is pediculosis?

Pediculosis (lice) is a parasitic disease of the skin and hair. According to the latest data, over the past 10 years in Russia, from 220 to 300 people per 100 thousand people have contracted this disease. In the capital in 2002, 791 cases were recorded for every 100 thousand population; children under 14 years old made up 15% of cases. The most interesting thing is that the carriers of this disease are most often adults.

One of the reasons for the spread and development of head lice is identified as the many refugees from the countries of the former USSR and, of course, homeless people. Lice are small, wingless insects that feed on human blood. The shape of lice is flat, elongated-diamond-shaped, on legs, with a small movable proboscis, due to which the insect is attached to something. Lice that have not yet drunk blood are grayish-brown in color, while lice that have drunk blood are red or black. These insects must feed constantly, otherwise they die. Lice eggs are oval-shaped, pale yellow in color, and up to 1 mm in size. After 4–9 days, the louse emerges from the egg. The female louse living in the human scalp has a size of 2.0–3.5 mm, the male – 2.0–3.0 mm. Females need to eat constantly, in small doses. For this reason, they cannot live longer than one day. The female body louse is 3.75–5.0 mm long, the male is 3.3–3.5 mm long. The nits of this type of lice are attached specifically to the pile of the fabric.

Content:

Folk remedies

A wide selection of pharmaceutical insect repellents does not make ancient recipes for fighting lice any less popular. If you prefer exclusively natural methods, folk recommendations will be useful to you. Just remember that they require repeated use. Here are the most popular formulations.

• Salt and vinegar. Pour a spoonful of vodka into a glass of liquid (it’s better to take apple or wine vinegar) and add 45 g of regular salt. After dissolving, gauze is soaked in the composition, which is used to wrap the scalp for the whole day. When the compress dries out, it should be renewed with the solution. The final solution to the problem will require several treatments.

• Tincture of elecampane. The grass must be fresh and whole, with roots. It is chopped, poured with boiling water (a liter of water is required for 5 tablespoons of raw materials), and infused for an hour, wrapped or in a thermos. After straining, the infusion is distributed over the skin and hair after 10 minutes. the head is washed abundantly. Repellent treatments are carried out every 5-7 days until final destruction.

• Geranium oil. It is added to any hair product - balms, masks, conditioners - which should be used as usual. One serving of balm - 3-4 drops of oil. Add until the insects disappear.

• Mint and pomegranate. 2 tbsp. l. the herbs are poured into a glass of natural pomegranate juice and boiled for 10 minutes. on low heat. After cooling and filtering, the composition is rubbed into the hair and skin for half an hour; then the head is washed as usual. The procedure is carried out every 5 days until the symptoms are eliminated. In addition, you can use lemon and sodium chloride (softening).

• Ancient recipes recommend using turpentine, kerosene, gasoline, dust and tar soap to get rid of lice. For healing, angelica is used - seeds and foliage, wild rosemary. Bird cherry can also have an insecticidal effect.

Symptoms of lice

Diagnosing lice is simple: there are parasites on the patient’s skin, there are also nits on clothes, hair and underwear, the skin in the area where lice are located is inflamed due to bites.

Other symptoms of lice include endless itching - this is the skin's response to lice bites. The itching can be mild or unbearable, especially at night from body lice. It happens that the patient does not even feel the desire to scratch - this is a consequence of a chronic disease, a habit is developed. Skin rashes from lice bites appear after some time. Initially, “itchy acute dermatitis” appears, small bright red papules and vesicles. Further, this process turns into chronic dermatitis, suppuration of the papules occurs. Over time, a secondary infection occurs, which is accompanied by anemia. With pubic and body lice, specific spots appear on the skin.

In the case when the patient has a severe stage of head lice, a lump of tangled and sticky hair with a rotten smell appears on the head. Depending on the location of the lice and complications from this disease, symptoms vary. However, there are also patients in whom lice are located all over the body, or there are body, pubic, and head parasites together.

