Hair Lice
Important Facts About Hair Lice
It's a parent's worst nightmare – your child comes home from a sleepover with hair lice. Lice are little parasitic insects, wingless, that live in human hair and feed on tiny suckings of the scalp's blood. They do sound nasty, to be sure, but they are actually a fairly common problem, most especially for children aged three to twelve years, and they affect girls most often.
Lice do not carry diseases, but they can be quite contagious, and very annoying. When they bite your child's scalp, it may cause it to become inflamed and itchy, and if the child scratches the skin a lot, it could lead to infection or irritation, or both.
Hair lice are very small, but you can see them without magnification. When you or your physician examine your child's scalp, you may see nits, nymphs, and adult lice.
The eggs of hair lice are known as nits. They are very small brown, tan or yellow eggs. After they hatch, the shell left behind will look clear or white. Lice lay eggs on shafts of hair, within a quarter inch of the surface of the skin, where the scalp helps keep them warm. Nits may tend to look a bit like dandruff, but you can't remove them by shaking or brushing them. Unless there is a heavy infestation, you will more easily see nits rather than the lice themselves. Usually, the eggs hatch about one to two weeks after they are placed on the hair shaft.
Nymphs, or baby hair lice, become adults about two weeks after they hatch. Adult lice are about the size of a poppy seed, and they are tan or grayish-white. Lice usually suck blood during the day, but they may be able to survive for up to two days even if they're not on the scalp.
If your child's scalp isn't overly sensitive, they may not begin to scratch right away, when they acquire the lice. Even if they don't itch, however, they may be able to feel the lice moving on their heads.
If your child scratches a good deal with the lice, they may develop, from scratching, sores or red bumps. For some children, the irritation may be mild, but others may develop a more serious rash. If they scratch a lot, they can get an infection. If your physician finds that your child has an infection, he will prescribe an antibiotic.
You can sometimes see hair lice or nits by sectioning your child's hair, and by checking behind the ears, on any part of the scalp, and around the hairline. Your physician will be able to recommend a shampoo, conditioner or lotion to treat your child's lice with. Make sure to use it according to directions.