How can you get lice - ways and methods of spreading lice, methods of prevention

Hello! Recently, I read the news in a newspaper that four cases of pediculosis were revealed in one kindergarten.

All parents of children in every possible way denied that their child could be the original peddler of parasites. No one wanted to admit their carelessness when caring for a child.

But the fact remains. Such cases are not uncommon even in our time. Want to know how you can get lice? Who is at risk and how to protect yourself from these parasites? In the article below I want to analyze these issues in detail.

Can I get lice?

Around pediculosis there are many myths and conjectures. This is due to the fact that few people know what this disease actually is and what are the causes of its occurrence.

The belief that the appearance of head lice is a sign of inadequate hygiene and a low standard of living is rooted everywhere. And since the disease is most often found in children, many parents, finding it in their child, try to remain silent about this fact, which only exacerbates the situation and often leads to the rapid spread of the disease in the children's team.

Infection with head lice occurs mainly through direct contact with an infected person: during contact with hair, lice with special hook-like claws on their legs, holding tenaciously on their hair, quickly pass from the head of one person to the head of another.

It is impossible to become infected with head lice just being in the same room as a person infected with lice, unless you are in contact with him in this way.

Is it possible to get infected in the pool?

You can not get lice in the pool when swimming in a pond / river or any other body of water. At the same time, lice are able to survive in the water for some time, so frequent washing of the head will not help either in prevention or in the fight against these parasites.

Is it possible to get infected from an animal?

Another common myth is that animals are carriers of lice. Lice are species-specific parasites, which means that cat lice can exist only on cats, dog lice - only on dogs, etc. Therefore, if head lice are found in your child, you do not need to treat pets with lice remedies, and vice versa.

In addition, children willingly change their headgear, hair pins and use a common comb. More often, pediculosis occurs in girls with long hair. Especially often, infection occurs in camps and other places of summer recreation, where at the same time a large number of children live.

In this regard, at the beginning of each academic year, medical workers in kindergartens and schools without fail examine all children for lice in order to identify patients and prevent the further spread of head lice. Adults, as a rule, become infected with head lice already from their children.

Can I get rid of lice?

A separate topic around which there are a lot of misconceptions is the fight against head lice. Previously, it was customary to fight parasites with the help of folk remedies: cranberry juice, decoctions of herbs, kerosene and even shaving your head bald.

All of these methods are outdated today, and some of them, especially if used incorrectly, can even be hazardous to the health of children and parents.

Most of the funds include permethrin as the active substance, to which lice are increasingly developing resistance, which significantly reduces the effectiveness of such drugs.

However, among traditional insecticides, preparations based on substances from other chemical groups are still active against head lice. In addition to them, pediculicides based on essential oils are also used.

In the last decade, a new effective group of pediculicides has appeared, represented by means containing silicone oils - dimethicones. With a low concentration of dimethicones, they also include mineral oils (for example, Isopar).

Such agents act physically - the constituent substances inhibit the respiration of insects and disrupt their water metabolism. Lice do not develop resistance to them, and besides, they are non-toxic to humans.

But it is worth remembering that after applying any pediculicidal product containing traditional insecticides, it is necessary to rinse the hair with 4.5% solution of table vinegar, and then carefully comb the eggs (nits) and dead larvae and adult lice from the hair with a special comb.

Be sure to carefully follow the instructions for use, as the method of application varies for each product.

Head lice: myths and reality

One of the problems for children and their parents is pediculosis. Not the worst, of course, but extremely unpleasant.

Like pearls on a string of beads, they are so firmly glued to the hair at the roots that it is extremely difficult to remove them from there. They are often confused with dandruff, although nits and dandruff can be distinguished by their shape and color: dandruff is always white and, unlike nits, it is easy to shake off with your hands.

Lice hatched from an egg are called larvae. They have not yet developed reproductive function. "Growing" of lice occurs within 9-12 days. Mature lice are usually brownish in color. The female lives about 30 days and during this time manages to lay from 150 to 300 eggs.