Lice for pregnant women

Note that most medications can be used to eliminate lice in pregnant women - they do not enter the systemic bloodstream, which means they cannot harm the fetus. The clause in the instructions indicating the undesirability of using the products by pregnant women was included only because manufacturers do not want to pay for expensive and not very ethical tests on this topic.

However, expectant mothers should still refrain from using those that do not clearly indicate that they are approved for use by pregnant women. Many products have a strong aroma and can trigger the development of allergies or cause irritation. All these manifestations negatively affect the general well-being of the expectant mother. Doctors recommend opting for formulations with the mildest possible effect: “Nittifor”, “Para Plus”, “Nuda”, “Lavinal”. Those containing benzyl benzoate are strictly prohibited.

Causes of lice

It is important to know that these insects do not fly or jump, but move by running. This suggests that you can become infected through personal contact with a sick person. Head lice move from person to person through hair, especially long hair. Children are mainly at risk, since they are the most active, constantly in contact with each other during games, at school, at home, in children's camps, kindergartens, and exchange personal hygiene items - combs, towels. It is difficult to convince children that they cannot change hats.

A very remarkable fact is that the cause of lice can be an ordinary hairdresser. Places such as a bathhouse, swimming pool, train, hospital can also become a place for lice infection. Body lice are transmitted slightly differently than hair lice. Body lice can be contracted through close household contact. Having settled in the folds of clothing, lice move onto human skin. You can get pediculosis after reusing dirty laundry or things. Pubic lice can be contracted through sexual intercourse. However, you can become infected with them only by using someone else's towel, clothes or linen. Outside the body, the pubic louse lives very briefly, no more than one day, although the eggs are more viable and live for another week.

What you need to know about lice

A louse is a blood-sucking parasite that lives only on the human body and feeds on its blood. Human lice do not live on animals and cannot get onto the human body from pets.

There are three types of lice that are parasites of humans:

head;
clothes;
pubic.

The first live on the head and this is the most common species. The favorite habitats of parasites on the head are the back of the head and temples, the shaft of the hair. The latter live outside the human body and come to it only for food. The rest of the time they hide in clothes, home textiles, and furniture. The third type affects the hairy parts of the body near the genitals and anus.

The routes of infection for these three types of parasites are somewhat different. Thus, head lice are transmitted by touching heads, using hats or hair accessories. Body lice - when using clothing and other things where they can hide. Pubic lice - through sexual contact, staying in the same bed, using contaminated underwear or towels.

One louse that gets on the human body may not cause head lice. The life cycle of the parasite is about 40 days. If it turns out to be a male or an unfertilized female, the insect will simply live out its life without leaving any descendants. But if it is a fertilized female, then she will lay an average of four nits per day and multiply exponentially. Within 2–3 weeks your head will be swarming with parasites.

Treatment of pediculosis

If a person has lice, treatment should be started immediately.

Here are some reasons why you need to get rid of lice as soon as you find them:

Pediculosis is a contagious disease. The sooner you remove lice, the lower the risk that other people will suffer.
The disease can lead to various complications, and early treatment will help prevent these complications.
Pediculosis causes unpleasant symptoms; timely treatment makes it possible to quickly get rid of them.

There are several ways to treat head lice. Combination therapy is often used. The modern pharmacological market offers many medications aimed at removing lice. However, they do not always fully cope with the task assigned to them. The fact is that parasites have the ability to develop resistance to chemicals. Therefore, you need to navigate the variety of treatment methods.

Chemicals

You can remove lice using medications such as:

Pedilin. The drug is based on a substance called malathion.
Parasidosis, Itax shampoo. These products are based on a substance called phenothrin.
Medifox pediculicidal gel, Medifox concentrate for preparing emulsion 5%, Hygia shampoo, Nittifor, Nix cream. These products are based on a substance called permethrin.
Foxylon lotion. This product is based on benzyl benzoate.
Combination medications are available on the market. One of the most effective is Para Plus. It contains malathion, permethrin and piperonyl butoxide.

All preparations for killing lice are available at pharmacies without a prescription.

