Head Lice-infection And Its Treatment.

A head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is a small parasitic insect which lives on the human scalp and feeds exclusively on human blood. No other animals besides humans are known to host the parasite. Though its lifespan is only approximately 1 month, a female louse lays between 5-150 eggs (nits) during that time. The young louse emerge from the egg in an initial nymphal stage. They molt three times during that phase, then develop into nymph 2 and nymph 3 stages before developing into adult male or female louse.

Head lice reproduce rapidly and adult females lay 3 to 4 eggs a day, on average. Generations last about a month and lice of any stage gorge themselves on blood, biting skin four to five times a day. The female passes a glue-like excretion during oviposition from a gland near the rear of the body which helps the eggs adhere to the hair of a host. While any part of the scalp may be affected, lice tend to lay their eggs on the nape of the neck and the area behind the ears.

The most common symptom of infestation is pruritus on the head, which typically will intensify about 3 to 4 weeks after the initial infestation occurs. Bite reactions are generally mild and can seldom be seen between the hairs. The bites themselves are sometimes visible, especially on the neck of people with long hair. In rare instances, individuals who scratch the itchy bites too much can develop secondary infections with impetigo and pyoderma. Swelling in the lymph nodes and fevers are rare complications. Head lice are not believed to transmit pathogenic microorganisms.

How to get rid of lice?Well that is a tough question because there is practically no product in the market, which kills 100% of the eggs after a single treatment.Various methods used include chemical treatment,hot air, combs, shaving the head,dimeticone etc.It is not recommended to use kerosene (alone or in combination with oil and vinegar), hair bleaches and dyes, antibiotics or ivermectin for treatment and garlic and Vitamin B for prevention.

Once head lice are in your hair, it's hard getting rid of them. In fact, it's getting even more difficult over time because the lice are becoming resistant to the older treatments. In fact, scientists think that 80% of all head line are no long affected by over-the-counter medications. Such chemicals as permathrin and phenothrin, which are used in the most commonly-used lice treatments, don't have any effect on lice any longer.

So we find that we cant do much to treat head lice infection.Like they say prevention is the best cure.The experts say the process of natural selection means the insects have developed a resistance to the lotions. The findings will not just leave children, parents and teachers scratching their heads. It will almost certainly start a scramble to discover a lotion to do the job better.