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Posts Tagged ‘head lice detection’

Malathion Head Lice treatment – is it safe?
There has been much written of late about the controversy surrounding some of the prescription and over the counter insecticide head lice treatments, hence it is worth us taking a look at how safe they actually are.
There are many such lotions and shampoos on the market, most of them with three main insecticides as the active ingredient: Malathion head lice treatment comes in the shape of a brand known as Ovide, and this is a very popular medicinal treatment used by many people all the time. Others include those made using Permethrin, and most controversial are the lotions that utilize the powerful insecticide Lindane.
The latter has become particularly controversial as it has been linked to a number of very serious cases of side effects – convulsions of a serious nature, and even a death – and as a result products using the substance have been banned from sale in many European countries, but are still available on prescription in the USA. Unlike Lindane, its sister aforementioned insecticide lotions are said to be entirely safe and come with only the chance of minor side effects.
So what are Malathion and the others? Insecticides are essentially poisons that are designed to kill insects. The ones used in these products are synthetic – that is manmade – versions of natural products, and are very powerful indeed.
It is the act of covering a child’s head in potentially dangerous chemicals that puts a lot of parents off using the lotions, and this is why there have become available a series of alternative treatments that are safe, yet not scientifically proven. Malathion is a successful product, and has many adherents who swear by its efficiency, however.
Using it is simple – it is rubbed into the head and left for a short time, therefore killing as many lice as possible. Despite manufacturer’s claims, it is unlikely to kill nits, hence they will need to be treated in a different manner. Furthermore, the possible side effects include irritation of the skin and possible increase in dandruff, and it is not recommended that those already suffering from known skin conditions use the substance or others like it. Nor should they use it if they have open wounds, and it is imperative it is kept away from the eyes.
Given the number of restrictions, and the press horror stories, it is no surprise that people opt to use alternative methods, washing with a shampoo mixed with Tea Tree oil being very popular, but it must be said that Malathion products are certified as safe to use, and known to work in many cases.

American Academy of Pediatrics head Lice report
In an interesting study that was recently carried out and published, the American Academy of Pediatrics – or AAP – looked closely at the head lice problem, a problem that affects millions of children in America during their lifetimes.
As the report points out at the beginning, head lice infestation can lead to anxiety in the child concerned, although it also points out that this is the very worst that can happen – the head louse, while annoying, is essentially harmless and needs to be eradicated thanks to the hygiene problem they present; easy to spread among children, the AAP report sheds light on just how prevalent the problem is.
Some interesting figures are published in the report, including the fact that an estimated six to 12 million children, between the ages of three and 12 years, suffer from head lice during each year in America alone; these are staggering numbers when considered in the cold light of day, and explain why the problem is one that, although practically harmless, needs to be addressed.
The AAP also take the trouble to point out that lice are not a sign of poor hygiene and, unlike some insects, are not responsible for passing on any other diseases;  there is plenty advice too on the head lice life cycle, its various stages, and why it is important to understand this in order to treat an infestation properly. Indeed, of particular interest is that a louse will not survive for long away from a humans head, and therefore removing them is a very efficient method of elimination.
Also interesting is the explanation as to why it can take several weeks for us to realize we have head lice – the itching is an allergic reaction, and this takes time in some cases to come forth – and also that the life cycle of the creature, from birth to breeding, takes as little as three weeks. This is the reason why these creatures spread at such an alarming rate.
Remedies are covered in some detail, from the many insecticide lotions including Malathion head lice treatment, through to the various natural remedies, some of which have been found to be as effective as the medicinal ones, and also the suffocation methods, while instructions and guidelines for schools and parents are also investigated and outlined.
All in all, it is heartening to see the AAP take an interest and invest so much time and effort into what is an embarrassing, if needlessly so, condition that is suffered by so many.

Head Lice Hatching Routine
One of the difficulties involved in treating a head lice infestation comes from not understanding the life cycle of these annoying but oddly fascinating little creatures; diminutive they may be, miniscule even, yet they can cause a lot of trouble in a very short time!
Fortunately the age of the internet has led to us being able to understand the way these creatures live their lives – and feats on our blood – much more readily thanks to the prevalence of highly detailed and illustrated websites that show us exactly what happens, where and when. Summarizing the head lice hatching point is essential to understand where we need to be, and what we need to do, to catch these pesky creatures in order that they do not spread out of control.
The head lice is distinct from the nit – a point many people are unaware of; the former is the living creature, the tiny wingless insect that crawls around in your hair and pierces the skin to suck up blood – while the latter is the egg of the adult, and is by far the most difficult part of the equation to deal with. Indeed, the nits are so small that they may easily be missed with the best of head lice combs, and as such demand attention above and beyond that given to the living creatures.
In any treatment regime – whether using the likes of Malathion or Permethrin head lice treatment, or even the controversial Lindane, or resorting to herbal remedies or the bizarre suffocation by mayonnaise ritual – understanding that there may have been nits missed in the first treatment is essential and understanding the life cycle – and where the hatching point is – is essential.
An adult louse lives for approximately one month, and in that time she lays around 200 nits – around six every day – and the nits remain as eggs, attached to our hair by a very clever natural glue, for about one week. Once hatched they become head lice nymphs, young lice that are rapidly – in one to two weeks – advanced to breeding adults, and the whole episode begins again.
Knowing that we have one week from laying to hatching means we need to keep an eye out for new born nymphs for that period of time after clearing the head of lice, and we then have a further week to get rid of them before they begin laying. This is why regular, thorough examination is the best way to prevent head lice, and why understanding the hatching routine is vital.

