How to protect yourself from lice

Preventing lice and nits at home

Lice spread mainly in unsanitary conditions among large crowds of people. Today, cases of lice are rare, but only in certain countries, which cannot be said about underdeveloped countries, where lice and nits are a normal occurrence. In developed countries, including Russia, lice also occurs among people. Parasites are mainly common in children's educational institutions (schools and kindergartens), as well as among disadvantaged families and homeless people.

Prevention against lice is the best option to prevent the spread of lice and serious forms of its complications. What is the prevention of lice and nits at home, what basic measures exist, as well as folk methods of protection against lice.

Causes and symptoms of pediculosis

The head louse is a blood-sucking parasite that lives primarily on the scalp. Lice are divided into three types: head, body and pubic. The head louse is predominantly inhabited by head louse. When a louse bites a person, the bite produces saliva, which provokes symptoms of itching and skin irritation. If you constantly scratch your skin, wounds and inflammation will appear on it. Pediculosis most often occurs in children aged three years and older. This is due to the fact that children come into contact with each other, thereby infecting each other with lice. One of the fundamental causes of lice is non-compliance with personal hygiene rules. It is enough for one child to attend a class in a kindergarten or school, and the next day all his peers will be infected.

Lice do not appear immediately, but after some time, when the parasites begin to multiply, laying nits. It is through the presence of nits that the presence of lice in a person is diagnosed. After all, parasitic individuals are practically invisible to the human eye, and they can only be detected under a microscope. Parents may not suspect for a long time that their child has become infected with lice. If a child is infected, then the whole family is at risk. The main methods of transmission of lice are:

1. In close contact with a person infected with lice.
2. Through the use of personal hygiene products: hairpins, combs, bows and hats.
3. When visiting institutions such as swimming pools and gyms.
4. In children's camps, boarding schools and other institutions where sanitary conditions are not met.

It is important to know! The main symptom of lice is severe itching of the scalp, which is a constant concern.

If you examine the head, you can find dry crusts of the epidermis, wounds with inflammation and even nits. Accumulations of nits have the form of white capsules, but their appearance can be detected no earlier than 2-3 weeks after infection with lice. If an adult lands on the head of a healthy person, then it lays the first nit no earlier than 2-3 days later. Over the course of 7-10 days, a young individual appears. Immediately after birth, the young larva is ready for active feeding. At the first signs of lice in a child or adult, you should immediately consult a doctor and begin appropriate treatment.

Treatment and prevention of pediculosis in children

Head lice spreads rapidly among children aged 4-11 years. The disease is transmitted in children's groups from child to child through close contact, for example, during selfie photography, through personal belongings during games and fights. If you do not comb out weekly and do not take other preventative measures, then lice can only be noticed after a month has passed after infection.

As a rule, parents treat their child with well-known folk remedies or medicinal insecticidal preparations, reapplying them at intervals of a week. If a child is less than 3 years old, parents seek advice and a prescription from a pediatrician, who, assessing the state of his health, prescribes certain medications. When children of preschool and school age become ill with head lice, the institution where they became infected is subjected to sanitization and a 2-week quarantine is declared; in case of illness at home or on vacation, the doctor is obliged to notify the educational institution and prescribe to parents a number of measures for independent prevention and treatment of lice, and After completing these measures, issue a certificate.

Prevention and treatment of head lice in children includes traditional hygiene measures, the use of special shampoos, detecting scratching, regular changes of underwear and bed linen, application of repellent essential oils to the skin, after recovery, disinfestation of bedding, premises, washing and heat treatment of clothing.

Prevention measures against lice

Prevention of lice in children and adults is divided into two types: passive measures and active ones. The fundamental preventive measures are the following:

As much as possible, avoid communication and close contact with people who live in unsanitary conditions. In addition, these may not necessarily be people living in unsanitary conditions, so at the first sign of head lice in a person, it is important to avoid contact with him.
Avoid casual sex with a person who has signs of the disease. You can get infected from such a person not only with head lice, but also with pubic lice.

