Lice in the hair of a child what to do. Pediculosis in children

Our children are constantly in contact with the environment and its components: objects, adults, peers, animals, etc. Besides visible to the eye objects, we are surrounded by the microscopic world in the form of bacteria, protozoa, viruses and products of their vital activity.

From this we can conclude that absolutely sterile conditions of existence do not exist in principle, and we cannot protect our own child from all negative agents. It is this circumstance that explains the high contagiousness of pediculosis or lice in children.

Many parents, having learned about this trouble, are perplexed, where did the lice come from in a safe, hygienically inspected child?

The notion that head lice is common only among socially disadvantaged children is incorrect, today lice are detected in children from different families, including those who are wealthy. Infection healthy child comes from a person (child, adult) affected by head lice. The louse is not able to actively move and, contrary to the widespread myth, cannot jump and fly, but it can crawl.

During close contact, the insect crawls from one head to another and continues its life cycle in a new place. The contact of children is very high in any organized groups (kindergartens, camps, schools, boarding schools), therefore, under such conditions, mass infestation of lice is often detected. Close contact is also possible on children's playgrounds during games, at a party, at children's parties, etc.

The transfer of insects is also likely when several children use personal hygiene items and products while playing - combs, towels, hats, hairpins, rubber bands. Much less often, the contact path is implemented in in public places - hairdressing salons, saunas, swimming pools.

Based on the above, it becomes clear that if lice are found, the reasons lie in the social conditions of his stay, in contact with the source of infection. However, there are also factors of individual predisposition to head lice:

Lice waste products get on the skin of the face and neck and lead to the appearance of erythema, vesicles, papules, which can take on the character of chronic dermatitis with prolonged absence of treatment. When a coccal infection enters through wounds on the skin, secondary pyoderma occurs, and with its significant spread, an increase in lymph nodes is possible.

Pubic lice and head lice in children are rare. Symptoms are similar to head lice and differ only in localization - with pubic lice, the skin of the pubic region and genitals suffers, with a wardrobe, itching and scratching of the whole body is noted.

Lice are detected by visual inspection of the scalp. In children's organized groups, children are examined for head lice on a regular basis by a health worker or educator, however, parents must also examine the child's head, regardless of whether he visits an educational institution or not.

The main signs by which lice can be suspected:

• Small ulcers, swelling on the skin of the neck, shoulders, head
• Nits - Lice eggs are transparent or white micro dots that attach at an angle to the hair.

To examine the child, sit on a chair under a bright light source. If the hair is long, the strands are separated from each other with a fine comb and examined. Live lice despite small size, it is easy to detect during examination, with an advanced disease, dead individuals are also found. On the surface of the skin, scratches with crusts, bluish spots can be found.

Nits are often confused with dandruff, but unlike dandruff, they are difficult to remove from the hair and create a typical pop when crushed between the nails.

In conditions medical institutions to diagnose pediculosis, a special Wood lamp is used, under which living nits glow with a blue fluorescent light.

How to get lice out?

If lice are found, treatment should be started as soon as possible.

• firstly, this will avoid the spread of the disease among contact persons
• secondly, to avoid unpleasant complications
• thirdly, it will relieve the child of unpleasant symptoms.

Chemicals

There are three types of chemicals with insecticidal action against head lice:

Any medicine for head lice in a child, the active ingredient of which is one of the three mentioned above, is dispensed without a prescription.

When treating with chemicals, it is important to strictly follow the instructions for use. The drug must be applied twice, with a one-week break, since during the initial application, only larvae and adult insects die, but eggs are not always destroyed by chemical agents. Repeated use of the drug allows you to destroy the hatched larvae.

The time for which the drug is applied varies from 10 minutes to half a day. After the preparation is washed off, it is necessary to carefully comb out the dead insects with a comb.

Insecticidal preparations do not always kill the lice. This is due to several factors:

• insensitivity of lice to the active substance,
• improper use of the drug,
• non-compliance with the frequency of application.