Head lice live in the hair on a person’s head, eating only human blood. Like mosquitoes, they pierce the scalp and suck blood using a special proboscis.

Itching occurs in response to irritation with a secret that prevents blood clotting, which lice secrete at the site of the bite, which allows them to suck blood for 5-30 minutes. Itching is the most common symptom of head lice, according to which in most cases the presence of lice is determined.

Pediculosis is an infection (infection) of a person with lice. The causative agent of head lice is a head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) - a parasite that lives on the scalp and feeds on blood.

Other important signs of head lice:

• whitish nits at the roots of the hair, most often behind the ears and around the neck;
• empty cocoons attached to the hair at some distance from the root;
• adult parasites on the scalp;
• a rash on the back of the neck caused by the waste products of lice.

Lice move quickly enough, overcoming up to 23 cm / min, so infection occurs quite easily. In addition, a louse can live on objects for up to two days and does not die in water. Contrary to popular belief, lice do not jump or fly. The change of owner occurs with direct head-to-head contact, much less often through personal items.

Lice were also found on mummified corpses of people in Greenland and the Aleutian Islands (XV century). It is not surprising that over the millennia of their existence, a lot of myths were born about them. Consider the most common.

Myth One. Pediculosis affects only people who do not follow the rules of hygiene.

Not true! It is proved that lice prefer healthy and clean, rather than dirty hair. Therefore, no one is safe from head lice, regardless of financial position and compliance with hygiene rules.

Second myth. Head lice are carriers of disease.

Not true! In our latitudes, head lice are not carriers of disease. Of course, they are extremely unpleasant, but not dangerous to humans. However, sometimes their excrement or saliva can cause an allergic reaction, and through places of bites and scratches an infection can enter the body.

Myth three. Head lice can be infected by pets.

Not true! Head lice live only in human hair and are not transmitted to humans from pets. The only source of nutrition for head lice is human blood. There are lice that infect cats and dogs, as well as many other subspecies of lice, but they are not contagious to humans.

Therefore, there is no reason to treat pets if someone in the family has contracted pediculosis.

Myth Four. Head lice can be infected through hats, combs, bedding, etc.

In recent years, pediculosis is manifested by periodic epidemic outbreaks. The reasons for the outbreaks, scientists consider climate mitigation, frequent reinfection associated with the lack of simultaneous collective treatment, both at school and at home; insufficient parental awareness of pediculosis and improper use of means to combat it.

To date, there are a variety of means to combat pediculosis. But since the 80s. XX century As a result of mutations in lice, resistance to pyrethrin, one of the widely used insecticides in pediculosis, increases.

A guide to the diagnosis and treatment of pediculosis (2002), published by the American Academy of Pediatrics (The American Academy of Pediatrics), emphasizes that it is the abuse of pyrethroid insecticides (pyrethrin and permethrin) that has largely led to the development of resistance to them.

Pediculosis is a fairly common disease. In the United States, for example, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) annually register 6–12 million cases of head lice.

An analysis of the incidence of head lice among the population of Moscow in 2007 shows that it has increased by 22.5% since 2006 (report of the Moscow Department of Health, Moscow Office of Rospotrebnadzor on the state of health of the population of Moscow in 2007) .

For many years, special chemicals containing insecticides (malathion, phenotrin, permethrin) were used to treat pediculosis. As a rule, they had to be applied twice, taking a week break between applications.

By the way, this is why neurotoxic insecticides are ineffective against nits (the nervous system has not yet formed), and the larvae emerging from surviving eggs become resistant to the repeated action of permethrin, malathion, and phenotrin.

Currently used insecticides have a number of disadvantages:

The increasing resistance of lice to traditional neurotoxic insecticides has revealed the need to create anti-pediculosis drugs with a fundamentally different physical principle of action. For example, an antiparasitic preparation in the form of a topical spray, created on the basis of biphasic dimethicone, has proven itself well.