Treatment of hair and scalp must be carried out in strict accordance with the instructions for use. The drug is applied to the affected area 2 times with a break. The fact is that during the first application, only insect larvae die, and some eggs can remain active. Secondary treatment makes it possible to destroy all the larvae that have already hatched by that time.

The medicine is kept on the head for 10 minutes to 12 hours. After the drug is washed off, you need to thoroughly comb your hair with a comb. This will remove dead insects.

Insecticides do not always cope with head lice.

This is due to reasons such as:

Low sensitivity of parasites to the main active ingredient.
Failure to follow the instructions for use.
Insufficient exposure time, or ignoring recommendations regarding their reapplication.

If you do not follow the instructions for use, drugs, even the most expensive ones, will be powerless against head lice. Some people have an allergic reaction to these medications. Therefore, if a person is allergic, they should be used with caution. This is especially true for children.

It must be borne in mind that the use of drugs to combat head lice does not reduce the risk of re-infection. Therefore, it is necessary to direct efforts to comply with preventive measures to prevent it.

Combing out lice

Combing out lice is an old method of fighting insects. However, this does not mean that the technique has lost its effectiveness. You can cope with parasites using this method only if you use it four times within 14 days.

First you need to wash your hair, then apply a thick layer of conditioner to your hair. Then they take a comb with rare teeth and begin to comb them thoroughly. Lice will be combed out along with the conditioner, so the comb needs to be washed. When the head is processed, the hair is dried and combed again, but with a fine-tooth comb.

The combing procedure is repeated 4 times, that is, on days 1, 5, 9 and 13. This will allow you to comb out lice at different stages of their life.

In Belgium, a group of scientists conducted an experiment. He confirmed that combing nits out of hair using conditioner is not inferior in effectiveness to medications. Provided that a person has started therapy with any drug, then before treatment and 14 days after its completion, hair conditioners cannot be used, as they create a film on them that impairs the permeability of the active components of the drug. Therefore, you need to choose one of the treatment methods: lice are either combed out or poisoned with chemicals.

Combs

All methods of getting rid of insects work only when accompanied by thorough combing. It is not required only if the patient agrees to shave his head.

Many products come complete with combs specially made for picking. If such equipment is not provided by the manufacturer, you need to buy a thick comb at the pharmacy.

In principle, lice can be defeated with just combing. This technique has undeniable advantages:

• Absolutely harmless. The method is suitable for children of any age, during pregnancy and lactation, and for diagnosed chronic systemic diseases. • Extremely cheap. Even a person who is seriously limited in money can buy a comb. • The control agent is a reusable tool.

However, there are significant disadvantages here without auxiliary equipment.

• It is almost impossible to carry out the procedure efficiently on your own. Especially if you have long hair. • Requires significant time investment, from 1 to 2 hours daily, for 7-10 days. • 100% result is not guaranteed.

Therefore, doctors still recommend supplementing the procedures with an anti-pediculosis agent.

A hairdryer is also used to combat lice. Steam at a temperature of 50-55 degrees, directed at the strands, has a paralyzing effect on lice. After using the hairdryer, all that remains is to work with a comb to remove lice from the strands.

Other treatments for head lice

Head lice can be treated with other treatment methods.

These include:

Use of herbal products.
These can be essential oils or plant extracts (anise, basil, rosemary, geranium, etc.). The effectiveness of these products has not been confirmed by official medicine.
Using combs with batteries.
Such devices kill lice with an electric discharge. The cost of the comb is quite high, but there is no guarantee that all insects will die. The device can only be used on dry hair.
Removing lice and nits manually.
They are crushed with nails. It will not be possible to completely cope with the problem, since insects are very mobile and a person may simply not notice them.
Shaving your head.
This method of treatment is used to get rid of lice in groups or in dysfunctional families.