Use exclusively personal hygiene products. This is not only a toothbrush and a towel, but also a comb, hairpin, and hat.
Wash clothes and bedding regularly, as clothes can be infested with body lice. Another type of blood-sucking insects that feed on human blood, biting him anywhere on the body.
Periodically check for nits on your hair. It is especially important to do this procedure in children. The sooner you detect the presence of lice in a child, the more effectively you can get rid of them.
To reduce the likelihood of infection by parasites, children can use special repellents that have virtually no odor.
Regularly use special shampoos to prevent lice.

Prevention of lice and nits at home is especially difficult for children, which is due to the inability to explain to the child why they should not wear other people’s things. Under the age of 15, it is necessary to take special care to ensure that the child does not get lice. This is quite difficult to do, because in most cases, almost every third mother is faced with the problem of lice in her child.

It is important to know! Children do not become infected with pubic lice, but adults can pick up parasites in places such as baths, saunas, swimming pools, etc. This is due to the fact that parasites have the ability to survive for a long time in water.

A pubic louse can grow on the pubic area, on the eyelashes, in the armpits, while the head louse only settles on the head

You can even pick up parasites in hotels and hostels, where you can become infected not only with body and pubic lice, but also with head lice if you have to spend the night with careless neighbors. If, despite everything, you still have to deal with people who have signs of lice, then you can protect yourself by observing the following preventive measures:

Initially, it is important to use medicated shampoo for prevention, which can be used no more than 1-2 times a week. Regular use of shampoos can increase the effectiveness of prevention up to 100%.
Use hellebore water or lavender tincture. Hellebore water is famous for its healing effect against lice and nits. If you drip it periodically on your head and behind your ears, then the likelihood that parasites will settle in your hair is reduced to a minimum.
Periodically use a comb with fine partings, which serves as the main means for combing out nits and lice. In this mechanical way, you can remove parasites that have not had time to reproduce.

A good preventative way to prevent the appearance of lice and nits is to periodically shave your hair. On the head, where there is no hair, parasites do not live, so they die out. This preventive measure is the best way to prevent the proliferation of lice and nits on the head.

Tips for proper prevention of head lice:

Causes and sources of infection

IMPORTANT! There is only one reason for the appearance of lice - infection from another person. Lice can only crawl, they do not jump or fly. Therefore, to become infected with them, direct contact with the patient is necessary.

Main sources of infection:

bodily contact with an infected person (this is why it often occurs in children during play);
transfer of adults through linen, comb caps, towels;
swimming pools;
a wardrobe where things of different people are stored;
open reservoirs.

REFERENCE! It is important to remember that lice often spread in unfavorable conditions where hygiene and sanitation are poor. In addition, infection with pediculosis can be affected by promiscuity, being in a very close group of people, as well as the low cultural level of people.

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Preventive medications

There are a number of medications that are intended directly for the prevention of head lice. Such medications are available in the form of shampoos, lotions and sprays. Basically, such products contain insecticides that have a detrimental effect on insects. Insecticides are quite toxic, so their use on children is dangerous.

Interesting to know! Preparations that have non-toxic properties are less effective than products containing insecticides.

For children, it is recommended to use drugs without dangerous insecticides, which have no contraindications and do not affect the child’s health. Insecticidal agents intended for the treatment and prevention of pediculosis are:

Shampoo “Parasidosis”. Suitable for adults and children over 5 years old. The drug is not very convenient to use, but it is popular among both adults and children.

Shampoo “Pedilin”. Allowed for use by children over 2 years of age. The product has side effects and can cause allergies. Should be used with caution, especially for children.

Shampoos for prevention are used 1-2 times a week. If shampoos are toxic, then sprays are absolutely safe, despite their low efficiency rates.

