Is It Easy to Get Head Lice Again if You Have Already Had It
It seems similar y'all'd know if y'all or a loved one has lice. But, if you've never dealt with the creepy scalp crawlers in the past, it tin can be hard to know what you're looking for. In fact, the signs and symptoms of lice tin can actually look and experience a lot like dandruff.
But caput lice is in a whole league of its own. These tiny parasitic insects are almost two to three millimeters long—and they banquet on human blood, according to the Centers for Illness Control and Prevention (CDC). Lice can't fly or hop—instead, they go around by itch, says Patricia Garcia, Doctor, a pediatrician at Connecticut Children's Medical Center.
In general, people go lice from direct caput-to-caput contact. "This contact needs to exist prolonged," Dr. Garcia says. "The distance from ane head to another is quite big for lice and it will accept them a while to physically cantankerous that distance." Unremarkably, they spread via an infected person or their belongings, like clothes or a hairbrush.
Lice are typically establish on the scalp or fastened firmly to hair shafts, but they can announced on the eyebrows and eyelashes likewise. Even though they're not known to bear disease, they can exist a major pain to bargain with. Hither, doctors explain exactly what to look for if you think you're dealing with lice—and how to go rid of them ASAP.
What are the signs and symptoms of lice?
Some lice symptoms are more mutual and noticeable than others. But in general, these are the ones you want to keep an centre out for:
1. Intense itchiness
This is a classic sign of lice, Dr. Garcia says. Caput lice can cause itchiness on whatsoever function of the scalp, but it'due south ordinarily behind the ears and at the hairline, she says. "The itchiness is caused by irritation of the skin and scalp by lice saliva," Dr. Garcia explains. This is an important fact to know, because people don't immediately beginning scratching when they become lice: It tin take several days for the itchiness to develop, she says.
2. White dots on the hair
These can be tough to spot but, if you await closely at someone who has lice, you'll often see nits (aka lice eggs) on their hair shafts, says Ashanti Woods, MD, a pediatrician at Baltimore'southward Mercy Medical Center. "It sometimes resembles dandruff," he says.
While it'southward easy to confuse nits with dandruff, a key difference is that nits are hard to remove from hair, while dandruff usually flakes off hands, says Robert C. Hamilton, Dr., a pediatrician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif. Dandruff causes white (or even yellowish) flaking on the scalp directly, while lice oftentimes look similar little grains of rice that are firmly fastened to the pilus follicle.
3. A tickling sensation in the scalp
Non everyone feels lice moving around on their scalp, but some people do. Dr. Garcia says that nigh of her patients say they "don't feel anything," merely others may get a creepy, tickling sensation equally lice move around their caput.
4. Scarlet bumps on the scalp
Again, the itchiness that lice cause is from the saliva they inject into the scalp when they seize with teeth. That tin cause an allergic reaction and lead to a cherry-red rash or bumps on the skin, Dr. Woods says. Given that the bumps are subconscious nether hair, they can be tough to spot, though.
5. Actual bugs on the scalp and in the hair
Lice don't like light and they'll "move quickly to avoid it" so you might non exist able to encounter them every bit y'all comb through hair, Dr. Garcia says. However, sometimes you'll actually spot the critters if you're fast enough. "Yous can sometimes run across live lice running effectually," Dr. Hamilton says.
6. Irritation
All that itchiness caused by lice bites can lead to scalp irritation. "A lot of times because people are itching their head, they scratch themselves upwardly," Dr. Hamilton says. That can cause scabbing and skin irritation, he says, such as redness or even sores.
7. Trouble sleeping
Lice tend to be more than active at night, the CDC says, and they tend to feed and motion around a lot during this time. That can keep a person awake, and arrive hard to get quality slumber.
How to get rid of lice
Lice don't ordinarily go away on their own, Dr. Woods says. Couple that with the fact that an adult louse tin can lay up to 10 eggs a 24-hour interval and "information technology's quite possible to take a very rapid population explosion every 2 to three weeks if lice is left untreated," Dr. Garcia says.
Lice treatment usually involves over-the-counter shampoos that contain pest-killing permethrin or pyrethrins, per the CDC. Some of these treatments volition kill the nits, but y'all may need to retreat the scalp. Information technology's also a good idea to use a fine-molar lice rummage to get rid of nits, equally well as whatever remaining expressionless or live lice. And, if that doesn't seem to work, your medico may recommend you utilise a prescription medication similar benzyl booze, ivermectin balm, or malathion.
So, yous'll desire to tackle your habitation, as lice can live up to two days on inanimate objects. Avoid using lice sprays (every bit fumigant sprays can be toxic when breathed in), and but vacuum your floor and article of furniture. Give your clothing a adept wash and dry on loftier rut, and soak any brushes or combs in hot water for at least v minutes. As for things that can't be washed? Place them in a sealed plastic bag for around two weeks, per the CDC.
Lesser line: If you suspect yous or someone you honey has lice but yous're not sure, talk to your physician ASAP. They should be able to diagnose you quickly and become yous started on treatment right abroad.
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Source: https://www.prevention.com/health/a29503942/lice-symptoms/
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