How Do You Know When You Have Head Lice

​​​​Head lice are a common problem that unremarkably affects school-aged children and their families. They can attach to the hair of anyone'due south head. It doesn't thing if the hair is clean or dirty. Caput lice are besides found worldwide in all different places, such as in homes or schools or the country or urban center. And it doesn't matter how clean, dirty, rich, or poor the place or person is.

Though head lice may be a nuisance, they don't cause serious illness or conduct any diseases. Head lice can be treated at home, just it's important to bank check with the doctor kickoff.

Here is information from the American University of Pediatrics to help parents and caregivers check for, care for, and prevent the spread of caput lice.

What are head lice?

Head lice are tiny bugs about the size of a sesame seed (2–iii mm long [mm stands for millimeter]). Their bodies are usually pale and grey, but their color may vary. Ane of these tiny bugs is called a louse.

Caput lice feed on pocket-size amounts of claret from the scalp. They tin can usually live 1 to 2 days without blood repast.

Lice lay and adhere their eggs to hair close to the scalp. The eggs and their shell casings are called nits. They are oval and about the size of a knot in thread (0.eight mm long and 0.3 mm broad) and unremarkably yellow to white. Some nits may blend in with some people's hair color, making them hard to encounter, and are ofttimes confused for dandruff or hair spray droplets. Nits attach to the hair with a glutinous substance that holds them firmly in place. Afterward the eggs hatch, the empty nits stay on the hair shaft.

​What is the life wheel of caput lice?

Caput lice alive about 28 days. They develop in iii phases: egg (also chosen a nit), nymph, and adult louse.

• Egg or nit. Eggs or nits hatch in 6 to 9 days. Eggs are usually found within 4 to six mm of the scalp and do non survive if they are further away.

• Nymph. The nymph looks like an adult head louse but is much smaller (about the size of a pinhead [1.five mm]). Nymphs go adults about 7 days later hatching.

• Adult louse. An developed louse tin multiply fast and lay up to 10 eggs a 24-hour interval. Information technology takes simply about 12 to 14 days for newly hatched eggs to reach adulthood.

This cycle can echo itself every iii weeks if head lice are left untreated.

How common are head lice?

Head lice are most common in preschool- and elementary schoolhouse–aged children. Each year millions of school-aged children in the United States become head lice. However, anyone can become head lice. Head lice are found worldwide.

How practise caput lice spread?

Caput lice are crawling insects. They cannot jump, hop, or fly. The master way head lice spread is from close, prolonged caput-to-head contact. In that location is a very minor adventure that head lice volition spread by sharing items such as combs, brushes, and hats.

What are symptoms of head lice?

Itching on the areas where head lice are present is the most common symptom. Even so, it may take up to 4 to 6 weeks subsequently lice get on the scalp before the scalp becomes sensitive to the lice saliva and begins to itch. Most of the itching happens behind the ears or at the back of the neck. Also, itching caused by head lice can terminal for weeks, even after the lice are gone.

How practice you bank check for head lice?

Regular checks for head lice are a good manner to spot head lice before they have fourth dimension to multiply and infest (are present in large numbers) your child'southward head.

• Seat your child in a brightly lit room.

• Function the hair.

• Look for crawling lice and for nits on your child'south scalp a section at a fourth dimension.

• Live lice are difficult to discover. They avert light and move quickly.

• Nits volition expect like small white or yellowish-chocolate-brown specks and exist firmly attached to the hair near the scalp. The easiest identify to find them is at the hairline at the back of the neck or behind the ears. Nits can be confused with many other things such as dandruff, dirt particles, or hair spray droplets. The way to tell the divergence is that nits are firmly attached to hair, while dandruff, dirt, or other particles are not.

• Utilize a fine-tooth comb to help you lot search the scalp section by section.

What is the comb-out method?

The rummage-out method can be used to help cheque for nits and head lice or to assistance remove nits and caput lice later on head lice treatment. Withal, the comb-out method usually doesn't work on its own to become rid of head lice.

Here is how you utilize the comb-out method:

• Pace 1: Moisture your child'southward pilus.

• Step two: Employ a fine-tooth comb and comb through your child'southward hair in small sections.

• Step 3: Later each comb-through, wipe the comb on a wet newspaper towel. Examine the scalp, comb, and paper towel carefully.

• Step 4: Repeat steps 2 and 3 until yous've combed through all of your child'due south hair.

How exercise you lot care for caput lice?

Check with your child'southward md before beginning any head lice treatment. The virtually effective way to treat head lice is with head lice medicine. After each treatment, using the rummage-out method every two to 3 days for 2 to 3 weeks may assist remove the nits and eggs.

Caput lice medicine should exist used simply when it is certain that your child has living caput lice. Recall, bank check with your child'south doctor earlier starting any head lice medicine. As well, when head lice medicines are used, it is important to use them safely.