Review of the best shampoos for children against lice and nits

Effective remedies for getting rid of lice in hair

Treatment of lice is a therapy in the form of the use of local remedies to get rid of parasites. These drugs can be presented in different dosage forms:

Shampoos - used instead of regular hair shampoos, applied to damp hair for 15-45 minutes, then rinsed off. In particular, they come complete with a comb for combing out nits (lice larvae).
Lotions, skin solutions - contain alcohol-containing components and water, do not stain the hair and are easily washed off, and can dry out the skin a little.
Sprays are modern, convenient and easy to use; they can be applied to dry, clean hair, wrap the hair in a headscarf or disposable cap, hold for about 30 minutes, then rinse, wash hair with shampoo and comb out dead lice and nits.
Aerosols are an emulsion or suspension, as a result of which they foam well and are evenly distributed on the scalp, after which it is necessary to wash and comb the hair.

Note!

Regardless of the choice of anti-pediculosis agents, a mandatory procedure for getting rid of lice and their larvae is combing the hair with a special comb to remove nits; if this action is ignored, relapses of lice may occur.

Traditional methods of prevention

In addition to modern effective means of preventing lice, there are also old folk methods. They are simple, affordable and no less effective than the above. Let’s find out in more detail what a folk remedy for lice prevention is.

Braiding hair and wearing hats. You can protect your hair from lice by braiding hair or wearing headwear in the form of scarves, scarves or special hats. This is what kindergarten teachers do today, which allows them to protect themselves from lice infection.

Repellent folk remedies. These include the following products: tea tree oil, hellebore water, tansy, and lavender. You can also use onion and garlic juice, but do not forget about the persistent smell of these vegetables on your hair.

The use of special shampoos. These are exclusively folk-made shampoos based on tar soap or birch tar. Tar soap is not able to destroy parasites, but preventing them from appearing on the head is always helpful.

Using an iron. To protect yourself from lice, you need to iron your bed linen with a hot iron after washing.

By choosing any of the above methods, you can avoid the appearance of head lice and the development of other serious complications.

Everything you didn’t know about head lice (video):

Frequently asked questions about head lice

Where do lice in hair come from?

Lice can crawl from a sick person to a healthy person through close contact, through clothing, personal hygiene items (towel, comb). They can also wait for you on bed linen, sofas, and pillows for 2-3 days.

How dangerous are lice to health?

Lice are parasites that feed on human blood; when they bite, they produce an enzyme that causes severe itching. In this case, the person begins to scratch the bite sites and damage the skin, which can lead to infection and skin diseases (dermatitis, eczema). Also, some lice are carriers of dangerous infectious diseases (typhus, Volyn fever).

What oil are lice afraid of?

Lice are repelled by the specific smell of essential oils, such as the aroma of tea tree, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, geranium, which are also used to prevent the occurrence of lice. They are effective and safe means.

How quickly do head lice multiply?

An adult female lives for about one month and lays five eggs per day. The eggs, or nits, are fixed at the base of the hair and mature within 7-10 days. After the young louse comes out of the egg, it, empty, is left hanging by a thread. It takes about 6-10 days for a young individual to reach puberty.

Can lice appear due to nervous conditions?

The idea that eggs or lice themselves are initially already in a passive state on our scalp and can be activated by nervous excitement is just a myth. There is no scientific evidence for this.

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Features of pediculosis prevention

To reduce the number of outbreaks of head lice among children in kindergartens, it is necessary to privately carry out appropriate preventive measures. These measures include:

conduct an examination of all children before they enter the institution;
check children every week for lice;
If the presence of parasites is detected, the child and all peers should undergo treatment.

If the incidence increases, the following measures must be taken:

isolate sick children;
find the child who became the source of infection;
Carry out periodic examination of all children for signs of head lice;
carry out wet cleaning and disinfection of the kindergarten;
consult with parents about preventing lice at home;
You can admit a child to kindergarten only after you have a certificate of recovery.

Interesting to know! It is in kindergartens that outbreaks of pediculosis most often occur, both in private and in mass manifestations.

Most often, it is children who “bring” lice and nits home from kindergartens, schools, as well as from summer camps and various clubs.