Lice are small (1-3 millimeters) grayish-white parasites that lay eggs on human hair shafts or body hair, sucking blood. Lice eggs are called "nits" and are light-colored, pine nut-shaped, and about 1 millimeter in size. The nits laid by females attach themselves to the hair root with a very strong glue. Lice eggs mature and hatch in 7 days. In the course of a month, they can lay 80 to 300 eggs on a single person.
How lice are transmitted and what pediculosis is
Pediculosis is lice infestation not caused by poor hygiene. A warm environment and contact with other children make some environments particularly favorable for lice eggs to be deposited and transmitted from one person to another. Lice are transmitted through direct contact with people who are already infested or through the exchange of clothing or personal effects. Lice pass easily from one person to another, especially among preschool and school-age children (3-11 years old). Due to the close contact that children have with their families, they are also at risk of infection. Girls are generally more affected than boys because of their long hair.
What are the symptoms of pediculosis?
Head lice cause irritation and intense itching in the affected area, which is not due to dirt but to bites. Head lice do not transmit infectious diseases but, if they are numerous and not treated properly, they can cause lesions from rubbing that can become infected. In some cases, allergic reactions may also occur, or the skin may develop dermatitis and other conditions.
How to recognize and combat lice
Lice eggs (nits) are easiest to spot during the day on wet hair in direct sunlight. Simply divide the hair into sections with a fine-toothed comb and carefully comb through the strands starting from the roots in one continuous motion. Any adult lice present should be dropped onto a white sheet of paper and care should be taken to clean the comb after each stroke. Sometimes it is also necessary to use a magnifying glass. The hair should then be dried with a hot hair dryer. Removing nits is essential for the success of the treatment to eliminate lice.
Often, various treatments are not effective becausethey are resistant to the most common antiparasitic products, so the child continues to have lice without anyone knowing, even after treatment, or if the instructions for use of the various products are not followed to the letter.
To combat lice and ensure that the treatment is effective, both children and adults who have come into contact with the affected personmust be treated. If the child is treated immediately and the rest of the family 24 hours later, it may not be very effective. A second treatment is always recommended after 2-3 days because it is possible that some eggs may survive and produce live lice.
It is not enough to treat only the person, but also the furnishings with which the person has come into contact in the previous 48 hours. Clothes, sheets, blankets, sofa covers, and towels must be washed at 60°C. The eggs are killed at temperatures above 55°C for an exposure time of 5 minutes.
If you are sure that your child has lice, do not panic and use overly aggressive products. Check that they are based on natural extracts that attack the lice and not your child's delicate skin, altering its natural protection.
Every day for about a week after treatment with these products, you will need to check your child's entire head of hair.
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A deovulating comb and a fine-toothed comb (the teeth are less than 0.3 mm apart). It should be used approximately every two days on your child's damp hair, strand by strand, from the roots to the tips. Neem oil is an important and effective ally in the fight against lice. It is extracted from the fruits and seeds of an evergreen plant native to the Indian subcontinent known as