Even the most expensive will be ineffective if the instructions are not followed. Some children have allergic reactions against the background of the use of insecticides, therefore, at the first application or if the child is allergic, you need to be very careful.

The drugs do not protect against re-infection, therefore, after treatment, you should perform preventive measurespreventing head lice.

Combing out lice

This technique has been known for a very long time, but it is quite effective provided that the combing is applied four times at certain time intervals within two weeks.

After washing, conditioner is applied to the hair in a greasy layer. After combing with a wide-toothed comb, the hair is carefully combed out with a fine-toothed comb. Lice will also be combed out with the remaining conditioner, so the comb should be rinsed periodically. After all hair has been combed, dry it with a towel, comb and repeat the combing procedure with a fine comb.

Combing according to the described scheme is carried out four times in three days - on days 1, 5, 9 and 13. This is done to destroy lice at different life cycles.

An interesting experiment! An experiment was carried out by Belgian scientists, which showed that the use of a hair conditioner when combing out nits is not inferior to chemical pediculicidal preparations in terms of effectiveness. However, if you started treatment with Permethrin and other chemicals, then before treatment and 2 weeks after, you should avoid the use of hair rinses and conditioners, as they create a film on the hair and reduce the absorption of chemicals. That is, use only one method - either drugs or combing with conditioner.

Other treatments

There are other less popular treatments for head lice in children:

When head lice is detected, active treatment of the child begins immediately. It is very important to carefully follow the rules of personal hygiene at this stage and to prevent contamination of contact persons. During treatment, the child is isolated from the team and is allowed to visit the institution after recovery.

Complications of head lice

As a result of scratching the itchy areas on the scalp, wounds and crusts appear, which are prone to suppuration when a secondary infection is attached. With a complication of head lice, impetiginous eczema, pyoderma occur, and in severe forms, the hair becomes entangled in a mat, which has a putrid odor. Lice can carry infectious diseases, the most dangerous of which is typhus.

Prevention of head lice

Prevention of head lice consists in observing the rules of personal hygiene, which is 90% dependent on the parents:

• The child should be taught hygiene skills, explaining what personal items are and why they should not be given to other children.
• Also, children should understand that it is necessary to observe at least a minimum distance when communicating and active games with other children and not to allow head contact.
• It is important to inspect regularly hairy part head of the child in order to detect head lice in time. This event is especially relevant when head lice is detected in an organized team visited by a child.
• Girls should be taught to have neat and tidy hairstyles with collected hair.

Of course, it is impossible to completely prevent head lice and eliminate the likelihood of a child becoming infected. But compliance with basic safety measures and personal hygiene can significantly reduce this probability.

In historical reports, mentions of pediculosis became more frequent during periods of wars or cataclysms, when they worsened significantly sanitary conditions... And this is partly the reason that lice is called a disease of disadvantaged segments of the population. But this is more of a stereotype.

Human head lice is caused by three subspecies of lice:

• head, which exist in the scalp;
• wardrobe - living in the hair on the body;
• pubic - living in the hairline of intimate areas.

To get lice, you do not need to lead an asocial and antihygienic lifestyle. A one-time touch of hair with a person with head lice is enough. This can happen in public transport, on the playground, in crowded places. This applies to head and body lice.

Head lice symptoms

Lice in humans has very clear symptoms and this disease cannot be confused with anything. The first sign of head lice is the presence of nits in the hair - small white lice eggs that visually resemble dandruff, but are very difficult to comb out with a comb and wash off. You can also see lice in your hair, but they are quite mobile and often you can not notice them.

The second clear sign of head lice is itching of the skin under the scalp. This is a natural reaction of the body to lice bites. In addition, small gray-blue spots and excoriation may appear on the skin - wounds from constant scratching of the bite sites.

Remarkably, all the symptoms of lice do not appear immediately after infection, but after several days, and sometimes weeks. The fact is that in most cases, head lice is transmitted by nits on the hair, and not lice, which turn into adults only after two weeks.

