What are lice called? Head lice: how they are transmitted, symptoms, treatment. Nerve lice: myth or reality
Who are lice?
The suborder of lice is distributed throughout the world: they live wherever their victims are.
The development of lice goes through three stages:
- egg;
- larva;
- imago (adult).
Two species annoy humans: Pediculus humanus and Phthirus pubis ( and ). The remaining representatives of the squad are also divided according to the prey on which they can subsist. For example, there are rat and pig lice. In total there are about 500 species.
Sometimes you can find information that a person is annoyed by 3 types: head, clothes (underwear) and pubic. But from a biological point of view, this is misleading because the first two are varieties of Pediculus humanus with slight morphological differences.
Description of adults
The insect's mouthparts meet the needs of its lifestyle: it is of the piercing-sucking type. The basis is a tube, on outer end which has hooks that cling to the victim’s skin for stability and tight contact. It contains two sharp stilettos in the form of needles. When the insect is not feeding, it retracts the proboscis into the head capsule. Nature also took care of interesting function the anterior section of the louse's esophagus: when feeding, it contracts and expands, acting as a pump. Thanks to this, the insect sucks in blood.
Insects do not have visual organs, although in some species they are replaced by pigment spots. Lice do not need eyes: they navigate in space with the help of short antennae. They capture odors, performing an olfactory function.
Lifestyle
The louse spends almost its entire life on the body of one owner, only in emergency cases looking for a new victim. The average lifespan of lice is 38 days. The insect is very sensitive to conditions environment:
You should also pay attention to the question that interests many, how long lice live outside humans. Having lost its food source, the insect soon dies: this usually takes 2 days, although the most tenacious individuals can survive up to 10 days.
On the human body, lice choose the warmest and most secluded places. The linen variety is usually hidden in the neck or armpits, and the head variety is usually hidden in the back of the head and behind the ears.
They live exclusively on the scalp and never move to other parts of the body. This feature is associated with the structure of its legs. They are suitable for moving only through hair with round. If you look at the cut of the hair growing on the body, it will be triangular.
The life cycle of a louse, despite its short duration, is quite interesting. Insects are characterized by sexual reproduction, which occurs in three stages:
Procreation of the species requires the females to actively feed on blood. Reproduction is not possible if the ambient temperature is less than 21 °C and higher than 37 °C. The development period of the embryos inside the eggs also depends on this indicator. If it is about 36 °C, then the larvae will be born in 4–8 days. When temperatures remain around 23°C, the development process can take up to 16 days. When the temperature drops to 22 °C and increases to 40 °C, the larvae do not hatch from the eggs.
The vitality of the lice population is also explained by the number of eggs the louse lays: from several dozen to several hundred in prolific species.
Nutrition
Lice are insects with an intensive feeding regime. In 24 hours they “feed” more than 10 times, and for each “meal” the individual absorbs approximately 0.5 ml of blood. The process of blood sucking, made possible by the special structure of the oral apparatus, takes place in several stages:
- From the proboscis, located at the end of the head of the louse, two sharp stilettos appear in the form of needles, which pierce upper layer skin. Such knives are modified parts of the lower lip and upper jaw.
- From the fold that surrounds the proboscis tube, when it is everted, hook-like processes appear. With their help, the insect's mouthparts tightly adhere to the skin of the victim.
- Through the hole made, the louse injects saliva into the skin, which is produced in abundance by the glands. It contains coagulants, when administered, the blood stops clotting and, therefore, the wound does not heal.
- By alternating contraction and expansion of the esophageal tube, blood is drawn from the capillaries into the abdomen of the insect.
The only substance suitable for feeding lice is the blood of warm-blooded animals. Their oral apparatus cannot swallow any other organic parts of the body - for example, hair or dead skin flakes. But the closest relatives of lice are capable of this: lice eaters and lice eaters, which sometimes causes confusion.
Nits and nymphs
Nits are lice eggs from which the next stage insect development - nymph. They have an oval shape. Embryos are reliably protected from unfavorable conditions environment with a dense shell having a yellowish tint.
