Since lice feed on human blood, severe, chronic
If you're infested with body lice for a long time, you may experience skin changes such as thickening and discoloration — particularly around your waist, groin or upper thighs. Spread of disease. Body lice can carry and spread some bacterial diseases, such as typhus, relapsing fever or trench fever.
Head lice should not be considered as a medical or public health hazard. Head lice are not known to spread disease. Head lice can be an annoyance because their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep.
If a head lice treatment that you can buy without a prescription fails to work, the CDC recommends that you see a health care provider. Highly effective prescription treatments that you apply to the scalp are available.
Permethrin lotion 1% is approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice. Permethrin is safe and effective when used as directed. Permethrin kills live lice but not unhatched eggs.
The life cycle of the louse starts with a female laying her eggs, which are known as nits. Nits are minuscule, smaller than the head of a pin. They're hardy too, attaching on the hair shaft close to the scalp with a glue-like adhesive. This is what makes it so tough to get rid of head lice permanently.
Head lice are common in children between the ages of 3 and 11 years old. These pests are more prevalent in Caucasian children. They are more frequently found in girls than boys. Head lice live in all types of hair, whether it's curly, straight, dyed or natural.
There are two reasons for a recurrent lice infestation: The lice treatment you used didn't work. You or someone in your family came in contact with lice again.
A preventative shampoo and spray can break the life cycle. A shampoo that kills lice before they can lay eggs is critical for closing the “bridge” from one head to another. Ladibugs experts recommend parents seek effective, pesticide-free options.
Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person's head. To live, adult lice need to feed on blood several times daily. Without blood meals, the louse will die within 1 to 2 days off the host. Life cycle image and information courtesy of DPDx.
Not only can the buildup of nits, lice, and debris cause bacteria, but they can also damage hair. Lice eggs, nits, feed on keratin. This draws nourishment from your hair and can eventually cause severe damage. This and continued scratching can make hair brittle and prone to falling out.
Can someone have nits but no lice? It may be possible to have nits but no lice. If a person cannot find any nymphs or adult lice in the scalp and the nits are more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp, these may be dead and from an old infestation. However, the lice could be in hiding.
Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense. At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes.
You Have to Treat Them
Head lice will not go away on their own. If you think your child has an infestation, there are several steps you should take right away. Call your doctor to confirm the diagnosis. Notify your child's day care or school so other students can be checked.
The head lice may have become resistant to the treatment. If the treatment used does not kill the head lice, your health care provider and pharmacist can help you be sure the treatment was used correctly and may recommend a completely different product if they think the head lice are resistant to the first treatment.
"Death frankly from lice is rare. Severe anemia caused by severe louse infestation is not unheard of. This does happen and typically it's in young children or the elderly," Hinkle said. But Canyon says that severe anemia from an infestation would likely happen only to a person who already has an iron deficiency.
And no, they do not like dandruff; they love your blood and so, they feed on it. They do not flourish if the dandruff is co-existing on the scalp. Generally, dandruff does not curb the head lice's growth. Head lice, medically known as Pediculus humanus capitis, affects millions of people.
Not everyone feels lice moving around on their scalp, but some people do. Dr. Garcia says that most of her patients say they “don't feel anything,” but others may get a creepy, tickling sensation as lice move around their head.
Pyrethrin (Rid)
Rid kills living lice and is “safe and effective when used as directed,” according to Dr. Kanthula. She says there's no residual lice-killing activity after the product is rinsed off, so it also requires a second treatment.
Shaving the head does not cure lice. The itching should go away within a few days, but the medicated treatment will need to be repeated in 5 to 7 days to kill any new lice that may have hatched since the first treatment.
Nix Cream Rinse® (permethrin based product) This medicine is put on hair that has been shampooed and towel dried. After 10 minutes, the medicine is rinsed off. Nix Creme Rinse® kills lice, but not the nits. It is the favored medicine because it may continue to kill newly hatched lice for a few days after treatment.