Pediculosis treatment in children

The discovery of pediculosis in a child, although an unpleasant fact, is not a reason for panic. In fact, modern ways lice control is very effective and easy to use, and does not require a visit to the doctor. In any pharmacy, you can find several tools at once that will help you easily overcome head lice in children. Let's consider the most popular among them:

Pediculosis (lice, which can occur in both a child and an adult) is a problem that becomes a real problem in every family, especially when it comes to children. After all, it is they who are at risk, the main age category - from 4 to 12 years old.

The peak of pediculosis infection occurs in late summer and early autumn, when babies return from camps, sanatoriums, and boarding houses. Explicit symptoms can only be noticed after 2-3 weeks, so if a child is going to kindergarten or school, pay close attention to the condition of his hair. How to determine what a child has lice and how to deal with it - in our article.

Head lice symptoms

Nits resemble transparent beads strung on hair

It is not difficult to understand that your child has lice - watch the baby, the most obvious symptoms of the disease are:

• severe itching;
• bite and scratch marks;
• severe dandruff and stale hair, even after a bath;
• allergy.

Pediculosis in a child is also dangerous by the fact that abscesses sometimes form at the sites of combed bites

It is easy to see nits (insect eggs), which the female lays up to several hundred. They are transparent beads glued to the hair near the root.

Why do lice appear on the head of children and what to do about it? You need to know that these insects do not exist on animals, but only on humans, therefore, the reasons for their appearance may be:

Remember that these insects cannot jump long distances and fly, so the reasons for the appearance of lice in children are the neglect of parents or caregivers in kindergarten, who do not keep track of the things of babies, comb them with one comb.

Children often "bring" lice from the camp

Many people believe that head lice can only be in children from asocial families - this is a delusion. On the contrary, lice prefer well-groomed hair, they settle on a clean head, and this happens in crowded places. It is precisely as a result of running pediculosis that the head always looks dirty, large plaque growths appear on the skin.

Lice control methods

Do not scold if you have identified lice in a child, the reasons for their appearance can be very different. Do not hide this incident from educators or teachers, as it is necessary to conduct a thorough examination of everyone who has come into contact with your child and to prevent the occurrence of head lice.

Calm down your baby, explain the reasons for the infection, conduct an explanatory conversation, watch a video on how to deal with head lice, and that it is not scary. Find out what measures you need to take to prevent this situation.

VIDEO: How to get rid of lice from a child

Medical treatment

Lice treatment in children medical preparations - this is by far the easiest and most effective way to get rid of adversity. Let's review the most common products:

"Nittifor"

This tool can be presented in the form of a lotion or cream. It is applied for forty minutes (cream for 10 minutes), then washed off with warm water and detergent. The hair is combed with a comb. Pediculosis is treated in children from 5 years of age, since intolerance to the components of the drug is possible.

The average cost of Nittifor cream is 350 rubles.

The spray, produced in cylinders with a volume of 116 ml, with a continuous valve, has proven itself well in the treatment of head lice. Should be used with caution by those who have bronchial asthma or hypersensitivity to permethrin. The average cost of an aerosol is 500 rubles.

One of the most popular means for removing lice on the head (you can watch the video of the application on the Internet). To fight insects, dilute a third of the bottle in 200 ml of warm water, apply the composition to the scalp. After 15-20 minutes, rinse thoroughly with any shampoo.

The release form of the drug can be in the form of a gel, which must be rubbed into the roots, washed off after half an hour. The average cost of funds ranges from 80 to 250 rubles, depending on the place of purchase.

It is applied as follows:

• Wash your hair with regular shampoo.
• Treat itax hair and skin head, repeat the application after 10 minutes.
• Rinse off the product, comb your hair with a comb.
• Repeat the procedure after a week.

The product is available in 150 ml bottles, average price - 900 rubles.

Shampoo based on natural essential oils, offered with a comb. Also available as a spray, which is more convenient to use. Apply to dry hair and skin for 10 minutes, foam, rinse off with water. The average cost for 200 ml of the drug is 640 rubles.

