New Ideas For Cleaning Up Your Child's Head Lice
When you see your child constantly scratching her head
, what comes to mind? You might tell yourself that maybe she's allergic to her shampoo or she has dry scalp. But did it ever occur to you that she might have head lice? Perhaps now is the perfect time to inspect her head. And should you see a couple of creepy crawlies, don't panic and call pest control. Here are some de-lousing tips to try instead.Before anything else, let's get to know cause behind these itchy scalps. Head lice are teeny tiny blood sucking bugs that crawl and feed on their host's heads even their eyebrows. Those who have them may feel a ticklish sensation and a bit of sting periodically.
Head lice sure know how to spot their victims. It's mostly young girls between 4-12 years old. They are a common case in schools because this is where children gather and play. The problem with head lice is rampant in girls because almost all of them have long hair that it's easy for the head lice to stick to. Also, girls are very close with their friends. They like to whisper, share hair clips, combs and brushes, even spend nap time together.
Head lice Myths: Two common ones are people who have head lice have poor hygiene and they can spread diseases. This is so not true. Head lice can't fly or hop but they can crawl really fast. That's how they move between heads. They can quickly settle in and almost instantly they'll feed, bite, mate and lay eggs on the hair strands.
Head lice eggs are called nits. They may be yellow or white but can adapt to the color of your hair. How to spot the nits? If you look closely at a hair strand you'll notice that there are tiny knots on it. Usually there are a few nits in a single strand. It takes about 8-9 days for the nits to hatch.
Hatched nits are called nymphs. They look like a mature head louse just smaller. Feeding on human blood is essential to their survival and growth. After 10 days of constant feeding, they develop into adult lice.
An adult head louse looks like a sesame seed with legs. They also come in different shades of brown from light, dark or gray. But there are some that take on the color of your hair. They depend on us as a food source. If they fall off and don't feed they'll die within a day or two. If they're well fed, on the other hand, they can live for about 30 days.
While having head lice is a common thing in children it's hard to parents to cope with. They want to know how to get rid of head lice like yesterday. So here's how:
1. For girls, cutting their hair short will help. Head lice don't really like short hair.
2. Using a special fine tooth comb, comb your child's hair thoroughly before washing it with medicated shampoo. After washing and drying, comb the hair again with the comb. This should remove nits as well as adult head lice.
3. Change and wash your child's pillow cases and blankets every week. Everyone at home should also have their own personal towel.
4. Avoid borrowing or using other people's combs and brushes. You can never be too sure if they have head lice or not. This also goes for caps, headbands even head phones.
5. Know what to watch for. Symptoms include an itchy scalp or red sores at the nape of your child's neck. After you have removed any adult head lice, focus on removing the nits that will eventually become adult head lice.
Even if your child doesn't have head lice they happen and in the best of families. Should that time come you shouldn't over react because you now know exactly what to do. Besides, can you stand to see your little darlings scratching their heads constantly?
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