Prevention of head lice

Of course, there is no way to prevent lice infestation. However, you can reduce your risk of head lice by taking a few steps:

Follow the rules of personal hygiene;
Blow dry your hair periodically using a very hot setting. Lice and nits die at high temperatures;
Do not wear other people’s clothes and hats, use your own personal hygiene items and do not give them to anyone;
In a shared dressing room, hang outerwear with the outside in and the inside out. The smooth surface of the fabric will reduce the likelihood of body lice becoming attached;
When visiting public places, girls with long hair need to put it in a ponytail or braid it - the risk of infection will be significantly reduced;
To prevent lice, you can dilute your shampoo with eucalyptus or lavender oil. It is recommended to apply tea tree oil to the temples and back of the head. The strong aromatic smell can repel parasites.

If a lice infestation does occur, no matter how unpleasant it may be, it is better to consult a specialist. The doctor will prescribe effective treatment, taking into account the age and individual characteristics of the patient.

Prevention of head lice

Pediculosis is a very unpleasant disease. No one would be happy with such a situation when you are talking with a person and catch yourself in surprise and gaze at the hair on which lice are walking. For this reason, precautions must be taken. The most important thing in preventing head lice is maintaining personal hygiene; bedding and underwear should be clean, since lice do not like cleanliness. It is necessary to iron clothes thoroughly at the seams, since this is where lice lay their eggs. Don't give your comb to anyone.

It turns out that parasites really don’t like the smell of lavender and tea tree. So if you apply this liquid to the back of your head and behind your ears, it will help you avoid getting lice. If you still have lice, you need to disinfect towels, hats, bed linen, clothes, soft toys, and then do not use them for two weeks. Without a person, the louse will live for another week, but if there were eggs, the lice will come out in a week, so two weeks is enough to be sure that the lice have died, since the parasites cannot live without feeding on human blood. In order to verify the presence or absence of lice, you can comb your head with a special comb over a light surface, after which everything will become clear.

Author of the article:

Mochalov Pavel Alexandrovich |
Doctor of Medical Sciences therapist Education: Moscow Medical Institute named after. I. M. Sechenov, specialty - “General Medicine” in 1991, in 1993 “Occupational diseases”, in 1996 “Therapy”. Our authors

The main method of infection with lice

The only way is contact-household. That is, infection occurs through close contact - touching hair - between a healthy and an infected person. An adult louse is a small insect that can travel up to 40 cm in just 1 minute. This is enough to almost instantly move from one person to another and hide in the thick of hair.

Lice do not live long in the environment - up to 2 days. That is, they can wait for a new owner on someone else’s comb, headdress, or bed linen. This is precisely the reason for the strict hygiene requirements and sanitary standards: each person must use their own hygiene items and sleep in a clean bed

As a rule, children become infected with pediculosis. This is due to the fact that there is still no distance between them, inherent in adults, they participate in all kinds of games and activities, touch voices and hug, and can exchange personal things. However, after this, any adult who comes into contact with the child can become infected with lice. Especially if the parasites have not yet been discovered, and close hugs and sleeping together are common in the family.

Children aged 3 to 14 years are most susceptible to infection, that is, from the age of kindergarten to adolescence, when a distance is formed. Let us emphasize: anyone can become infected with pediculosis, regardless of social status, lifestyle and income. To do this, it is enough to regularly be in society and contact with other people.

How to diagnose the disease? Symptoms and causes

Being clean and tidy does not mean that you or your child will never get lice. The first symptom that people notice is severe itching of the scalp . Itching occurs when lice bite; it is with the help of a powerful oral apparatus that arthropods obtain food for themselves. When the skin is bitten, a special secretion occurs from the salivary glands, which prevents normal blood clotting.

The second symptom is papules and red spots that remain at the bite sites. In the future, an infectious agent may join, which contributes to the development of a pustular rash on the scalp and neck.

Reference! Lice are wingless arthropods that cannot jump at all. However, their speed of movement can only be compared to that of a cheetah. Given their tiny size (3 – 5 mm), their speed is 10 centimeters per minute.