A unique mixture of various viscosities penetrates deeply into the respiratory system of lice and larvae, as well as into the respiratory openings of nits and completely displaces oxygen. Insects are simply suffocating. It is noteworthy that the drug based on biphasic dimethicone effectively fights parasites at all stages of their development: louse, larva, nits.

Thanks to a special formula, the use of the drug makes it easy to comb out dead insects even in long and curly hair, and also provides additional care for hair and scalp.

Due to its ease of use, pleasant odor and excellent tolerance, a spray with biphasic dimethicone is excellent for treating head lice in adults and children from 3 years old.

Who and where is at risk for pediculosis?

Pediculosis is shrouded in a mass of myths and legends. Folk rumors are frightening that lice and nits can get rid of dirt, hair not dried in time, someone else's comb ... In fact, one fact needs to be remembered: infection occurs mainly when head-to-head contact is with an already infected person.

These insects cannot swim, fly or jump! Adult lice with the help of hooks on the legs quickly move from the hair of one person to the hair of another person and firmly settle in the new “place of residence” within a week.

Head lice most often infects children aged 4 to 12 years. Such data are simply explained: children are more contacted, and their games involve close tactile communication.

It is logical that places of a large concentration of children become a place of infection with parasites - this is a school, children's camps, kindergartens, all kinds of circles. Here the children are friends, play, touch their heads and spend a lot of time together.

Therefore, if you notice pediculosis symptoms in your child - first of all, itching - and then when examining your head you find lice or nits, you need to not only use a modern pediculicidal drug, but also notify teachers and parents of other children.

It is important that all children and their parents undergo examination and, if necessary, treatment - this is the key to a successful fight against pediculosis.

How to become infected with lice

No one is safe from infection with lice. Head louse - a moving insect that can move fairly quickly, crawling from the hair (or things) of the diseased, thereby increasing the prevalence of head lice.

Possession of information on the pathways of the spread of lice, a clear idea of ​​how lice become infected will help to avoid the disease.

How does infection happen?

If someone had set himself the goal of absolutely avoiding infection with lice, he would have received expert advice to completely limit any personal contacts with people, their places of residence, personal belongings and any other household items.

Lice are:

The most common species are head ectoparasites. A modern person can only arm himself with information about the characteristics of the disease and preventive measures.

Despite the common misconception that pediculosis is the lot of sluts and dirty, lice prefer to settle on clean hair. For the spread of the disease, crowding of the population is important, especially when it comes to children and children's groups. How are they infected with lice? Infection with lice occurs in direct contact with people who have these parasites.

Crowded public transport, public places with a large number of people in a small room, staying in a team (for example, in kindergartens, health camps) are places and situations that are fraught with pediculosis infection.

If the child returned from school (kindergarten, arrived home after a summer vacation in the camp) and you notice that he is concerned about the itching of the scalp, especially in the areas behind the ears, on the back of the head, this means that there is a reason to examine the child’s head and, if pediculosis infection immediately go to the pharmacy for drugs that will help get rid of lice.

Prevention

Children are most prone to pediculosis. The reason is the peculiarities of children's communication in the team. Parents should explain to children how lice are infected and how to avoid this.

Infection occurs when lice are transferred from a sick child to a healthy one, but lice cannot jump from person to person, they can only crawl, therefore, they cannot fly onto a healthy baby’s head from a patient, they need close contact, for example,sleep in one bed, use of common hats, combs.

Tell the children that lice can be avoided if:

• use only your hygiene items;
• when in contact with pediculosis carriers, protect hair and skin as much as possible,
• after contact is thoroughly washed with soap and a washcloth, remove and treat the clothes.

It happens that preventative measures are not enough, and if you or your child become infected with head lice, you do not need to panic. Pediculosis has long been well known to humans, modern pharmacology and the pharmaceutical industry have developed and offer effective and safe measures to combat this disease.

Lice: where you can get infected, what’s the danger. How to cure head lice

Where and how can I get lice? In order to answer this question, you need to know that lice can live on the scalp and inguinal zone, in clothes.