Despite the fact that the tool is not the cheapest, its main advantage is safety and effectiveness.

Folk remedies

Consider also folk remedies from head lice in children, which over the years of use have proven their effectiveness.

Among folk methods - kerosene, vinegar, hellebore water, dusty soap

• Kerosene and sunflower oil 1: 1, apply to hair, cover with cellophane, after an hour rinse with warm water and shampoo.
• Combing and trimming bald.
• Vinegar - diluted with water in a 1: 2 ratio, this product dries the hair and scalp very much, you should be careful.
• Kerosene with tar soap 1: 1 is diluted with water at the rate of 100 ml of the mixture per 1 liter of water.
• Tar soap - daily shampooing.
• Treatment of strands with an electric hair straightener.
• Chemerichnaya water.

If head lice is detected, all family members should be checked.

What to do with things if lice are found?

The procedure is as follows:

Do not forget about preventive measures: washing your hair at least twice a week, changing linen frequently, not putting on and measuring things of strangers, using other people's combs and hairbrushes.

VIDEO: Lice and scabies - School of Dr. Komarovsky

Every year millions of school-age children are infected with head lice. Although lice are really not a very pleasant acquisition, they themselves do not cause serious diseases and are not carriers of them. In addition, lice can be easily removed at home.

What is this anyway?

Head lice are tiny insects about the size of a sesame seed (2–3 mm long), usually pale gray in color, but may sometimes be different in color.

Lice feed on a small amount of blood from the scalp. They usually die in less than a day outside the human scalp. Lice lay eggs (nits) on the hair close to the scalp. They are oval in shape (approximately 0.8x0.3 mm), and their color varies from yellow to white. Nits are attached to the hair with a sticky substance and therefore do not slip off them. After the lice hatch from the eggs, the empty nits remain attached to the hair.

Lice live for about 28 days. They multiply rapidly, laying up to 10 eggs per day. In 12 days, an adult individual develops from the egg. This cycle can be repeated every 3 weeks if the lice are not treated.

Who usually gets head lice?

Anyone can get it, but most often head lice occurs in children of preschool and primary school age. At the same time, cleanliness of hair and sanitary conditions in the house do not matter. It also doesn't matter where children and family members live, play or work.

How do lice spread?

Lice crawl like insects. They cannot jump or fly. The main way lice spread is through prolonged head-to-head contact. There is also the possibility of transmission of lice through combs, brushes, hats.

What are the symptoms of head lice?

The most common symptom of head lice is itching. About 4 weeks after a lice infestation, the scalp may start to itch, usually in the back of the head or behind the ears (where it is more tender). In addition, itching may persist for several weeks after the lice have been destroyed. However, itchy scalp can also be caused by atopic dermatitis (eczema), dandruff, or allergies to hair products.

How to check for lice?

Examining your baby's head regularly is good way to prevent the reproduction of lice and their spread over the head of the child.

How to deal with lice?

Check with your pediatrician before starting any treatment for lice on your child. Most effective method fight against lice - the use of drugs for head lice. But this should only be done if you are sure that the child has lice.

When treating with drugs for head lice, the following precautions must be observed.

• Observe the instructions for the preparation.
• Never let children apply the medicine on their own. This should only be done by adults.
• Consult your pediatrician before retreatment. A second treatment is usually needed 10 days after the first. In some cases, a third treatment may be needed 10 days after the second.
• Do not use medicines on a child younger than 2 years old without first consulting a doctor.
• Do not use medicines to treat your children if you are pregnant or breastfeeding without first consulting your doctor.
• Store medicines in a closed cabinet, out of the reach of children.
• If you still have questions, ask your pediatrician.

Note: The lice combing method (removing lice without medication, combing damp hair with a thick comb) is usually ineffective. In addition, home remedies such as petroleum jelly or vegetable oil, mayonnaise and margarine have not been scientifically proven. Never use hazardous products such as gasoline or kerosene, or medicines intended for animals!

What drugs are there for lice?

Below is a list of drugs used for head lice. Advice: in any case, consult your doctor before applying them.