And the third, but not least important, symptom is the detection of arthropods on the head with the naked eye . Small six-legged parasites, with a body length of no more than four millimeters. The brown body may be invisible among the hair, but after drinking blood, a louse cannot run by unnoticed. It is also important to notice small white lumps located mainly at the root of the hair - these are nits. A sexually mature female is capable of laying about 300 nits (eggs) in a month, which are tightly attached to the hair structure using an adhesive substance that is released at the moment of “birth.” Most often, nits are located behind the ears or on the back of the head.

Reference! Lice can only have a higher speed of movement than their speed of reproduction.

The main causes of head lice include:

direct contact with an infected person (it is impossible to become infected from an animal, since the parasite is purely human);
staying in public places for a long time (baths, saunas, hairdressers, kindergartens and schools, trains, hospitals and others);
using other people's personal hygiene items (towels, combs).

1. Pediculosis

1.1 Etiology of pediculosis

Pediculosis (Lice) is a parasitic skin disease caused by lice. Pediculosis often develops under unfavorable hygienic conditions, uncleanliness, and in places where large numbers of people live densely.

Lice (Anoplura) are insects that feed on blood and spend their entire lives on the human body. There are:

Head lice;
Body lice;
Pubic lice.

Head lice (Pediculus capitis) parasitize the scalp and lay grayish-white eggs (nits), which are tightly attached to the hair with a chitinous substance.

Body lice (Pediculus vestimenti) settle in bed and underwear, underwear and outerwear, from where they get on the skin.

Pubic lice (Pediculus pubis), or lice, unlike head and body lice, are held on the hair by only three legs of one half of the body and move along the hair in the same way. They live on the hair of the pubic region, lower abdomen, thighs, armpits, chest, perineum and anus, since in these areas there are a large number of apocrine sweat glands, to which the sense of smell of pubic lice is specifically oriented. Nits may also be present on the hair of adult individuals at the same time. Rarely affecting children, pubic lice settle in the eyebrows, eyelashes and scalp.

Getting onto the scalp and clinging to the hair with the help of mites located on the legs, the louse thrusts its mouthparts into the skin and sucks blood from the capillaries. Along with the bite, under the influence of skin irritation with the secretion of the salivary glands, itchy spots and nodules appear (characteristic of head and body lice). As itching increases, scratching appears, as a result of which inflammation intensifies and spreads, erosions, crusts, peeling are formed, and then vesicles, weeping - an eczematous process develops, which can be complicated by pyoderma. The appearance of maculae coeruleae in pediculosis pubis is associated either with the appearance of small hemorrhages when lice suck blood, or with the deposition of secretion from the salivary glands of lice.

1.2 Pediculosis clinic

The incubation period from the moment of infection to the onset of symptoms can last up to 30 days or more.

Head lice are more common in girls and women. The most common localization of lice and nits is the temporal and occipital regions. In advanced cases, insects appear on the eyebrows, eyelashes, and in men - in the beard and mustache. Severe itching, scratching, and diffuse skin irritation are noted. Eczematization may occur - the appearance of blisters and weeping. The thick, abundant exudate that is released shrinks into crusts, sticking the hair together into thick tufts, up to the formation of felt-like cocoons. Patients have an unpleasant odor. The disease is often complicated by pyoderma, which can spread to the ears, neck, forehead, eyebrows; at the same time, regional lymph nodes become inflamed and enlarged.
Body lice most often affects adults, less often children.
Lice parasitize in places where the folds and seams of dresses and clothing come into contact with the body (armpits, inguinal-femoral folds, lower back, abdomen, upper back). The disease is accompanied by itching and scratching. Complications associated with pustular flora (folliculitis, boils, ecthyma) are possible. With a long course of the disease, areas of thickening of the skin with linear scratching and peeling develop in the affected areas, and the skin acquires a dirty gray, grayish-brown tint. After recovery, hyperpigmented spots remain.
Pediculosis pubis affects mainly adults through sexual intercourse, less often through underwear or bed linen. This disease is more common in women aged 15-19 years. After 20 years, its frequency levels off in men and women. Pediculosis pubis is accompanied by less severe itching than other forms of pediculosis, so scratching with its usual consequences (secondary infection, eczematization) is less common. The process is usually limited to the pubis, but the thighs and trunk may be involved, especially in people with highly developed hair. When eyelashes are damaged, blepharitis develops. Pediculosis pubis is characterized by the appearance of bluish or gray spots, up to 1 cm in diameter, which quickly disappear. They are especially pronounced on the abdomen, chest, side surface of the torso and thighs.

