Head lice are small insects that live on the scalp and are transmitted through close contact with other people. School-aged children tend to have this problem more frequently, and parents may find it difficult to get rid of the lice because other children may still be infested.
Child with Lice at School
Schools usually inform parents when there is a lice outbreak in the classes, and if teachers suspect your child has lice, you will certainly be notified. Children should not be sent to school until the problem has been resolved, in order to prevent the lice from spreading to all the children in the class.
Mode of Transmission
People in the same family also have a high chance of passing lice to one another, since they live together and share items such as hairbrushes, clothes, and blankets, and stay in the same environment, which makes transmission easier.
Items used by someone who has lice should not be shared or stored in wardrobes, as the lice can spread throughout the house given that they can live up to two days outside the scalp. Having lice is not a matter of poor hygiene; in fact, the insect prefers clean hair, so anyone can get head lice and nits, regardless of social class or age.
How to Detect Head Lice
To find out if your child has lice, there is no other option but to check their head and look. Do this in a well-lit place, as lice and nits are tiny and require good visibility to be found.
You will need a fine-toothed comb, either a regular plastic one or a steel one, which you should run through the hair from the roots on, preferably on wet hair and with conditioner, as this makes it easier to comb without hurting the child.
The lice will get stuck in the teeth of the comb, and should be disposed of in vinegar or under running water. Nits do not come off easily; they remain attached to the hair shaft and must be removed one by one. As long as every nit is not removed from the hair, the lice infestation will not end, since the nit takes around 10 days to hatch and become an adult, restarting the infestation.
Some signs like redness behind the ears and the nape of the neck, as well as itching and discomfort, may indicate that a child has lice. Along with the sensation of something crawling on the scalp, small sores caused by the insect’s bite can also appear.
How to Treat
Pharmacies offer a wide range of shampoos and lotions that kill lice, in addition to oral medications which are very effective when used together with a lotion, but are not recommended for all ages and only for children weighing more than 15 kg (33 lbs).
There are several homemade remedies that claim to get rid of these insects, such as vinegar mixed with water and applied to the hair, which should then be covered with a towel or plastic cap for a few hours to suffocate the insects. Another home remedy is washing hair with rue tea, as rue is an herb traditionally used to combat lice and other insects.
Obviously, there is no miracle recipe that will get rid of this pest except for dedication to cleaning and removing everything with a fine-toothed comb—and nits mostly have to be removed manually, one by one, strand by strand. The nits must be pulled along the full length of the hair shaft to completely remove them, making sure no residue remains that could start the infestation again. The only fine-toothed comb that removes even the nits is the steel comb.
Lice Breeding Season
Lice tend to proliferate even more in autumn, when colder weather keeps children indoors and closer together, spreading the insects more quickly. So if you find lice on your child, inform the school and all places where they interact with other children.
This way, all mothers can check their children, eliminating the outbreak and preventing your child from getting lice again. Remember, if the problem is not properly treated, the child may develop anemia, as the insects feed on human blood.
See also: Red Spots on Baby’s Skin – What Can It Be?
Photo: Antonia Hayes, Macroscopic Solutions
_ Box of Key Information:
- Head lice are small insects that live on the scalp and are transmitted through close contact with other people.
- Schools usually inform parents when there is a lice outbreak in the classes, and if teachers suspect your child has lice, you will certainly be notified.
- People in the same family also have a high chance of passing lice to one another, as they live together and share items such as hairbrushes, clothes, and blankets.
- To find out if your child has lice, there is no other option but to check their head and look.
- Pharmacies offer a wide range of shampoos and lotions that kill lice, in addition to oral medication which is very effective when used alongside a lotion, but is not recommended for all age groups.
