The child has lice. What to do? Often such news becomes a bolt from the blue for parents and in the first minutes causes only helplessness in the current situation.
Pediculosis is a parent's nightmare
Pediculosis (lice infestation) is a "terrible dream" for parents, which is hard to believe, especially when it comes to their own child. A fairly common disease most often affects children aged 4-12 years; often reaches its peak in late summer - early autumn, and the first signs of the disease can sometimes be detected after a few weeks from the moment of infection.
Therefore, in order to avoid infection with head lice, it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the child's hair.
Lice and nits: description
The child has lice. What to do? The louse is a small insect, up to 4 mm in length. Preferring warm places, she lives behind the ears, as well as in the occipital and temporal regions. It is there that you can observe the places of scratching and bite marks, while the insect itself is very mobile, it is enough to seeproblematic. It is easy to detect louse eggs - nits, of which a female can lay about several hundred in a week.
Representing small transparent "beads", they are firmly attached to the hair, closer to their root part. Nits do not cause much harm until they turn into adult insects. The latter feed on human blood, extracting it by piercing the scalp. Moreover, the need for food in lice is very high, they need to be saturated about once every three hours. Puncture sites, identified by gray-blue traces, subsequently begin to itch. This happens due to the presence of an enzyme in the lice, which it injects into the wound. Strongly combed wounds threaten the appearance of a bacterial infection and, as a result, possible suppuration. If a mother found lice in a child - what to do in such a situation, what actions need to be taken in the first place? The cause should be corrected.
Causes of head lice infection
What to do if a child has lice? You should know that lice exist only on humans, so it is impossible to get lice from an animal. Causes the appearance of unwanted fast-running insects that cannot jump and fly, direct contact: using the same comb, sharing personal items, trying on each other's hats, sleeping together on the same pillow. The idea that lice infest asocial people is not true; these parasites prefer well-groomed people and willingly settle on clean, he althy hair. In any case, the riskinfection increases by an order of magnitude in places with signs of unsanitary conditions and mass congestion of people.
If a head lice infection has occurred, parents found lice in a child - what to do? Do not scold the child, because it is not his fault. The infected person needs to be reassured, distracted from fears and worries, explaining that lice are not dangerous, hair does not fall out from them and no one dies from this. In order to avoid a new infection, it is necessary to conduct an explanatory conversation with the child about the importance of applying preventive measures.
Methods for detecting head lice
You can determine the presence of pediculosis by the appearance of itching in the bite area. To this phenomenon is added the child's anxiety, restlessness, a feeling of discomfort and a lack of understanding of the causes that cause it.
To detect lice, two test methods are used: on wet and dry hair. The first one is the most effective. To check for pediculosis, it is recommended to apply a hair conditioner to the head, in order to facilitate the glide of the comb. The hair needs to be combed, then with a thick comb or comb, comb out in different directions. The head needs to be combed at least a couple of times, checking the comb each time after dipping into the hair.
You need to carefully examine the combed hair. Nits are noticeable in the root area and firmly attached to the hair. It is very difficult to separate them; when crushed, a specific crack is heard.
Lice can also be found when combing over a light-colored, lint-free towel or paper sheet. Insectstranslucent, small, have six legs. Instances saturated with blood are characterized by a brownish-brown color.
Earlier, in the fight against lice, folk remedies were used, the main component of which was kerosene. Now, with the advent of modern drugs in pharmacies, the need for grandmother's methods that require long walking with a towel or a bag on the head has disappeared. Now you can get rid of pediculosis at a time, and the treatment of the head takes a minimum of time. So, the child has lice. What to do?
Medication treatment
From medicines, products containing permethrin are effective. This is an element found in plants of the Compositae family and has activity aimed at killing lice. Of the shampoos for infection with pediculosis, it is recommended to use the funds "Khigia", "Veda" and "Veda-2". The drug must be applied to wet hair in the amount of 1-3 tablespoons, brought to a foamy state, held for 10 minutes (according to some reviews, the result takes 20 minutes), then rinse thoroughly. Then rinse your hair with 5% vinegar and proceed to carefully comb out the parasites.