1.3 Diagnosis of pediculosis

If any itchy rash is detected on the scalp, head lice should be ruled out. All persons seeking medical care and undergoing routine medical examinations are subject to examination for pediculosis.

The diagnosis of pediculosis is made on the basis of the clinical picture - a visual examination and the results of a parasitological study.

By visual inspection with the naked eye or with a magnifying glass, adult lice can be seen. Insects are better distinguishable after they have drunk blood. With lice pubis, lice appear as gray-brown dots located at the root of the hair. Lice are absolutely motionless, but when you try to tear them off, they show signs of life and cling even more actively to the hair, from which they tear themselves off only with great difficulty. To separate a louse, you need to pull it with tweezers along the entire hair. More often, nits are found that are firmly attached to the hair. Nits are sometimes confused with kinks or knots in the hair, as well as flakes in seborrheic dermatitis and dandruff. To confirm the diagnosis, microscopic examination of the hair is necessary.

to differentiate pediculosis from:

Pyoderma;
Microbial eczema;
Neurodermatitis;
Seborrheic dermatitis;
Psoriasis;
Contact dermatitis.

2. Measures to combat head lice. Treatment and prevention of pediculosis

2.1 Measures to combat head lice

If you suspect body lice, you should contact a medical institution (clinic, skin and venereal disease dispensary), whose medical worker will submit an application to the Disinfection Station of the administrative district to carry out the treatment of things and apartments, or you yourself should contact the Disinfection Station at your place of residence.

In case of head lice, treatment can be carried out on your own, for which you need to buy an anti-pediculosis agent at a pharmacy or specialized store and treat the head strictly according to the instructions. After processing and washing your hair, for better removal (peel-off) of nits, you should moisten your hair with 9% table vinegar diluted in half with water and comb it thoroughly with a fine comb. If necessary, the treatment is repeated every 7 days until insects and nits are completely destroyed.

In the presence of skin diseases, allergies and in children under 5 years of age, when the use of anti-pediculosis drugs is not advisable, mechanical combing of lice and nits is carried out with a fine comb. For children, a haircut is possible.

Simultaneously with the treatment for pediculosis, underwear and bed linen are changed, followed by washing, linen and outerwear are ironed with steaming.

If you suspect pubic pediculosis, you should contact the skin and venereal disease clinic at your place of residence to treat and treat the consequences.

The first option is self-processing.

Buy any product for treating pediculosis (lice) at the pharmacy.

Treat the child’s scalp with the product strictly in accordance with the attached instructions.

Wash your baby using baby soap or shampoo. For boys, a haircut is possible.

Remove dead insects and nits mechanically (pick with your hands or comb out with a fine-toothed comb). To remove nits, you need to wet strands of hair in a solution prepared from equal amounts of water and 9% table vinegar. Rinse your hair with warm water.

Put on clean underwear and clothes for your child.

Wash bedding and baby's clothes separately from other things, iron them using steam.

Inspect and, if necessary, treat all family members. Don't forget about yourself.

Report the situation to the doctor (nurse) of the children's institution that your child visits, so that a set of anti-pediculosis measures can be carried out.

Repeat examinations of the child and all family members after 7, 14, 21 days and, if necessary, carry out repeated treatments until insects and nits are completely eradicated.

The second option is processing in a sanitary checkpoint.

If you cannot carry out the treatment yourself or would like to receive professional help, then contact any sanitary checkpoint of the city disinfection center, and they will definitely help you. Processing in sanitary checkpoints is carried out free of charge.

