Description and Biology
The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is gray in color but tends to take on the hair color of the host. This insect pest is usually found on the lower back of the head and behind the ears. The female is about 1/16" to 1/8" long and flattened in shape; the male is a bit smaller. Hook-like claws are at the end of each of six legs to help anchor the louse to the hair shaft. Head lice do not jump or fly.
A female head louse will live about 30 days on a host. During this period, she will deposit about 90 eggs, three a day. The grayish white, 1/16" long eggs are cemented to hair shafts next to the scalp. The eggs are called "nits" and hatch in about one week. The newly hatched lice (called "nymphs") molt three times in eight or nine days before becoming adults. The life cycle is completed in about 15 days. During this time, the nymphs, as well as the adults, feed with piercing and sucking mouthparts, injecting saliva to keep blood from clotting. If the lice are not disturbed, feeding may continue for extended periods, and the insects may excrete dark red feces onto the scalp.
The first major symptom of a louse infestation can be intense itching caused by the louse's feeding, although certain individuals may not experience itching at all. Breaks in the skin caused by the louse and resultant scratching can cause secondary bacterial skin infection, especially in the absence of good hygiene.
Anyone is susceptible to headlice which can be spread by personal contact or by touching any surface or item that has been in contact with an infested person, including bedding, hats, combs, etc. Human lice do not usually infest pets or other animals. Head lice are not known to transmit disease.
Detection
To check for infestation, someone must examine the scalp for nits. Examination of children at school requires cooperation and support from pupils and parents. Examiners should use wooden applicator sticks or something similar to part the children’s hair in search of parasites or nits. Wipe sticks between exams to lower the remote possibility of transmitting head lice from person to person. Nits within 1/4 of an inch of the scalp are a sign of an active infestation. Nits more than 1/4 inch from the scalp are either infertile or hatched.
When nits are found within 1/4" of of the scalp and no recent treatment can be substantiated, the child should be kept out of school until evidence of treatment is shown. If one pupil is found to be infested, the entire class should be checked for lice. Currently we know of no safe solvent for removing nits from the hair.
An infested person is treated by removing all clothing, then applying the pediculicide according to directions, then putting on clean clothes. Clothes, bedding, and other items contacted by the infested person within 48 hours should be washed in hot water with a detergent and dried in a clothes dryer. Alternate means of disinfecting articles include dry cleaning, isolation in a plastic bag for 10 days, or placing items in a freezer. Freezing is lethal to eggs, nymphs, and adults, and so is a temperature of 125F for 30 minutes or more.
To help prevent reinfestation, it is suggested that all family members be treated on the same day. Most products require a repeat treatment 7 to 10 days later. This will kill the lice that hatch after the first treatment. Since headlice cannot live more than two days off the host, and are rarely found off the host, spraying or bombing the premises is of little use.
Many families have been trying for some time to get rid of their lice infestation. They finally discovered that they had lice living in an old mattress. Lice can lay eggs not just on hair, but on other fibres as well. Replacing a mattress or getting a plastic cover for it (very airtight) can be an essential part of treatment. This can apply to wool or other fibrous blankets as well, which should be bagged until the the lice is 100% gone, for a minimum of three weeks. The bag must be very airtight. Lice need air to survive.
Hairbrushes need only be washed with vinegar and placed in the freezer overnight. Every single last hair must be removed from the hairbrush so use the kind with single plastic prongs, or a large - toothed comb during the lice period.
Spraying a house with pesticides is neither effective nor necessary, and it's extremely harmful to children. A lint roller will do for any non-fibrous substance such as cotton sheets (it picks up stray fibres that could have nits attached to them, and stray lice) and bagging is sufficient for fibrous materials.
Finally: where hair is very thick and for emotional reasons cannot be cut, manual removal of nits is nearly hopeless. If you overlook just two nits and they happen to be housing a male and a female, the cycle will repeat itself. One has to keep in mind that lice cannot lay eggs in the first seven or eight days of their lives, and it takes eggs up to 12 days to hatch.
Thus one must attempt to KILL THE LICE EVERY DAY FOR AT LEAST 12 DAYS
(16 to be on the safe side).
Chemicals are poisons and not worth risking our children's lives. Before using dangerous harmful chemicals that seep through the scalp and into the blood stream consider alternative non chemical treatments.
The NPA reported overwhelming health risk to mainly children and reports of leukeamia became evident.
A warning regarding the use of products such as Vaseline. One of the things that is used for quick fire starting is "Vaseline" (petroleum jelly) soaked cotton swabs. Just a few sparks from a flint stick and "voila" a fire. Keep your child's head away from open flames e.g. candles, cigarettes etc. Also beware, this is a petroleum product that you are smothering your child's head with."
Some people can itch for weeks even though they are not infested any more
Robi Comb
Can't be used or handled by anyone with epilepsy, seizure disorders, heart disease, persons with a pacemaker or other neuro-stimulators. Cannot be used with the olive oil protocol. Not to be used on kids under three.
Another major culprit in the head-lice wars appears to be the rise of new strains of chemically tolerant, pesticide-resistant head lice.
Indications are that prescription medications such as Kwell, whose active ingredient is the neurotoxin lindane, are also ineffective in eliminating many louse populations. (Lindane is toxic to humans and has been known to cause seizures, temporary paralysis, and death.)
The idea of resistant head lice is not surprising. Living creatures are resilient. Over time they can become resistant to any chemical. Check out the long shelf life of cockroaches, bacteria, fire ants, mosquitoes, and the like. It seems that no matter what we humans do to control them, they just keep coming back for more.
Unfortunately, conflicting information over the existence of strains of pesticide-resistant head lice has caused tremendous confusion and frustration for parents. Depending on whom a parent talks to, the recommended treatments for a head-louse infestation can range from the ineffective to the potentially dangerous. And some of that misinformation can come from the medical establishment, which receives much of its information about head lice from the manufacturers of pediculicides.
In order to protect children’s health, parents and health professionals would be wise to adopt a conservative approach when dealing with head lice.
Small, red bumpsor sores from scratching. For some kids, the irritation is mild; for others, a more bothersome rash with crusting and oozing may develop. It's also not unusual for kids to develop some swelling of their lymph glands. Excessive scratching can also lead to a bacterial infection (the skin would become red and tender around the bite area). If your child's doctor thinks this is the case, he or she may treat the infection with a topical or an oral antibiotic.
Tell your child to try to avoid head-to-head contact at school
(in gym, on the playground, or during sports) and while playing at home with other children.
Tell your child not to share combs, brushes, hats, scarves, bandanas, ribbons, barrettes, hair ties or bands, towels, helmets, or other personal care items with anyone else, whether they may have lice or not.
Tell your child not to lie on bedding, pillows, and carpets that have recently been used by someone with lice.
Examine members of your household who have had close contact with a person who has lice every 3 or 4 days. Then, treat those who are found to have lice or nits close to the scalp.
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