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    Head Lice: What Are Head Lice? Is Head Lice Contagious?

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    Emmanuel Winful
    Head lice are small insects that live in human hair and feed on blood. They are highly contagious and can spread through direct head-to-head contact or sharing personal items. Signs of head lice include itching and nits attached to hair. Treatment involves meticulously combing the hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove nits and using over-the-counter or prescription medications to kill the lice.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Head Lice: What Are Head Lice? Is Head Lice Contagious?

    Uploaded by

    Emmanuel Winful
    155 views2 pages
    Head lice are small insects that live in human hair and feed on blood. They are highly contagious and can spread through direct head-to-head contact or sharing personal items. Signs of head lice include itching and nits attached to hair. Treatment involves meticulously combing the hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove nits and using over-the-counter or prescription medications to kill the lice.

    Original Description:

    A public health flyer to educate on head lice infestion

    Original Title

    Head Lice Flyer

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    Head lice are small insects that live in human hair and feed on blood. They are highly contagious and can spread through direct head-to-head contact or sharing personal items. Signs of head lice include itching and nits attached to hair. Treatment involves meticulously combing the hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove nits and using over-the-counter or prescription medications to kill the lice.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    155 views2 pages

    Head Lice: What Are Head Lice? Is Head Lice Contagious?

    Uploaded by

    Emmanuel Winful
    Head lice are small insects that live in human hair and feed on blood. They are highly contagious and can spread through direct head-to-head contact or sharing personal items. Signs of head lice include itching and nits attached to hair. Treatment involves meticulously combing the hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove nits and using over-the-counter or prescription medications to kill the lice.

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    Is Head Lice Contagious?

    What are Head Lice?

    Head lice are small wingless insects (1.5-3 mm

    long) that have a brownish-white color in appearance.

    YES they are highly contagious but getting


    head lice is not a social stigma.

    It is not a sign of bad hygiene or poor

    They live in human hair to feed on their blood

    health habits, but it can be very upsetting

    and do not prefer any other host.

    and is definitely a nuisance.

    The adult louse may lay up to 130 eggs (nits)


    during a life cycle of around 34 days. The eggs

    How is head lice acquired?

    are oval, have yellowish-white color (approx.


    size of a sesame seed).

    Head lice do not hop or fly.

    Lice glue their eggs, or nits, to hair.

    Children can give head lice to other chil-

    Eggs take 6-9 days to hatch, and seven or

    dren from close body contact or by using

    more days to become egg-laying adults.

    items such as hairbrushes, combs, ribbons,


    scarves and hats which have been in con-

    HEAD LICE

    tact with an infested person.

    Life Cycle of Head Lice

    Head lice is a problem in homes, day care


    centers, elementary, and preschools.

    What DO You Know?

    Children are more prone to get lice from


    family members than from classmates at

    Emmanuel Badu Winful


    Dr. Marina Eremeeva

    school.
    Signs and Symptoms of head lice

    The signs and symptoms are a tickling feeling of something moving in the hair

    Itching caused by an allergic reaction to the


    bites, sores on the head (caused by scratching) and irritability.

    http://www.plunketts.com.au/q--as.html

    How do I identify Head lice?

    The only way to know if your child has


    lice is to look through their hair. If they

    For effective elimination of head lice, the infested individual and family members should
    also be checked.

    do, their scalp might be itchy.

    There is NO proof that the following products


    work:
    Vinegar

    Compounds that say they dissolve the

    Remember that eggs are found close to

    glue on the nits to ease their removal.

    the scalp. Any eggs found along the hair


    shaft are either hatched or dead.

    Myths of Head Lice Treatment

    Dont confuse dirt or dandruff with eggs


    (nits). Eggs stick on the hair.

    Mayonnaise

    Olive oil

    Tea tree oil

    Treatment Options
    Over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medica-

    How can I get rid of Head lice?

    tions are used to treat the affected person and

    A good way to get rid of the lice is to

    their families. OTC such as :

    comb their hair every day with a nit

    1. Permethrin or pyrethrin are the active in-

    comb for two weeks or more.

    gredients in most over-the-counter head

    Nit comb should be a metal (not plas-

    lice treatments.

    tic) and have long teeth. Example is


    Lice-Meiter metal comb.
    The best way to remove eggs is to part the
    hair into small sections. It is easier to comb

    2. Ivermectin (0.5%) treatments can be prescribed to kill eggs and lice in children 6
    months of age and above.
    3. Spinosad (0.9%) treatments can be pre-

    Where can I get more information?

    Your personal doctor


    Your local health department
    CDC website: http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/

    scribed to kill both lice and eggs on children


    above 4 years old.
    4. The Lousebuster* is a device that delivers
    heated air at high flow to the scalp to kill
    lice and eggs.

    References:
    http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx

    http://www.cdph.ca.gov/HealthInfo/discond/Documents/2012
    http://www.medicinenet.com/head_lice/article.htm

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