In advance, by phone, specify the route to the sanitary checkpoint and the processing time convenient for you.

The third option is an independent method of machining.

It is carried out in cases where your child has skin or allergic diseases and if the child is under 5 years of age.

Sequencing:

Comb out live insects with a fine-toothed comb, preferably in the bathroom, and rinse with hot water.
Treat strands of hair carefully, without touching the child’s scalp, with 9% table vinegar diluted in half with water and remove nits from the hair with your hands or a comb. You can put cotton wool soaked in the same solution on the comb to improve the peeling off of nits.
Wash the child's head and body with baby soap or shampoo.4. Wash your child's underwear, bed linen and things separately from other things, iron with a steam iron.
Inspect and if insects are identified, treat all family members. To treat adult family members, use anti-pediculosis agents, which can be purchased at the pharmacy chain.
Repeat examinations of the child and all family members after 7, 14, 21 days and carry out repeated treatments if necessary. If insects and nits are detected, carry out repeated treatments until they are completely exterminated.

2.2 Treatment of lice

To treat head lice, a comprehensive approach is required that will destroy both nits (eggs) and adult lice. Control methods differ for different types of lice.

1. Pubic lice:

To get rid of pubic lice, you can use the following method:

Shave all hair where possible (on the pubis, armpits), to avoid infection of the bite site, disinfect with 10% white mercury ointment;
Remove parasites from eyelashes and eyebrows using your nails.

2. Body lice:

Linen and clothing should be boiled or treated with steam, because... A simple low-temperature wash may not be enough. After high-temperature treatment, you should hang the laundry for a week, preferably in the sun in a ventilated place.

Another method involves treatment with an insecticidal preparation, followed by washing and airing in the sun for a week.

Disinfection of clothes and linen in a steam-formalin chamber is considered the most effective. This method is more effective because... combines high temperature and chemical processing.

When processing clothing, be aware that nits can be deposited in thick folds and seams of clothing, where they can withstand insufficient heat treatment.

Considering the special epidemiological significance of body lice and the possibility of fixing nits not only on the villi of clothing, but also on the vellus hairs of the human skin, with a widespread process, it is necessary to resolve the issue not only of disinsection of clothing, but also of treating the patient with one of the pediculocidal drugs.

3. Head Lice:

The best way: comb out adult lice, then use a hot hairdryer for 3-4 days as itching appears. until you have dried all the newly hatched ones.
Pharmacies now sell a wide range of anti-pediculosis products - shampoos, ointments, aerosols. The most well-known pediculocides (drugs that kill lice and their nits):

Hellebore water;
Lauri;
Medifox;
Pair plus;
Nittifor;
Nix;
Veda-2;
Serummeric ointment;
20% water-soap suspension of benzyl benzoate (a drug for the treatment of scabies, previously also used against lice, but now this is not recommended);
5% boric ointment;
Butadione (ointment for healing wounds from bites).

Of the listed drugs, some do not have an ovicidal (nit-killing) effect. Even in the presence of an ovocidal effect, some nits, as a rule, survive, so it is important to remove them mechanically. Studies in Western Europe, Canada and the USA, Israel, Argentina, and Russia have found that head lice become resistant to most anti-pediculosis drugs, which complicates treatment with drugs such as permethrin and phenothrin. Therefore, natural remedies for lice and nits have now appeared all over the world. In Russia, this product is “ROSH TOV Double Impact” (contains extracts of plants and oils that are not pesticides and are approved for use in cosmetics. Natural preparations do not act like chemical ones. The respiratory system of lice consists of respiratory tubes or tracheas, branching along throughout the body and communicating with the spiracles located on the sides of the abdomen and chest. Molecules of essential oils penetrate the respiratory system and clog the respiratory openings of lice. Lice die from suffocation and dehydration. Due to the physical mechanism of action, as well as the fact that polysaccharides in the oils and extracts are also included in the structure of insects, making it difficult for lice to develop resistance to the ingredients of such drugs) When using any anti-lice products, you should follow the instructions as closely as possible, since these drugs are very toxic. Many of them are contraindicated for pregnant and lactating women and small children.

