Head Lice - Check Yourself Daily
The head louse is a bug without wings which dwells in people's hair and lives only on our blood. They have infested us for many centuries. The majority of us have personally known how annoying it is to have them on our heads for some period of time, usually in our youth since that is the time when one is most likely to be stricken. Each year, 6,000,000 to 12,000,000 people in the United States must cope with the problem of head lice or body lice.
Head lice is fairly simple to diagnosis. When examining the head you will be looking for evidence of bites or white eggs on the hair shaft. You may also come the suspected person's hair and then closely look at the comb. If the person is infected there will be lice visible on the comb.
As parents, the best way to prevent head lice on our children is to check them regularly. Most schools in the United States have a no nit policy which means that children with head lice are dismissed from class until the problem is dealt with and all lice have been removed.
This can prevent children from passing them on, but sometimes lice are not discovered from a long time, and the child could have passed them on, so it's important to check your own child regularly, especially if they are between the ages of four and twelve.
Keeping your child's hair short will help him avoid picking up nits. If he does become infected, however, you must wash all bedding and towels and treat his head at least once to get rid of the problem. Do not send your child to school while he has an active infestation, because head lice pass from child to child very quickly. The most obvious clue that a child has head lice is if you see him continually scratching or digging at his head and scalp.
There are numerous different treatments available for a child infested with lice. There are natural products, silicone based lotions, and hot hair treatments that will put an end to the problem. But, no matter what treatment you choose, remember that none of the treatments are 100 percent effective. It is very important to follow up on the treatment to prevent a reinfestation.
Between six and twelve million people in the U.S. alone struggle with infestations of head lice and body lice each year. Lice date back to ancient times, and they have lived as parasites on our bodies and scalps ever since. An adult louse has no wings, so when he finds a head to live on, he's there to stay. His only food is human blood. Living on the scalp means he always has a ready food source. It's a rare person who has never had to deal with lice with children being the most susceptible to infestations.
Published February 16th, 2008