Ugh! It's Bugs!
Lice
What are these things?
Life cycle
How are they spread?
Quick Lice Facts
Anyone can get head lice. The only way to diagnose lice is to see an actual live louse on the head. Most people with live lice rarely have more than 12 or so on their head.
A little bit more...
FACTS
Itching may not happen until 2-3 weeks after being infested with a live bug.
Itching is usually around the back of the head and above the ears.
Head Lice can live 6-24 hours unattached to a human being. Typical time frame is 12-15 hours.
Head Lice can live for about 30 days on a host and and a female louse can lay as many as 100 eggs (nits) .
A healthy louse is not going to readily leave a hosts head unless many, many lice are present.
Spread of lice occurs most often by head to head contact.
How do I get rid of it?
There is no immediate danger or disease spread with lice. When treating make sure that the cure is not worse than the lice.
Your doctor can also prescribe medication but please call your clinic for details regarding this.
Itching or mild skin irritation can occur due to lice treatments. if there is itching after treatment do not assume that it hasn't worked due to itchy, irritated skin.
To treat your house you can use your vacuum cleaner to clean the floor and furniture.
Remember to vacuum your car and car seats where the person may have sat.
Wash and dry bedding, clothes, etc. that may have come into contact with the person 24-48 hours before treatment. Items that cannot be washed can be placed in a plastic bag for 10-14 days. Use hot water (more than 130 degrees), Lysol, or rubbing alcohol to soak combs or brushes in. (1 hour). Excessive cleaning is not necessary.
Continuing to head check and comb out nits and lice is also an effective way to get rid of lice and nits.
It is easier to manually remove lice by wetting hair and combing through it with a fine toothed comb.
Just a couple more things -
Mass screenings in classroom for live lice has not proven to be effective in preventing the spread of lice.
Even if one student in a classroom has lice it is still not easily transferred to others in that classroom.
it is a good idea to check your child's head before and after sleeping over at someone's house.