Dealing with a Head Lice Infestation
The problems with head lice are many and one of the main ones is the speed at which they spread. It is a common misconception that head lice fly – they are, in fact, wingless – but they can only move between hosts by walking from hair to hair; this is why they spread very fast among young children – think of the playground and the physical contact.
It is also a myth that a head lice infestation can only occur where the child suffers from less than satisfactory hygiene; a head louse is not choosy about who it lives on, and all it seeks is head from which it can feed upon its staple diet – our blood.
Head lice multiply at an alarming rate: the female adult louse lays up to eight eggs – the famous nits – every day of her thirty day life, and a quick calculation gives you easily over 200 eggs. Each nit stays attached to a hair follicle for approximately one week then hatches as a nymph or young louse. In just a week to two weeks time it becomes a breeding adult, and begins the cycle once more. From that description it is simple to see just how quickly an infestation can spread, and how important it is that it is treated correctly.
Treating head lice is a subject that raises many arguments: there are many insecticide lotions – using Malathion, Permethrin or Lindane in the main – that are available by prescription, and these are widely proven to be successful in many cases, and there are natural shampoos such as those including Tea Tree oil, and essential oil that is used in many herbal medicines, and the choice is a very personal one that is left to the individual.
There also exist some more unusual ways of tackling head lice and nits – including the odd practice of smothering the hair, and the lice, in mayonnaise – that are known to be successful if somewhat messy, and the tried and tested head lice comb is an essential tool in all of this, whether in traditional close toothed form or in the shape of the new style of electric combs that shock the lice to death.
What is important to understand is that the first treatment will almost certainly not rid the head completely of nits, and the patient will need to be closely observed over the next two weeks in order that any emerging head lice nymphs are caught before they can begin to breed.

Head Lice Nymphs – an important part of the life cycle
The head lice is an ever present problem across the world, and one that has been with us for millions of years; scientists have discovered that even stone age man would have been prone to these irritating little creatures, and with the benefit of the digital age we are able to examine them in full detail via many websites that carry extremely impressive, and very interesting, pictures of them.
One thing that is helpful when looking to treat a head lice infestation is to understand the life cycle of these miniscule creatures, and it is quite a fascinating one that takes in three stages: the nit, or egg, the head lice nymphs and the adult head lice themselves.
Looking at the sequence it is easy to overlook the importance of the nymphs stage in terms of treatment, as this very brief period can be crucial to successfully treating the problem. Given that the nit remains as such for around one week, and then hatches as a head lice nymph, and that nits are particularly difficult to find and remove it is essential that we understand how long we have between the emergence of the nymph and its development into a fully grown breeding nymph.
In fact, the period is as little as one week, with two weeks being the most, and it is in this period that the patient needs to keep a very careful look out for newly hatched nymphs, and to repeat any treatment routine that may have been used in the first place.
Nits are difficult to remove as they are absolutely minute, and also they are stuck to our hair by a type of adhesive making them very difficult to dislodge, so many people – having safely cleared the head of adult lice – opt to wait for the emergence of the nymph, and to catch it before it reaches breeding age. Nymphs may be tiny, too, but they are big enough to be caught by a nit comb, or electrocuted by one of the newer devices before they can breed, while not even the most powerful Permethrin or Malathion head lice lotions can guarantee to kill every nit that exists.
The knowledge we have gained from careful observation and available information means that head lice have become easier to deal with; natural and prescription treatments are more widely available than ever before, and we are more understanding of what is needed in order to treat head lice at source.

