Lice( pediculosis, lice) - Causes, symptoms and treatment. MF.

Pediculosis or lice. What it is? In translation into Russian this disease is called "lice" or infection with lice. Contrary to the widespread public opinion that lice are the lot of wartime and people without a fixed place of residence, absolutely everyone can get a small and harmful pet on their heads. Troubles for humans are three main types of lice: Head louse, Louse louse and Pubic louse.

Causes of pediculosis

Types of lice

The head louse settles in the scalp, preferring the occipital and temporal areas. This translucent insect refers to small obligate( constantly occurring) parasites and a detachment of fluffy. Their main food is human blood. The female lice lives a little more than a month and lays 10 eggs( nits) a day, attaching them to the base of the hair with a strong sticky secret and placing them in the form of a spikelet of 4-5 pieces. Their mouthpiece is adapted to biting the skin and sucking blood. When bitten, the parasite secretes an irritating substance in the wound, causing severe itching. A lice bitten by a man has an unbearable desire to comb the place of the bite by hand, bringing a second infection into the wound. There is a local inflammatory reaction, redness, crusts and denseness of the skin at the site of scratching. This infection can spread to neighboring lymph nodes.

The louse , in addition to itching, causes other troubles, being a carrier of such dangerous diseases as typhus, Volyn fever and recurrent typhus. Unlike the head, she lives in the folds of clothes, and there she lays eggs. Therefore, bites are located in the places of contact of clothing with the body: on the belt, in the elbow and knee folds, in the collar area.

The pubic louse ( plaschenitsa) causes pubic pediculosis( fthiracy).This small parasite of dark brown color lives in the pubic and anal area, delivering a lot of troubles with its bites. The pubic wax, mainly sexually transmitted, is transmitted. If the hair is well expressed on the body, other parts of the body may be affected by Fthiasis.

Unfortunately, the incidence of pediculosis is increasing every year. One of the reasons for this, in addition to climate mitigation, is the lack of awareness of people about the disease. Incorrect treatment of pediculosis leads not only to repeated infection of the patient and his close people, but also helps parasites adapt to new medicines.

How lice are transmitted

Louse can not fly and jump, but it creeps well, runs and even floats! The new owner she finds, focusing on the smell. It's easy to get an uninvited guest on your head, using any subject that touches the sick head first, and then healthy: the comb, the cap, the headphones.

Children at risk for infestation with pediculosis are more often aged 5-12 years. This can be explained by the fact that at this age children usually communicate actively in close contact with peers in children's groups. Children become more independent, the control of parents for personal hygiene issues is reduced. But their own habits have not yet been sufficiently formed among the children. Therefore, soft toys, carnival costumes, bed linen in children's camps and kindergartens can be called specific contact items through which lice infecting children.

Adults easily become infected with lice from children in the family, as well as possible infection in bathhouses, swimming pools and hairdressers, as well as in the care of children's institutions or in crowded groups( military, places of deprivation of liberty).

Symptoms and diagnosis of pediculosis

Diagnosis of pediculosis does not cause technical complications: it is enough to detect live individuals of lice or nits when viewed with the naked eye or under magnification.

The psychological side of the issue presents more difficulties. The patient, hearing that he has lice, often perceives such news with hostility. Previously, it was almost impossible for the doctor to prove the need for treatment, since the small size of the parasite and its active movement, as well as the often imperfect vision of the doctor, easily raise doubts. In recent times, this situation is radically changed by videodermatoscopy( examination of the skin under magnification, with recording on video media).Now in doubtful cases it is possible to confirm the diagnosis.

Lice head lice

Treatment for pediculosis

How to get rid of lice? A set of drugs for the treatment of pediculosis today is fundamentally different from what it was before. Now the treatment for pediculosis does not require shaving the head( except for cases of allergy to ALL existing drugs, which is extremely rare).Also, do not use extremely non-aromatic folk methods, such as Kerosene with butter, dust, chinese water. In addition, they do not guarantee a positive result, but spoiled hair, a terrible smell, or even poisoning - are much more likely.

There are a lot of means for disinfestation in the pharmacy chains( destruction of insects).All of them have different active substance and form( from ointment to spray).After carefully reading the instructions, carry out the treatment of lice affected by areas, paying attention to the fact that:

• Do not neglect the re-treatment - during the first treatment the medicine can "spare" a few nits that will become a source of re-infection.
• It is compulsory to examine and treat pediculosis at the same time for all members of the team( groups in kindergarten, families, departments), because the untreated person will again become a source of infection. To do this, manufacturers of medicines create a package, the funds from which will suffice not at once.
• Accurately follow all instructions - parasites adapt very quickly, and you have to use more and more sophisticated means. To date, preference is given to the combination drugs.
• Within two days from the beginning of treatment, it is essential to wash it at high temperatures and iron the entire bed and underwear of the patient with a hot iron.
• After treatment for two weeks, it is necessary to monitor the patient's skin to ensure complete elimination of lice. Such a time interval is due to the development of nits.
• In order to remove the nits, tightly attached to the hair, it is necessary to comb out them with a special very frequent comb. Sometimes manufacturers of anti-pediculosis drugs invest them in a package containing a medicinal product. But they can be purchased separately. I even met special crests, which were cut with a laser, for a more effective result.

Combing of nits with a frequent comb

Complications of pediculosis

The most common pediculosis of the scalp is of no particular danger to humans, except for unpleasant itching and secondary infection of the scalp. The louse - the carrier of typhoid infection - today is not so common. Infection of it is widespread mainly among people who do not have the opportunity to regularly wash and wear clean clothes. There is typhus with a general increase in temperature, the appearance of a rash and other symptoms. In this case, a consultation of the infectious disease doctor and isolated treatment in the infectious department is necessary.

Prevention of infection with lice

For the prevention of pediculosis, it is necessary to perform regular hygiene measures( washing and combing the head, regular examination of the scalp) and to have individual instruments( hairbrushes, curlers, clothes) for this purpose.

Pediculosis - an unpleasant disease, it affects everyone. Do not be shy, go through the treatment and forget about this problem.
Take care of yourself and your children!

Physician therapist Moskvina AM