Head lice also known as pediculus humanus in medical language are flat, tiny, wingless insects which often find their way into the scalp as parasites. They suck blood from the scalp skin and often cause an irritation in the scalp, which in chronic cases cause thickening and pigmentation of the skin. Head lice are one of the most common problems among children.
Itching is one of the main symptoms of head lice infection. The female adult louse lays eggs also known as nits close to the surface of the scalp. These eggs are very small and are difficult to see but once the female louse has emerged the nits can been seen easily.
A microscopic examination of the nits becomes essential as occasionally, flakes of dandruff are mistaken for nits. These insects can be seen crawling on the hair around the ears, on the scalp, underneath the hair grown and on the back of the head.
Head lice are very contagious and can be easily acquired by head to head contact with a person infected by this parasite. They are most common in persons living in poor sanitary and crowded conditions. They spread very quickly and rapidly during disasters.
Home Remedies for Head lice: The first step in beginning the treatment for lice is maintaining thorough cleanliness and personal hygiene. All the family members of household should take adequate steps to improve their personal hygiene. They should not share their hair brushes, combs, towels and pillows.
The combs and hair brushes of infected persons should be cleaned daily by washing with soap and water and boiling them after they have been used. A special narrow toothed comb available for the removal of lice should be used frequently.
However comb alone does not help in the removal of nits. Certain methods are also very useful for the destruction of lice.
One of these methods is to soak the hair and scalp for about 22 hours with a mixture of vinegar and kerosene. The head should then be washed thoroughly with a mild shampoo and hot water and thereafter dried properly with a clean towel. A fine comb dipped in vinegar should be used to remove the nits. Vinegar looses the nits and kerosene kills the lice so there is no harm in repeating this process twice. Proper care should be taken to keep the hair away from a flame or fire because of the danger of igniting the hair.
Another method which is beneficial in the treatment of lice is thorough cleansing the whole body from the scalp to the toe with soap and water. Thereafter five percent benzyl benzoate solution should be rubbed well into the scalp especially when there is intense itching in the scalp.
Use of DDT powder is another effective remedy for lice. A combination of 95 percent inert talc and 5 percent DDT powder should be used for dusting into the hair and scalp. This mixture should not get into the eyes so proper care should be taken. The entire head should then be wrapped with a clean towel or scarf. The scarf can be removed before going to bed and the hair can be combed the next morning with a fine toothed comb to remove the lice and nits. Hair should be washed with warm water and soap on the sixth day of the treatment and allowed to dry. Thereafter inert talc and DDT powder should be applied in the same manner as before. Final shampooing of the hair should be carried on the twelfth day. Normally it is sufficient to take these two courses of treatment.
It is also necessary to examine the heads of all people in the family as the persons infected with head lice may spread the infection to all. Caps or scarfs worn by a person infected with nits should be sterilized by spraying with 5 percent DDT solution.
Head lice infection can also be prevented by avoidance of infected persons and their clothing and personal cleanliness. All the clothes of infected persons should be soaked in boiling water and washed thereafter. As children catch this infection very fast it is advisable to keep their hair short.
Thus it can be concluded that the problem of head lice and nits can be effectively controlled by maintaining proper hygienic and sanitary conditions along with various useful remedies.
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Word Count Appx. : 725 | Article Views 971 Published 11-08-2009