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Lice
What is it?
Much to many parents' annoyance, the head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs and feeds on extremely small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp or skin. These little creatures are known as Pediculus humanus capitis (a head louse), and Pediculus humanus corpois (a body louse). Although they may sound gross, lice (the plural of louse) are a very common problem, especially for children ages 3 years to 12 years.
Lice eggs, known as nits, are laid and ?glue? themselves to the base of hair strands. Nits look like tiny white specks on the hair strand. It takes 7 to 10 days for the eggs (or nits) to hatch and within 2 weeks of hatching, they develop into mature lice. Lice can grow to be 2 to 4 millimeters in length (about the size of a sesame seed). If not properly treated, mature lice go on to lay more eggs (nits) and populate at an alarming rate.
Lice are not usually dangerous and they usually do not spread disease, but they are very contagious and can be downright annoying. Their bites may cause a person?s scalp to become itchy, flaky, and inflamed. Continuous scratching may lead to skin irritation and even infection.
Several types of lice exist:
- Head lice? This is the most common type. These lice develop on the scalp. They are easiest to see around the sides of the neck and over the ears. Small nits produced by lice attach to the hair shafts.
- Body lice? These lice spend most of their time in the seams and folds of clothing. Body lice are often spread by direct contact with infected clothing or bedding or with an infected person. In rare cases, body lice may carry diseases, such as typhus and malaria.
- Pubic lice? Commonly called crabs, these lice occur on the skin and hair of genital areas but they can even be found on stomach and armpit hair and on eyelashes. Sexual contact or contact with infected clothing or bedding can spread pubic lice.
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What is it?