For development to proceed successfully, there must be suitable temperature and humidity, otherwise the embryos in the eggs die. On the human body, conditions are almost ideal, while outside it the nits die. The eggs are securely attached to the hairs and fibers of clothing using an adhesive substance secreted in special glands in the female during egg laying.
Harm to humans
Dealing with lice is not so easy: they attach very tightly to the hair in their habitat, as well as to the fabric of clothing. Therefore, simply shaking and washing your hair will not be enough.
Therefore, if a person has lice, it is necessary to immediately begin their destruction. The danger of infection also lies in the fact that insects are easily transmitted to others through personal contact and sharing household items.
- relapsing fever;
- Volyn fever;
- rat typhus;
- relapsing fever.
All these diseases are dangerous for the human body. They cause damage to the cardiovascular and nervous system, as well as other organs. Previously, infection with typhus meant a high probability of death, but with the use of antibiotics, the chances of a favorable outcome increase many times over.
History of neighborhood with lice
Ways to deal with lice
Hygiene is key. You should try not to use other people's towels, combs and other personal items.
To this day, folk remedies are widely used. They involve the use of herbal ingredients (for example, black cumin) and substances that have an aggressive effect on insects: for example, vinegar and kerosene. But the easiest and fastest “folk” way to get rid of lice is to dye your hair with dye containing hydrogen peroxide, covering it with applied chemical composition plastic bag.
There is a popular opinion that pediculosis (a disease caused by head louse) is an exclusively childhood disease associated with the fact that lice allegedly prefer children's skin and blood. This opinion is incorrect - neither children nor adults are immune from the appearance of head lice. And the characteristics of the scalp or hair have nothing to do with it. Lice, no matter what species they belong to, feed on human blood, and the age of the “victim” does not matter to them at all. In the same way, it is incorrect to say that these insects settle only on unkempt and dirty hair. What are the symptoms of head lice? Which treatment is most effective? What drugs to use for elimination uninvited guests?
Types of lice
The head louse is not the only type of lice. As a result of evolution, body lice (or linen lice) and pubic lice (plice lice) appeared. Peculiarity body lice is that this insect reproduces and lays eggs - nits - only on a person’s clothing or bedding, moving onto the host’s body only to feed. The legs of this insect are not intended to live on hair; it lacks the agility that is inherent in its cephalic counterparts. Getting rid of a linen louse is quite simple - wash clothes and underwear with special means and then dry in the sun or frost. The pubic louse lives in the causative areas, less often on the facial hair of men, and even less often on the eyelashes.
Life cycle of a head louse
The entire life cycle of a head louse, from nits to adults, lasts up to thirty days. The egg matures in 5-7 days; it takes twice as long for the larva to develop into an adult. Then mating occurs, and the adult female lays new eggs, which she firmly attaches to the host’s hair using an adhesive substance. During her life, a female head louse lays up to 120 nits, 4–5 per day.
Duration life cycle head lice depends on temperature conditions, hair length and the presence of skin diseases. On short hair the louse cannot lay a large number of nits, so reproduction takes longer. The presence of dermatological diseases, accompanied by the formation of a crust on the scalp, also stops the reproduction process. And at temperatures below +10 degrees Celsius, head lice can survive without food for up to 10 days, whereas in optimal temperature conditions– 32 degrees, typical for the scalp and hair – the insect dies without food on the third or fourth day.
Head lice: signs and treatment
Important! Lice are carriers of diseases, including typhoid fever, which is rare in our time. Through pubic louse Some sexually transmitted diseases can also be transmitted. Contrary to popular belief, these insects do not carry AIDS.
If you notice these symptoms, you need to start treatment immediately. the main task– kill not only the insects themselves, but also the existing number of live nits. To do this, you need to treat your head and hair with a pediculicidal agent (such drugs are sold in pharmacies), then rinse and remove mechanically nits remaining on the hair. After a week, you need to repeat the procedure. Surviving nits may hatch into larvae, and control treatments will kill them before they grow and begin reproducing again.