Head lice are clearly visible behind the ears and on the back of the head; they can sit on a beard and mustache, on eyebrows and even on eyelashes. Lice eggs, the so-called nits, female parasites lay throughout the head, attaching them to the hair of the "owner". The incubation period in lice is a week. It is just so much that small lice hatch from the eggs and begin to actively suck blood.

In addition, the possibility of infection with direct, prolonged contact of a healthy and sick person is not excluded. The explanation is simple: lice do not know how to jump and fly, they crawl, so in order to find a new "master", they need a little time.

Pubic lice are slightly smaller than the head ones in size, they live on the hair in the pubic zone and perineum. Sometimes insects can crawl onto the armpit hair, mustache and beard, eyelashes. They become infected through sexual contact and through common hygiene items, bedding, towels, etc.

The body louse is larger in size than the head louse, living in clothes and bedding. Parasites lay their eggs where they can catch: in the seams of underwear, vellus hair, skin folds of a person.

Lice breed well in unsanitary conditions, and especially where a large number of people are at the same time. A clean-tidy person can also become infected with lice if he communicates with a patient with pediculosis or uses his personal hygiene items.

That's why giving your combs, hats, towels, etc. even familiar people, for example, at work, is not recommended. You may not know that the daughter brought lice from the school employee, and now she is "at risk".

Lice can be infected in dirty hotels, in the hospital, on the train. Children often bring lice from schools, kindergartens, summer camps, boarding houses. It is believed that it is impossible to catch lice from animals; different types of insects take root in humans and representatives of the fauna.

Symptoms of Pediculosis

Severe itching is the first serious symptom. A person has to comb a lot of skin, so it’s almost impossible not to notice an itch. Over time, crusts, papules, spots, small nodules and blisters can be observed on it.

In addition, infection with lice may indicate:

It is not difficult for a doctor to determine pediculosis - he examines areas where severe itching is felt, and if he finds traces of bites, nits or adult lice on his hair, he makes a diagnosis.

Why are lice dangerous?

These insects do not carry bacteria and viruses, but microbes can get into the wounds that remain in the places of combed bites.

Against the background of pediculosis, the following may develop:

1. dermatitis;
2. regional lymphadenitis. This is inflammation and enlargement of the lymph nodes, which appears due to the ingestion of the pathogen;
3. pyoderma. Lesion of the skin with pyogenic cocci, accompanied by the appearance of pus;
4. eczematization is a skin lesion similar to eczema.

How are lice treated?

In order to overcome parasites, you need to understand how they multiply. First you need to kill adults, this can be done using special shampoos, ointments or creams. Dead lice, nits are combed out of the hair after washing the hair with a comb with frequent teeth.

It is physically impossible to remove all insect eggs from the skin, so after a week, when the nits are ready to open and give new offspring, you need to wash your hair again and comb your hair.

If you catch on time, you can completely get rid of lice in 2 weeks. If there will be a lot of nits, it can take a month for treatment.

After the lice are found, you need to wash the clothes, bed linen of the patient with pediculosis, children's soft toys. Clothes and linen, in addition, must be ironed after washing. For all this, doctors give no more than the first two days after the discovery of insects.

For the treatment of lice, you can use the following drugs:

In addition to the listed drugs, Nittifor, Nike, Itax, Noke, Pedilin, and Reed can be used.

The itching disappears soon after the first treatment of the head or other parts of the body when adults die.

There are several effective recipes for traditional medicine. Rubbing cranberry juice, parsley and mint into the scalp is practiced. Kills lice and a decoction of wormwood, which is prepared from this calculation: a tablespoon per 1 liter of water.

Washing your head with tar or dust soap, processing with Triple cologne can also help. The last tool is used as follows: skin and hair are processed by cologne; The agent on the head is aged for one hour, after which the hair needs to be rinsed and combed out of them lice and nits.

If adults do not die completely, you will have to carry out this procedure again. In any case, after a week, as already mentioned, it will be necessary to conduct processing again.

The sooner a small enemy is identified and neutralized, the higher the likelihood of a speedy recovery without serious consequences.