There are also numerous folk recipes for getting rid of lice. They are usually less effective than pharmaceutical products and are not necessarily less toxic. You should not use them just because you are ashamed to buy lice products at the pharmacy. Here are some of them:

50% sunflower oil + 50% kerosene;
50% laundry soap + 50% kerosene, dilute the resulting concentrated solution with water before applying to hair 1: 10 (100 ml of solution per 1 liter of water);
Cranberry juice (effective against nits, since its acidic environment dissolves the outer shell of the egg);
Vinegar (9% table vinegar is diluted with water twice to obtain an acid concentration of 4.5%);
Dust soap;
Tar soap (works due to the high concentration of alkali);
Dichlorvos;
Essential oils (tea tree, lavender) - apply a few drops to the hair not for treatment, but to prevent lice infestation, for example, for uninfected family members.

You should remember the disadvantages of folk remedies:

Kerosene is flammable, does not wash off well, damages hair (it becomes sticky and dirty in appearance), and makes combing difficult;
Vinegar dries out hair, and a concentrated solution can cause severe burns;
Dichlorvos and similar products are VERY TOXIC. You can get poisoned.

In addition, the use of such products is associated with inconvenience: you need to put a plastic bag on your hair, wrap your head in a towel and keep it like that for a long time.

There is another fairly radical way to kill head lice - dyeing your hair with synthetic dye. Paints contain many caustic chemicals that kill lice and nits.

After using any product, be sure to comb your head with a special fine-toothed comb and remove each egg by hand. This will take several days, since removing nits is not easy. To achieve maximum efficiency, you should comb your hair with a comb with a very small tooth spacing - for example, a special fine-grained AntiV comb. Conventional combs do not remove nits well; when using them, you must additionally remove nits with your fingers. If your hair is long, you will have to cut it at least to your shoulders to make it easier to comb out dead insects and eggs. You can make combing easier by applying balm, fish oil, oil to your hair, giving it a “sliding effect.” Olive oil gets rid of parasites, and geranium oil also has an anti-inflammatory effect and heals wounds.

When fighting head lice, it is extremely important to neutralize (boil, iron) the personal linen of an infected person (pillows, towels, pillowcases, sheets, etc.). You should also examine other family members (classmates, children in the same kindergarten group, etc.) for infection.

2.3 Prevention of head lice

Preventing head lice is quite easy; all you need to do is follow a number of fairly simple rules:

Regular body washing (at least 2 times a week);
Change of underwear and bed linen;
Washing bed linen at high temperature;
Ironing clothes with a hot iron, especially seams where lice usually lay eggs;
Preventing the transfer of personal comb to others;
Applying tea tree and lavender liquid to the back of the head and behind the ears to prevent lice;
Boiling used items (mainly towels, hats, bed linen, clothes with hoods and collars, soft toys) in order to prevent re-infection with lice;
To check for lice, comb your head over a light-colored cloth.

Conclusion

Pediculosis, like many other diseases, is much easier to prevent than to cure. To do this, you just need to follow the rules of personal and social hygiene. Since one of the risk groups, one might say the “main” risk group, are children, it is imperative to teach them the rules of hygiene. We all need to remember this rule in order to avoid infection not only with head lice, but also with other diseases.

Why is lice dangerous?

One of the most dangerous consequences of lice is considered to be typhus, which can be contracted when bitten by a louse. During the Second World War, this infection affected more people than the night bombing of populated areas. The rapid spread of lice contributes to mass infection.

Children are the most cruel people on the planet. If a child with lice appears in a school group, there is a high probability that his peers will not allow him to forget about it. Psychological trauma is guaranteed. To prevent such a situation, it is necessary to explain to all children that no one is immune from this disease.

Do not forget about infectious lesions of the scalp. The wounds left after a louse bite may be susceptible to infection by the normal microflora of the skin (staphylococci and streptococci, which are not dangerous to a healthy body).