Here are some prophylactic guidelines:

• Follow the directions on the package exactly as written.

• Never let children utilize the medicine. Medicine should be applied by an adult.

• Do not use medicine on a child 2 years or younger without showtime checking with your child's doctor.

• Do not use or apply medicine to children if you are pregnant or breastfeeding without first checking with your dr..

• E'er rinse the medicine off over a sink and not during a shower or bathroom, and then the medicine doesn't run off the head onto other areas of skin. Place your kid's caput over a sink and rinse the medicine off with warm water (not hot water).

• Never place a plastic bag on a child's head.

• Do not go out a child lone with medicine in his or her hair.

• Store medicine in a locked cabinet, out of sight and accomplish of children.

• Check with your child'south dr. earlier showtime a second or third handling. Your kid may need repeat handling 7 to nine or 9 to ten days after the first treatment depending on the medicine.

• Ask your child'southward doctor if you accept any questions or if treatments you have tried have not gotten rid of lice.

Warning: Never utilise dangerous products like gasoline or kerosene or medicines fabricated for utilize on animals! Also, do not utilize home remedies, such as petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, tub margarine, herbal oils, or olive oil, because no studies evidence they work.

What head lice medicines are bachelor?

Check with your child'due south medico before showtime any handling. Come across "Head Lice Medicines" chart for a list of head lice medicines approved by the Usa Food and Drug Administration.

Head lice medicines​
​Permethrin balm (1%)​	Available without a prescription Apply to shampood and towel-dried hair; then rinse off after 10 minutes Kills lice; does non impale lice eggs Retreatment is recommended between days 9 and 10 if live lice are seen Approved for utilise in children 2 months and older	​Nix
​Pyrethrin-based product (shampoo or pilus mousse)	​Bachelor without a prescription. Utilise to dry pilus and rinse off after 10 minutes. Kills lice; does not kill lice eggs. Retreatment is recommended between days ix and 10 if live lice are seen. Approved for utilize in children ii years and older. Should not be used in people who are allergic to chrysanthemums.	​RID A-200 Pronto, R&C, Triple X, Licide
​Malathion lotion (0.five%)	​Prescription needed. Apply to dry hair and rinse off subsequently 8–12 hours. Kills lice and lice eggs. A second treatment is recommended in 7–9 days if live lice are seen. Approved for use in children 6 years or older. Not recommended for children younger than 24 months. Combustible; may cause chemical burns.	Ovide​
​Benzyl alcohol lotion (v%)	​Prescription needed. Employ to dry hair and rinse off after 10 minutes. Repeat in nine–ten days. Kills lice; does not kill lice eggs. Contains no neurotoxic pesticide. Approved for use in infants and children vi months and older. Not recommended for infants younger than 6 months.	​Ulesfia
​Spinosad topical suspension (0.nine%)	​Prescription needed. Apply to dry out hair and rinse off after 10 minutes. Kills lice and lice eggs. A 2d handling is recommended in seven days if alive lice are seen. Approved for use in infants and children six months and older. Not recommended for infants younger than half dozen months.	​Natroba
​Ivermectin lotion (0.5%)	​No prescription needed Utilize to dry hair and rinse off after 10 minutes. Kills lice; does not kill lice eggs. However, may forestall newly hatched lice from living. Only 1 application is needed. Approved for utilize in infants and children 6 months and older. Not recommended for infants younger than 6 months.	​Sklice

What else do I need to know about treating head lice?

• You may want to wash your kid's clothes, towels, hats, and bed linens in hot water and dry on high heat if they were used within 2 days earlier head lice were found and treated. You do not need to throw these items away. Items that cannot be washed may be dry-cleaned or sealed in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.

• Do not spray pesticides in your home. They tin betrayal your family to dangerous chemicals and are not needed when you treat your kid's scalp and hair properly.

• All household members and close contacts should also be checked and treated if necessary.

​Ab​out "no-nit" policies Some schools have "no-nit" policies stating that students who however have nits in their hair cannot return to schoolhouse. The American Academy of Pediatrics and National Association of Scho​​ol Nurses discourage such policies and believe a child should not miss or exist excluded from school because of head lice.​

Remember

Head lice don't put your kid at hazard for any serious health problems. Products should be used but if those products are safe. If your child has head lice, work quickly simply safely to treat your child to forbid the head lice from spreading.

Additional Information & Resource:

• How to Assistance Preclude and Control the Spread of Head Lice
• ​​Head Lice (AAP Clinical Report)
• National Clan of Schoolhouse Nurses​

The data contained on this Web site should not be used as a substitute for the medical care and communication of your pediatrician. In that location may exist variations in treatment that your pediatrician may recommend based on private facts and circumstances.

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Source: https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/from-insects-animals/Pages/Signs-of-Lice.aspx

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