Headlice
Today I examined a four year old girl who presented with an itchy scalp. She is the only child of a young couple. A quick examination revealed the old nemesis that every parent is horrified to see??..head lice. We found about six mature lice running around deep in her beautiful hair. Her hair follicles were loaded with hundreds of nits.
When I explained to Mom that this was not because they were dirty or or because she had neglected her daughter, she felt a little better. Nonetheless, all parents kind of recoil when they hear that their child has head lice. This is a common disorder that for the last couple of decades has been easily treated. The problem now is that the darn things have developed some resistance to the most common forms of treatment.
Head lice are easily passed from child to child with head contact while playing. The lice also can be passed when kids interchange hats or beanies. Therefore, children are typically at the highest risk for lice. Adults become infested when they lay next to their child in bed reading stories or when they share the same pillow. The mature louse can transfer quickly. Within days many new eggs are attached to the hair follicles. The eggs are called nits and look almost like flakes of dry scalp. The difference is that the nits are tightly attached to the hair follicle. The nits hatch within a few days. It takes about a week for the louse to mature and be able to lay eggs. So the life cycle is rapid, and the infestation results in hundreds of nits within two to three weeks.
Invariably when I tell a parent that their child has head lice, the parent begins to think their scalp is itching. I cannot ever remember telling a parent about the lice who did not begin scratching within minutes. It is the only humor that can be found in the situation because the treatment can be a bit onerous. First of all the standard treatment has some toxic chemicals that we all would prefer not to have to use. The problem is that no better cure has come along.
If parents follow the directions perfectly, I have never seen a failure to successfully treat for head lice. The directions are very specific and must be followed to the letter.
The shampoo for lice is an insecticide so everyone agrees that children should be exposed to as little as possible.
I use something called Eliminate. You begin treatment by slowly adding the shampoo to dry hair. Keep rubbing it until it forms a nice lather. Slowly add a little water to help the process penetrate to the bottom of the hair shafts and to the scalp. Once a very rich lather is obtained using enough water to make the hair wet, you allow it to remain in place for 15 minutes while the child plays in the tub. The next task is to use a fine comb and get out as many of the nits as possible. The largest number of nits will usually be at the back of the neck. The shampoo kills many of the nits, but it does not kill all of them. The more of them you can comb out the better. Any nits that remain can hatch within a day or two; however, they cannot lay eggs for six to eight days.
Therefore, the process has to be repeated in seven or eight days to kill any new lice that have hatched. These new lice must be killed before they can begin laying new eggs. Sometimes some dead nits remain, and these need to be meticulously combed out of the hair with a very fine toothed comb.
It is also important to wash in hot water above 120 degrees all of the child's bedding. Hats should be put in a plastic bag for two weeks as the adult louse can live without feeding for many days. So you must allow a full life cycle to pass for the adult and the nits. Without blood the lice are deprived of food and will die out naturally.
Lastly it is important to report the case regardless of whether you feel embarrassed because all children who are in school or day care with your child need to be inspected.
If these instructions are followed almost all cases of head lice are treated effectively. Some newer forms of treatment are being tried as lice become more resistant to pesticides. These have not been completely proven but involved trying to smother the lice and the nits with mayonnaise or vaseline. It will take time to evaluate this items.
When I explained to Mom that this was not because they were dirty or or because she had neglected her daughter, she felt a little better. Nonetheless, all parents kind of recoil when they hear that their child has head lice. This is a common disorder that for the last couple of decades has been easily treated. The problem now is that the darn things have developed some resistance to the most common forms of treatment.
Head lice are easily passed from child to child with head contact while playing. The lice also can be passed when kids interchange hats or beanies. Therefore, children are typically at the highest risk for lice. Adults become infested when they lay next to their child in bed reading stories or when they share the same pillow. The mature louse can transfer quickly. Within days many new eggs are attached to the hair follicles. The eggs are called nits and look almost like flakes of dry scalp. The difference is that the nits are tightly attached to the hair follicle. The nits hatch within a few days. It takes about a week for the louse to mature and be able to lay eggs. So the life cycle is rapid, and the infestation results in hundreds of nits within two to three weeks.
Invariably when I tell a parent that their child has head lice, the parent begins to think their scalp is itching. I cannot ever remember telling a parent about the lice who did not begin scratching within minutes. It is the only humor that can be found in the situation because the treatment can be a bit onerous. First of all the standard treatment has some toxic chemicals that we all would prefer not to have to use. The problem is that no better cure has come along.
If parents follow the directions perfectly, I have never seen a failure to successfully treat for head lice. The directions are very specific and must be followed to the letter.
The shampoo for lice is an insecticide so everyone agrees that children should be exposed to as little as possible.
I use something called Eliminate. You begin treatment by slowly adding the shampoo to dry hair. Keep rubbing it until it forms a nice lather. Slowly add a little water to help the process penetrate to the bottom of the hair shafts and to the scalp. Once a very rich lather is obtained using enough water to make the hair wet, you allow it to remain in place for 15 minutes while the child plays in the tub. The next task is to use a fine comb and get out as many of the nits as possible. The largest number of nits will usually be at the back of the neck. The shampoo kills many of the nits, but it does not kill all of them. The more of them you can comb out the better. Any nits that remain can hatch within a day or two; however, they cannot lay eggs for six to eight days.
Therefore, the process has to be repeated in seven or eight days to kill any new lice that have hatched. These new lice must be killed before they can begin laying new eggs. Sometimes some dead nits remain, and these need to be meticulously combed out of the hair with a very fine toothed comb.
It is also important to wash in hot water above 120 degrees all of the child's bedding. Hats should be put in a plastic bag for two weeks as the adult louse can live without feeding for many days. So you must allow a full life cycle to pass for the adult and the nits. Without blood the lice are deprived of food and will die out naturally.
Lastly it is important to report the case regardless of whether you feel embarrassed because all children who are in school or day care with your child need to be inspected.
If these instructions are followed almost all cases of head lice are treated effectively. Some newer forms of treatment are being tried as lice become more resistant to pesticides. These have not been completely proven but involved trying to smother the lice and the nits with mayonnaise or vaseline. It will take time to evaluate this items.
posted by admin @ 9:34 PM
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