They are human parasites that live on our heads and feed on our blood.
Frequent mating ensures the production of large numbers of eggs that stick
firmly to the base of hairs, close to the source of warmth and food.
After 10 days the baby lice hatch and, with their first feed on human
blood, change colour to blend with their new home, making it very difficult to
see them on dry hair.
The white empty egg cases, nits, remain firmly stuck to the hair shaft
after the lice hatch. Nits are easy to see and often this is the first sign
you notice of an infestation, at least 10 days after the arrival of the first
louse. During this time the louse may have visited several heads and deposited
eggs. Lice make lousy parents, they don’t hang around to watch their
offspring hatch.
THAT ITCHY FEELING!
If head lice cause your scalp to itch you have been feeding them for a
long time. The itchiness is caused by an allergic reaction to the
anticoagulant they inject into your scalp to keep your blood flowing freely
while they feed. It can take up to three months for the allergic reaction to
develop. During this time you can feel “lousy”, generally unwell and
possibly become anaemic.
DETECTION AND TREATMENT
One of the earliest clues they give to their presence is their excreta.
If you understand the significance of the grey
dust, which is noticeable on pillows and collars, you can begin early
treatment and reduce the chances of sharing your guests with close friends and
family. The time since the first infestation can be estimated from the length
of the hair between the nit and the scalp, which increases as the hair grows.
Get into the habit of head lice hunting using a fine-toothed comb and
conditioner on wet hair. Head lice move away from the light when dry hair is
parted, but on wet hair they close down and stay still so are easier to
detect.
Divide the hair into sections and comb from the root to the tip looking
for live lice and dark coloured eggs near the scalp. Don’t worry too much
about removing the white nits they are harmless. You may also find ‘hair
muffs’, unwanted skin cells. They look similar to nits but are easily
removed.
Wet combing should continue every day until ten days after the last live
egg or head louse was detected. After that once weekly wet combing is
sufficient unless you spot grey dust or live lice. If that happens go into the
full daily treatment programme once more. It is important to treat all family
members and close contacts at the same time.
HOW ABOUT THE BOTTLED TREATMENTS?
The down side of the wet combing treatment is that it is time consuming.
It is so much easier to reach for a bottle of chemicals and get the whole
thing over and done with in a day. But before you succumb to that temptation,
do you really want to apply potentially harmful chemicals close to the brain
of someone you love? The dangers of organo- phosphate insecticides are well
documented. Remember reading about the effects of sheep dip on farmers? One
such chemical, lindane, used to be recommended as a safe treatment for
removing head lice. Now it is known to be carcinogenic and is banned. If you
have doubts about substances being absorbed through skin think of skin patches
such as HRT and nicotine.
PREVENTION
Regular hair brushing damages head lice and makes it difficult for them
to breed. So daily brushing could help to prevent head lice from multiplying.
Those Victorian ladies knew what they were doing when they brushed their hair
one hundred times every night. Weekly wet combing means early detection. But
the only sure-fire way to prevent an infestation is to go for the bald look.
And finally; CONTACT TRACING;
If you have head lice in your family think of every person you have come
into contact with and tell them. Don’t feel ashamed. Talk about the
infestation and the safest way to deal with it. Head lice will move to any
head irrespective of age, so don’t forget Granny, Granddad and the baby.
Every hairy head is potentially home sweet home or a holiday haven for your
least favourite guests.