Pediculosis - infection with lice. Options and Diagnostics

Head lice are most commonly found in school-age children.About 12 million children aged 3 to 12 years become infected every year. Infection with head lice is observed in representatives of any socio-economic group and is not a sign of poor hygiene.

In the United States, dark-skinned children are less likely to become infected due to the oval shape of the hair shaft, which makes it difficult to attach nits.

Pubic lice are most commonly found in sexually active adolescents and adults. In young children, pubic lice usually affect the eyelashes. Although infection in this age group may indicate sexual abuse, children are usually infected with pubic lice from their parents.

Lice are parasites with three pairs of legs equipped with terminal claws, which are used to attach to the hair and clothing of the owner. Three types of lice are capable of infecting a person. All of them daily feed on the blood of the host and can exist outside the human body for only 1-2 days.

These include:

• Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis), whose body length is 2-4 mm;
• Body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis), whose body length also reaches 2-4 mm;
• Pubic lice (Phthirus pubis), which have a relatively short and wide body with an average length of 1-2 mm.

Female lice live about 30 days and can lay 10 eggs (nits) every day. Nits are firmly attached to the hair shaft or to the seams of clothing with the sticky substance produced by lice.

Incubation of nits occurs under the influence of heat of the human body. The incubation period from laying the eggs to the appearance of the first nymph lasts 7-14 days. Mature lice are capable of reproduction in 2-3 weeks.

Head lice are transmitted in direct contact with bands of an infected person. The role of household items (hats, combs, brushes) in the transmission of infection can be neglected. Head louse is not a carrier of infectious diseases FROM person to person.

The transmission of body lice occurs through direct contact between people or contact with infected tissue. Unlike head lice, body lice are known carriers of the causative agents of typhus, digestive and relapsing fevers.

Pubic lice are transmitted primarily through sexual contact. In addition to pubic hair, lice can infect eyelashes, eyebrows, beard, hairline of the upper thighs, abdomen, and also axillary hollows.

Diagnosis of lesions with lice - pediculosis

Head lice: Lice and nits are observed on the hair, especially above the auricles and behind them, as well as on the back of the neck. Nits are usually much more than living individuals. The presence of nits without adult insects does not mean the resolution of the disease.

Nits are observed both with an active disease, and sometimes after treatment. Closer to the base of the hair are usually located more “young” nits with unhacked larvae. Unfortunately, larvae can hatch from nits not destroyed by pediculicide, resuming the infection cycle.

Please note that unlike dandruff flakes, which are easily combed out of the hair, nits are firmly glued to the hair shaft. Pruritus is the main sign of head lice. It develops as a result of an allergic response to lice saliva.

That is why infection with head lice leads to excoriation on the scalp, ears, neck and back. An increase in the occipital and cervical lymph nodes can be observed, especially with the development of superinfection.

Ways to get lice

According to popular wisdom: it is easier to prevent a disease than to treat it later. Pediculosis is no exception. This disease accompanies a person for many millennia and is very common in our time, despite the significant development of medicine and the pharmaceutical industry.

Many people simply don’t even know the simplest things about head lice, so there is a huge amount of all kinds of speculations and rumors around this disease.

Direct contact with an infected person

In most cases, the main source of infection with lice is the person himself. The fact is that lice can not exist for a long time outside the human body, since in this case they lose their only source of nutrition (human blood) and soon die.

Since lice, contrary to various rumors, can neither fly through the air nor jump, infection with lice from one person from another occurs only when they are in direct contact, when lice can crawl.

Even short-term close contact will be enough. It should also be noted that lice cannot be infected from pets and other animals, as many people believe, since human lice parasitize only in humans and never creep into animals.

Thus, in order to become infected with lice, people must be very close to each other. This can often be observed among children during games, hugs, during daytime sleep in kindergartens or health camps, when beds are located nearby, and in some other situations. That is why children are the main risk group for pediculosis.