Advice!In the case of lice, treatment is necessary not only for the person who has obvious symptoms, but also for his entire family. Otherwise, lice will simply wander from one family member to another, and infected people will “pass” them on to their friends.
Pediculosis and children
Most often, head lice occur in children during the period summer holidays– during recreation in camps, sanatoriums, villages and contact with other children. Treatment of head lice in boys is not particularly difficult for parents - just cut the hair short, thereby preventing the proliferation of lice. Girls most often value their hair, so the option for them is treatment with pharmaceutical drugs or folk remedies, as well as mechanical removal of nits.
Every parent needs to remember: childhood head lice is not a case that can or should be hidden. If the child attends childcare facility(kindergarten, school, creative club or sports section), it is necessary to notify the teacher, class teacher and other teacher about the child’s lice infestation. They, in turn, are obliged to inform the parents of the other children so that they take measures to prevent and treat lice in their children.
Naturally, it is impossible to insure a child against the appearance of head lice. However, it is necessary to warn him about the danger that other people's combs or hats may pose.
Pharmacy products for the treatment of pediculosis
As mentioned above, the treatment of lice consists of killing lice and nits, preventing them from further reproduction. For these purposes there are special drugs in the following forms:
- Shampoos;
- Cream;
- Lotions,
- Sprays.
The principle of operation of all these means is the same. They contain components that are safe for humans, but toxic to lice and nits. After treating your head (to enhance the effect, it is advisable to wear a plastic bag), after one and a half to two hours you need to wash off the product. The main thing is not to overdo it, so as not to harm your hair or scalp. As a rule, there are no living lice left after such a procedure. But a certain number of live nits may remain, so after 5–7 days it is necessary to carry out a control treatment.
Shampoos have the mildest effect of these products. In most cases, they do not irritate the skin and also have a beneficial effect on the hair structure. The main thing is to ensure that the foam does not get into the eyes or sensitive areas of the facial skin.
If the scalp is healthy and the person himself is not prone to allergic reactions, more practical means can be used - creams, lotions or sprays (the latter are not recommended for acute and chronic respiratory diseases). But no matter what pharmaceutical drug you choose, before using it you need to carefully read the instructions, and if in doubt, consult your doctor.
Important! Since pharmaceutical pediculicides contain toxic components, treatment with them is contraindicated in pregnant women. Expectant mothers are recommended to use a folk recipe for herbal decoction or a special comb for mechanical removal nits
Folk remedies
One of the long-standing and popular " grandma's recipes» removing lice - treat the head with a kerosene solution. True, the condition of the hair after such treatment leaves much to be desired, but the effect is worth it. In addition, in our time there are a lot of restorative shampoos and conditioners, and our ancestors did not spare hair according to the principle “new ones will grow.” Another effective remedy- a solution of table vinegar, which not only kills living insects, but also neutralizes the sticky substance that holds nits on the hair. Using kerosene or vinegar, you need to monitor the concentration so that you do not treat burns on the skin of the face and head instead of lice. Decoctions of tansy or wormwood are also widely known as an effective remedy for combating head lice.
Mechanical removal of lice and nits
Along with medications and folk remedies for the treatment of pediculosis, there are also mechanical methods. A few decades ago, mechanical removal of lice consisted of a healthy person manually killing insects and removing nits from the patient’s head. Today, humanity has invented a special comb. It is equipped with fine teeth, the structure and arrangement of which allows hair to pass through, but traps lice, their larvae and eggs, without damaging the scalp. Combing with this comb is safe and effective way fight against head lice. Using it in combination with pediculicidal drugs or folk recipes increases the effectiveness of the fight against parasites. This comb can also be used as independent remedy for treatment, but in this case the therapy may take a little longer.
During their lives, some people encounter such an unpleasant disease as lice. People can get lice at any age. Let's look at what lice are and how they threaten humans. And also how to successfully cure pediculosis.