Lice found on a child. What to do? What to treat? In the fight against lice, the Pair Plus aerosol is effective. Spraying is carried out over the entire surface of the hair with short presses; the head should not be covered with anything. Also, during processing, it is required to cover the child's mouth with his hand, in order to avoid the risk of developing bronchospasm. After application, you need to wait 10 minutes, then wash off the drug with a regular shampoo. Dead insects should be combed out with a thick comb. Reviews about this remedy are contradictory: the drug helped someone, someone was forced to look for a more effective remedy. The disadvantage of aerosol is the high cost.
Permethrin preparations against lice
The child has lice. What to do? "Nittifor" - a drug presented on the shelves of pharmacies in the form of a solution or cream. The solution is used undiluted, rubbed into the roots of pre-moistened hair. After 40 minutes, the remedy must be washed off with shampoo, then rinse the hair with a 5% solution of vinegar and comb out the parasites with a thick comb. "Nittifor" is able to remain active for 2 weeks, preventing the reproduction of lice. Cream "Nittifor" is also applied to wet hair for 10 minutes. Then it needs to be washed off with shampoo, rinsed with vinegar. This drug is contraindicated in children under 5 years of age, people with hypersensitivity, pregnant women and nursing mothers. According to consumer reviews, the product is effective, easy to use, evenly distributed and washed off well.
Medifox is one of the effective remedies
Medifox is one of the most popular and effective drugs in the fight against lice. 1/3 bottle of the product is required to be diluted with 200 ml of warm boiled water, liberally apply the resulting composition to the affected skin using a cotton swab. 20 minutes after treatment, wash the hair with shampoo with running warm water. In the form of Medifox gel evenlyApply to clean, damp hair with thorough rubbing into the roots. The product must be washed off after 40 minutes. For one person, the consumption of the gel is 10-50 grams, depending on the degree of infection.
A child has lice - what to do? A high result in the fight against lice is shown by means based on malathion, a substance with an antiparasitic effect. A striking example is Pedilin shampoo, which qualitatively relieves lice.
Phenotrin-based drugs
Drugs based on phenothrin have a neurotoxic effect on insects. On their basis, the Itax shampoo was made, which destroys larvae and lice. The Parasidosis solution is quite effective, which you need to rub into the roots of wet hair for 5 minutes, then rinse with warm water and shampoo. A day later, this operation is repeated again. The result of side effects can be a rash, itching, swelling, redness. If for some reason there is no desire or opportunity to use medical drugs, but the child has lice - what should I do?
Folk remedies for the treatment of head lice
Of the folk methods, the most popular means of getting rid of lice were:
- Haircut bald.
- Treatment with tar soap, characterized by a high alkali content.
- Sunflower oil with kerosene in equal proportions. Preparations containing kerosene are flammable, spoil the hair, do not rinse well, make the hair look dirty and difficult to comb.
- Kerosene combined with laundry soap in equal proportions. Before application, it is required to dilute with water: 100 ml of the composition per 1 liter of water.
- Cranberry juice. Characterized by a highly acidic environment, it is especially effective on nits, corroding their shell.
- Dust soap (not used in the modern world).
- Mixture of engine oil and kerosene - WD-40 fluid.
- Vinegar. It is diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 2. The negative qualities of the drug include drying hair, in a concentrated form - burns.
- Smoothing strands with a hair straightener (these parasites can not stand high temperatures).
- Combing out. For example, if a child is allergic, then in this way you can get rid of uninvited guests.
Associated measures in the fight against head lice
If lice are found in a child - what to do at home? It is necessary to examine all family members for pediculosis, wash bed linen, clothes, towels (washing temperature - not lower than 55 ˚С). Then the washed things need to be ironed and left to lie down for 2 days. Such treatment will not only kill insects, but also deprive them of food, without which they will not live long. It is also required to process all the things that the child used: outerwear, pillow, blanket, mattress. For things that are difficult to process (carpets, upholstered furniture), special sprays will be required.
Preventive methods
If a child constantly has lice - what to do?In addition to treatment with the above drugs and methods, a number of preventive measures are required, the main of which is personal hygiene. It is necessary to wash the child's hair at least 2 times a week, regularly change the baby's bed and underwear, do not allow them to try on other people's things and use other people's combs.
It is also required to conduct an educational conversation, explaining the danger of pediculosis. As a kind of protection, you can use tea tree and lavender oil (lice do not tolerate their smell), which is applied behind the child's ears, on the neck and the back of the head. As a prophylaxis, such funds must also be applied to uninfected family members.
