O lice that infests the hair of many people is an insect that feeds on the blood of mammals and reproduces very quickly. These little animals can be found in all regions of the world and can parasitize the heads of people of all ages, races and social classes. They are most commonly found in the heads of children, especially those who attend schools and are in contact with other children.
Anyone, whether a child or an adult, can be infected with head lice.
O lice is mainly transmitted from one person to another by direct contact, but we can also catch it through the shared use of caps, helmets, hair tiaras, brushes and combs. Once in our head, the louse settles at the base of our hair and that's where it lays its eggs, commonly known as nits. At nits they are white in color and stick to the strands of hair.
In the figure we can see a nit attached to a hair.
By pricking your victim's scalp to feed, the lice it releases some substances in your saliva that come into contact with our skin, which causes an itchy feeling. So when we're with lice there is a very intense itching of the head and, due to the act of scratching, there may be sores on the scalp.
usually few lice they infest the scalp, so it's a little difficult to find them between the hair, but if the person has bad hygiene habits, the few lice begin to reproduce and the infestation of lice worsens and can cause anemia and even infections.
Head lice are transmitted from one person to another by direct contact.
O lice treatment It is done with the application of specific medications to the hair, suitable for ending the lice, such as shampoos and lotions, or also in tablet form. It is important to remember that any of these medications must be prescribed by a doctor to avoid any complications.
Another way to end the lice is using products found in the home, such as conditioner, olive oil or cooking oil. To do this, just wash your hair with shampoo and soak it completely with one of the above ingredients. Once that's done, put a cap on your hair and leave it on for at least two hours. After time, remove the cap, wash your hair, dry and comb with a fine-tooth comb to check if there is any left. lice.
Combing hair is a way to find lice and nits
Home treatment kills lice by suffocation, but they tend to stick to the hair, even dead. The use of conditioner and oil facilitates the removal of nits, but only this type of treatment, as well as the one made with products from the pharmacy, cannot kill them, and therefore it is necessary to repeat it more often.
It is important to remember that lice they also like clean hair, so keeping their hair washed will not change the risk of contamination at all. One way to prevent these insects is to avoid the use of combs, hair tiaras, caps, helmets, scarves, hair clips, etc. from other people.
In birds we can also find lice, but unlike the lice that parasitize mammals, they do not feed on blood, but on bird feathers.
By Paula Louredo
Graduated in Biology