- Head louse
- Cootie
- Pubic louse
What are head lice in humans? They multiply in the hair of the scalp. Adults live off the blood of the host. The epidermis on the head is thin; they pierce it with their proboscis and thus feed. When pierced, a small amount of a special substance is released that prevents blood from clotting.Human feels severe itching in the area of the bite, and a wound remains on the skin and irritation around.
A sign that should cause you concern is itching. Most often it is felt on the temples and the back of the head. There may be problems with appetite, and constant itching will interfere with sleep. The lice population is growing rapidly. After a short time, so many lice appear on the head that the discomfort from their bites becomes unbearable.
Where can a child or adult get lice? For example, a person often visits public places. For example, in shops or at airports, at crowded train stations. If you've recently been on a business trip, traveled by train, or flown by plane, you are at risk of contracting lice.
It is not possible to carry out complete disinfection in public places. Those who do not maintain personal hygiene are at great risk. Many people don't think to check their head for black lice.
Let's look at the main ways of transmitting lice:
- Lice crawl from an infected head to a healthy head through close contact. For example, in a kindergarten, when kids play together, at school, where children sit at the same desk, on a plane from a neighbor sitting next to them, etc.
- Lice can be transmitted through blankets or pillows, any hats, combs and other things. If someone else uses your items, the risk of infection increases.
Clinical manifestations of pediculosis
You can suspect that you have lice on your head when there are the following signs of infection:
- Small sores or swelling on the shoulders or neck, upper arms, or on the head near the hair.
- Eggs are visible. They can be transparent or white dots. Try to pull them out. It turns out that they are strongly attached to the hair.
If you do not remove lice, and you do not have the opportunity to regularly maintain personal hygiene (showering, etc.), then your head will begin to emanate bad smell. This is because adults will lay a lot of eggs on the hair and their waste will remain on the head. Lice on the body can cause eczema, an allergic reaction of the body.
Treatment
To treat head lice, disinfection is required, in addition to washing the head, body and washing all linen. Otherwise, it is impossible to remove adult individuals, much less nits. Need to know how to effectively get rid of them?
Statistics show that children are most often infected with head lice. If lice are found on one member of the group, the parents must immediately notify the teacher or teacher and the entire group will be quarantined. Parents will spend time with all their children at home preventive measures. Many people will use folk remedies. Preventative measures will be taken if there are no signs of infection. Sometimes educators or teachers decide to independently treat the heads of all children with medications, which is reported to parents.
Drugs
Some people experience symptoms due to the components of the product. allergic reaction. Do not reuse it. If you don’t know what other product to buy, consult a pharmacist, or better yet, a doctor. Potent drugs have contraindications for children under 3 years of age and pregnant women. If your child is infected, you simply need to study the instructions. Make sure the medicine is safe.
Folk remedies
There are also a variety of folk remedies, for example:
Everyone’s body is different; for some, one of the expensive shampoos is perfect, while others will quickly remove lice using an aqueous solution. apple cider vinegar(rinse). ABOUT folk remedies oh, how they got rid of lice for their child, people willingly tell. They are 90% effective. Be careful when using them.
If you decide to use any of the above, rinse thoroughly under running water. warm water hair. After using the product, comb your head with a special comb with fine teeth. To make it glide through your hair more easily, lubricate it with any balm. Those who have hair below their shoulders will unfortunately have to do short haircut to get rid of lice in the shortest possible time.
Methods of effective treatment
Pediculosis can be successfully treated. If you want to get quick and successful results, it is better to give preference to licensed drugs. And even in this case, the course of treatment will consist of several cycles. Pharmaceutical medicines contain pesticides. They are toxic, but harmful to lice and nits. They should be used strictly in accordance with the instructions to avoid unwanted side effects.
The following medications are used to treat head lice:
- “Pair Plus” is an excellent aerosol
- "Knicks". This is a cream
- High-quality gel or emulsion “Medifox”
- Good lotion or gel “Pedex”
- High-quality shampoo “Higiya”
- Permethrin ointment
- "Nok" is a cream shampoo and other excellent products
There are cases in which consulting a doctor is necessary:
- If the baby is less than 2 years old. For children younger age many drugs are prohibited.