However, adults also do not always manage to avoid getting lice. To do this, it is enough to get to places with a large crowd of people. For example, public transport at rush hour, various mass entertainment events, etc., when people are very close to each other.

There are frequent cases of lice infection during hugs, kisses, as well as sexual intercourse. Moreover, in the latter case, there is a risk of infection with just two types of lice: head and pubic.

Moreover, according to some reports, cases of lice infection have become more frequent recently due to enthusiasm for selfies, when people take pictures of themselves with friends and acquaintances, as a rule, with their heads pressed close together.

A high likelihood of rapid spread of lice exists with a dense settlement of people. Such cases are typical, for example, in refugee camps, military barracks, in military camps during wars, etc. The constant presence of a large number of people in one place gives lice an excellent opportunity to quickly move from one head to another.

It is worth mentioning that only lice are transmitted from person to person, it is almost impossible to get nits. This is due to the fact that nits can not move. And even if the nits accidentally get into the hair of a healthy person, the chances of staying in them until the larva appears are negligible, since the nits will not be able to fix properly in the hair.

Through hygiene items, clothing, and personal items

Infection with lice in this way is quite rare, although it is likely. Basically, in this way infection occurs with head lice in the case of using someone else's towels, combs, hairpins, etc.

In rare cases, infection with body lice can also occur when using the clothes of an infected person that has not undergone the necessary treatment.

Through bedding

There are cases of lice infestation through bedding and pillows, if before that a person infected with lice slept on them. Such situations can arise, for example, in cheap hotels where due attention is not paid to changing and processing bedding.

In pools and public baths

A visit to a bathtub, pool or bathhouse together with a person infected with head lice may be associated with a risk of getting lice. The fact is that lice can be in water without oxygen for quite a long time, waiting for a new owner. Of course, such cases are very rare, especially in large expanses of water, but there is still a risk of infection.

Thus, knowing about the main methods of infection with lice, the chances of avoiding it are significantly increased.

Where and how can I get lice?

Pediculosis is a common occurrence. It is found in both children and adults. Lice infestation spreads quickly and is easy for them to get.

Where do they come from?

Louse is an optional parasite, that is, one that is able to exist outside the carrier, that is, in nature. They do not exist this way for a long time, since they need food in the form of human blood.

The main environment where head lice come from originally is nature. They live in it. Colonies can also exist in furniture, pillows and mattresses. Therefore, it is easy to get lice, for example, in a hotel. Body lice, which also bite a person, are able to survive on textiles, like bugs.

Infection pathways

Not all sick people know how head lice are transmitted. These parasites live both on the scalp and on the hair. At the same time, tens of adults and hundreds of nits can be present on them.

The transmission of invasion occurs by contact, that is, when the parasite from the hair of an infected person moves to healthy hair. Infection can occur during the movement of adults and nits.

The most common ways you can get lice are described below:

Lice can survive for quite some time in pillowcases, pillows, bedding, mattresses, etc. sometimes they remain even after washing. As a result, if a healthy person sleeps in such a bed, the probability of infection is not excluded;

Theoretically, from this point of view, scarves, cardigans and all those things that are located close to the scalp are also dangerous, since insects can also move on them (but this rarely happens).

Sources of infection

Pediculosis is most affected by children. In children's groups, it spreads very quickly. This is due to the fact that children do not observe sufficient preventive measures, and children's institutions cannot always provide adequate control over the spread of head lice.

Parents of children attending such institutions should also be careful. The fact is that lice can not always be detected at an early stage. Very often, the first detection of pediculosis in a family member occurs only when the infection of all those living in the apartment is actively occurring.

Prevention

The likelihood of infection can be significantly reduced if you follow some rules of behavior and hygiene.

This cannot completely protect against the spread of head lice (there is an opinion that lice can be carried on clothes, for example, over a longer distance and jump onto a healthy person even without direct contact). However, in people who follow them, infection occurs much less frequently.

The rules of how not to get lice are as follows:

Often people become infected with lice from loved ones. Therefore, if an infection is found in one of the family members, prevention should be carried out by everyone.