What else you need to know about the treatment of head lice

You should not throw away all the things that the child wore during this period. It is enough to wash in hot water everything that the child wore or used 3 days before the detection of lice and treatment: clothes, towels, hats, bedding, soft toys. Place items that cannot be washed in an airtight plastic bag for 2 weeks.

Do not spray pesticides in the house - you risk poisoning the whole family with dangerous chemical... Moreover, this is not necessary after the treatment of the child's scalp with lice preparations.

If lice are found in a child, all family members and those who have been in close contact with him should also be checked and, if necessary, treated with lice preparations.

Some schools do not allow children with nits in their hair to attend. The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American School of Nursing Association disagree with this policy and believe that a child should not miss classes due to lice and can go to school immediately after treatment with a special treatment.

Remember

Head lice are not dangerous and will not cause any serious health problems, but if they are found in a child, start treatment right away to prevent the spread of head lice.

Materials

Pediculosis is a topic that causes disgust and disgust in many people, it is not customary to talk about it publicly. According to statistics, every second person in the world has faced this problem at least once in his life. Most of all, kindergarteners and elementary school students are at risk of infection. Therefore, children between the ages of 4 and 12 should be regularly checked for lice and nits.

Lice. Who are we dealing with?

Lice are insects from 0.4 to 4 mm long, living on the scalp of a person and feeding on the blood of the "host". Lice cannot fly and jump, but they deftly cling to their hair and are able to crawl "to a new owner". Within 7-10 days, the female lays several hundred nits (eggs), which in a few weeks turn into adults. So it is usually possible to detect head lice approximately a week later after infection.

Recognizing head lice in time

It is important for parents to know the symptoms of head lice in order to take action in time. Comb the child's hair thoroughly, paying particular attention to his behavior and scalp condition: frequent scratching of the head, small bluish-grayish spots on the skin, bleeding combs and, accordingly, the presence of lice and nits in the hair.

If head lice is found, it is worth checking for lice all family members.

The child became infected: the correct explanation

Remember, do not scold the child if he has caught lice - this is not his fault. Calm down the child, tell him about lice - that they are not dangerous, hair does not fall out from them, and even more so no one dies. Distract your baby from worries and fears, trying not to cause shame and embarrassment in him.

It is important to tell your child about preventive measuresso you don't get lice again. Explain to your child that he, like every adult, has things that are meant only for him.

How to get rid of lice in one go

It is better to buy a natural product such as a lice spray or lotion. All means are specially developed by the Research Institute of Disinfection of Rospotrebnadzor to completely eliminate lice and rot in just one applicationwithout causing addiction to insects.

The composition of the products contains natural anise oil, which has a soothing and anti-inflammatory effect - relieves irritation of the scalp caused by itching, and also reduces children's irritability and tearfulness.

The drug is produced in the form of a lotion (50 ml), which is suitable for treating short hair, and a spray (150 ml) - for hair below the shoulders.

Correct treatment for lice and nits

Hair treatment for head lice should be carried out in a ventilated area with good lighting.

Cover the baby's shoulders with a white towel to keep out any splashes on clothing. Starting at the roots, thoroughly moisturize the hair with the product, spreading it over the entire length and lightly massaging the scalp. Do not spare funds, hair should be completely moisturized. Leave on for 30 minutes. If your hair is long, gather it in a bun and secure it with a hairpin. Then rinse your hair thoroughly with warm water and then with shampoo or soap. Dry your hair lightly with a towel.

With help crest with frequent teeth, carefully comb out dead lice and nits, each time cleaning the comb with a towel. Check the result with magnifiers.

Rinse your child's belongings that could become a source of infection with hot water. Wash your baby's clothes and bedding. Remember, lice die at temperatures above 40 ° C.

We inform parents

Unfortunately, most families faced with head lice in a child are in no hurry to warn other parents about the threat. Be brave and call a parent, teacher, or class teacher. Tell us about how you dealt with the problem, advise the tool that helped you, and tell me where you got it.