- When a child has allergies or other diseases.
- Nits are located on the eyelashes or eyebrows.
Rules to follow during treatment:
- Use only one product at a time
- Stick to the doses prescribed in the instructions
- Immediately after treatment, do not blow-dry your hair. Many products contain flammable ingredients
- Do not use masks or conditioners before applying the medicine to your hair.
- Use products intended only for people, not animals.
- There is no need to use one ineffective medicine more than 3 times in a row. If it doesn’t help right away, you need to try something else.
Prevention
Let's consider preventive measures:
- Teach your child that a comb is a personal hygiene item and should not be shared with anyone or taken from others.
- Girls should not exchange rubber bands and hair clips
- Also, the child should not take other people’s clothes, especially hats.
- For adults and children who wear long hair, specialists during the trip to public transport, they recommend tying them in a ponytail or making a braid and hiding them under clothes.
- If someone in your household is infected with head lice, have everyone examined immediately. The presence of insects requires treatment with medicine, a special shampoo or one of the folk remedies. Wash all bedding as you would your clothes. Treat your combs and outerwear, which most often hangs together.
Preventive agents
Let's look at some medications that are effective in preventing head lice:
- Nit-free is a spray containing essential oils. It is applied to hair that has been dried after washing or before, but is dry. Also used for clothing.
- Nit-free is a shampoo that similarly contains essential oils. It is applied to damp hair.
- Lice Guard is sold as a spray. This is castor oil (essential). It needs to be sprayed on dry hair. Works without exposure. Suitable for clothing.
Pharmacy medications are potent. Adult lice die quickly. But they contain many poisonous ingredients. The product should not be allowed to get on the mucous membranes of the nose, eyes or mouth, and especially not into the digestive system. Most drugs cannot be used by children under 2-3 years of age, pregnant women, lactating women, those with allergies, asthma, and various dermatitis. Combine them with folk remedies.
No matter how the infection occurs, lice are unpleasant and embarrassing. How to find out if a person has lice, and what symptoms indicate the presence of lice.
You can get lice through direct contact with an infected person, or by using someone else's personal hygiene items. Infection often occurs when swimming in open water and visiting public baths.
The first symptom that lets you know about infection is itching in the pubic and groin area.
If you observe a sleeping patient, you will notice: he does not let his hand out of his pants, constantly scratching the bite sites.
During a bite, the bloodsucker releases an exudate that prevents blood clotting. It is this liquid that causes a local allergic reaction.
Severe itching
A man scratches his head and temples. By the way, the temporal region can be examined in front of the mirror.
Surely everyone, having discovered lice in themselves, asked in horror: what to do? The main thing is not to panic.
Now there are a lot of different drugs that relieve the disease quickly and effectively. Carefully read the instructions for the anti-pediculosis product. , elderly and children.
Infection with linen lice can occur through communication and contact with a sick person or from lice-infested clothing items. Therefore, medical recommendations indicate the inadmissibility of using and wearing other people’s things, especially those belonging to suspicious individuals.
Knowing what lice and nits look like and what they are different varieties in humans, you can promptly notice signs of the presence of pests in order to quickly take measures to destroy them.
An infected person may have the following:
- unpleasant itching of the skin; pimples and ulcers appear when scratched;
- after bites, red spots with a blue tint often appear;
- manifestation of skin pigmentation, lumps and boils;
- On examination, you can notice hanging nits on the hair of the head, which cannot be shaken off, like dandruff, because they are rigidly attached special glue; eggs can be alive and empty, or dead, from which the larvae have already emerged.
Prevention of infestation with various types of lice
Having examined the given types of lice in humans, they external signs and methods of infection, each person will come to the conclusion that it is best not after discovering insects, but to take preventive measures to prevent the occurrence of this disease in children and all family members:
- Check hair regularly, especially in children attending kindergartens and schools.
- IN in public places do not walk around with loose long hair.
- Never use other people's combs, towels and personal hygiene items, or wear other people's clothes.
- Do not engage in casual intimacy or sexual relations, so as not to contract pubic and linen lice.