Nothing is more annoying than head lice in your child. Although it has nothing to do with hygiene, there is a taboo on it. Children are easily bullied. It also takes quite some effort to effectively combat head lice, but with these treatments you will certainly succeed.

What are lice?

Lice are wingless insects that mainly live on the skin of animals. There are some species that live on humans. One of these is head lice. They live on blood. To do this, they bite the skin of its victim dozens of times. The louse injects a substance into it, which ensures that the blood does not clot so quickly. There are several theories about how long a louse can live without blood. It varies from several hours to several days. That also depends on how strong the louse is. But on their host or hostess, the young lice mature after seven to ten days and lay 250 eggs in a month, so the infestation can grow very quickly. They are blue-gray in color, but once engorged with blood, they change to a reddish-brown color. They are about three millimeters in size.

Symptoms

The symptoms start with itching. This is caused by the injected substance. Red spots are visible if the louse has fed on blood. After all, it has to make a bite mark to get to the blood.Head lice cannot fly or jump, but quickly spread from one child to another. Or through the coats that hang tightly together on the coat rack. Fortunately, more and more schools are switching to ‘lice bags’. These are pockets in which the coat is stored, so that they do not come into contact with each other on the coat hook.

Therapy

They like warm places, so at higher temperatures there is more likely to be a lice infestation. They like it on the neck and behind the ears. Nits look like black specks in the hair. They may also look white, but that is the empty egg. The louse itself will already be out. A louse lays about eight nits a day. If lice or nits are found on your child, they must be treated. Just like other family members. There are authorities that indicate that bedding, cuddly toys and clothing also need to be cleaned. Lice are only killed at 60 degrees Celsius by dry cleaning or leaving in a closed bag for at least a week. Freezing for 24 hours is also good to kill lice. Upholstered furniture and car seats should be thoroughly vacuumed. However, scientific literature indicates that contamination can only occur through hair-to-hair contact and not through indirect contact, for example through cuddly toys or bedding.

But once head lice have been detected?

There is a registered lotion available that kills lice and nits. The dead lice and nits must be combed out every day with a nit comb. This has closely spaced metal teeth. This should actually be done daily for two weeks in a row, due to the tenacity with which the nits cling to the hair. Nits are firmly attached to the hair with a certain adhesive substance that they secrete. A rinse is available for this purpose that dissolves this adhesive. You can also use regular vinegar. You can spray vinegar, diluted with water, over your child’s hair every morning with a plant sprayer. Once this has dried it will be odorless but will help prevent lice from jumping onto your head. If there are still lice in the hair after two weeks of active treatment, it is better to contact a doctor. There is a chance that the louse has become resistant to the product used.

Have you seen head lice yet?

Report it to your child’s class so that it can be thoroughly checked and immediate action can be taken.