All About Head Lice Nits
In understanding the problem of head lice it is necessary to dispel a few myths and misconceptions; one is that head lice cannot fly – they are wingless creatures as evidenced by the many head lice pictures available on the internet – and perhaps more important is to understand that head lice and head lice nits are two different things.
This is vital in treatment terms as getting rid of either requires a different approach; the lice themselves, the adult walking creatures, are relatively easy to get rid of by using either one of the many insecticide lotions or shampoos, Malathion or Permethrin for instance, available in well known brand such as Ovide, or by using a natural method or lotion, many of which are rather bizarre and somewhat questionable. Nits, however, are absolutely microscopic and may avoid being eliminated by even the strongest of insecticide treatments, meaning that while the lice have all been killed there are living, soon to hatch eggs remaining, and ready to start off a new colony in a matter of days.
One problem with head lice nits is that they are attached to our hair by what amounts to a very strong glue, and they are laid very close to the scalp making them difficult to find; wet combing the hair with a nit comb over a white sheet of paper may help to identify those that you do manage to dislodge – they will appear as tiny white specks – but this does not mean they have all been successfully removed.
A seemingly odd process may help to dislodge the nits from their strong holding, as bathing the head in vinegar has been shown to loosen the attachment to the hair, thanks to the acids present. Once done, and rinsed thoroughly, a further combing with a nit comb may result in a full clear out of all attendant nits.
As some may remain we need to keep a close eye on the patient over the next few days; nits hatch approximately one week after they are laid, and in as little as a further week the young head lice nymphs become breeding adults. This means you have a space of two weeks from the initial treatment over which close attention, and regular inspection, must be kept up in order to clear the head of any future or possible infestation. Nits are the biggest part of the problem, and the most difficult to spot, so such examinations are an integral part of any treatment regime.

Ovide head Lice Treatment
Where head lice are concerned there are several different methods of treating them, among these being the very odd methods of smothering the creatures with substances that are found in the average kitchen through washing the hair regularly in a natural herbal shampoo, right down the basic and essential practice of combing the hair with a special head lice comb, something that should be carried out in conjunction with any other chosen method.
However, despite the availability of prescription insecticide shampoos, designed to kill the creatures and reportedly very effective, many people are wary of using these items, and choose not to do so. They fear the consequences of smothering their child’s head in what is effectively a poison, and of the apparent possible side effects these substances can have.
Ovide head lice treatment is one of these popular prescription only lotions, so let’s have a closer look at what it is, what it does, and whether or not there is anything to be concerned about.
The first thing to understand is the Ovide is a trade mark, a brand name for a particular head lice treatment, and it contains an insecticide called Malathion. Malathion is present in only minute quantities in the product – one half of a percent, in fact – yet this is said to be enough to kill the head lice while being harmless to the patient. However, it is not for use on those under six years of age, and does come with some possible side effects.
Side effects are minor, and include an increase in dandruff and irritation to the scalp; furthermore, the substance can be dangerous to the eyes, and as Ovide is an alcohol based product it is flammable.
The plus side is that it is thoroughly tested and is safe when used in conjunction with the directions given, and as it is available only on prescription cannot be given for anything other than serious head lice infestations.
There are many reports that some insecticides have become useless as the head lice have developed immunity to them, although this is not a reported problem with Malathion based lotions such as Ovide. It remains popular and widely prescribed, and is certified safe.
The choice as to whether to use an insecticide or a natural product remains with the individual, with the advantages of scientific testing and known success being for the former, and the knowledge of complete safety for the latter; it’s a choice only you can make.

The Head Lice Comb – essential tool
Treating head lice can seem like a complex and confusing routine as there are so many different prescribed methods, but one thing always figures in whatever regime you choose, be it washing or smothering, natural or insecticide, and that is the head lice comb, a very clever and extremely cheap item that is absolutely essential when eradication an infestation of head lice.
The head lice comb came about thanks to the very nature of the louse itself – tiny, indeed microscopic, the head louse and its eggs, otherwise known as nits, are immune to being removed by a standard comb as they simply pass through the gaps between the teeth. The special comb is designed with very closely coupled teeth and with a longer reach than normal, as it needs to get in to the scalp where the lice lay the nits, right at the base of the hair follicles.
The aim is to snag any living, or dead, lice and to try and do the same with the nits, although the diminutive size of these, and the way they are attached to the hairs with very strong natural glue, means this may be more difficult than at first believed.
As the nits are firmly attached to the hairs it is believed by some that loosening them is essential, and one method of doing this is to smother the hair in vinegar for the acidic content of the liquid will dissolve the adhesive and leave the eggs free of the hair. Naturally, this makes them easier to dislodge from the scalp by way of the head lice comb.
Many people choose to wash the hair with a naturally medicated or insecticide comprised shampoo, and this can have a great effect in killing the lice, yet combing through with the comb is still essential.
There is a second type of nit comb that has become available of late, and this is the electric louse comb; it works by administering an electric shock that is too small to be felt by us yet fatal for the louse, and is powered by a standard battery. These affordable and effective devices may signal the way forward in treating head lice, as the creatures are reported to be developing immunity to certain insecticides used to treat them as a rule.
Combs of this type, and traditional nit combs, are widely available these days, and are recommended for use with all treatments for head lice infestation.

How to get rid of Head Lice
The head lice problem is one that affects many millions of people across the world, as these irritating creatures are prevalent across the globe and have been for millions of years. The head louse is a very hardy creature that can be difficult to deal with, although once a routine has been found that appears to be successful the patient can look forward to a louse free existence.
The methods of treatment available differ greatly, but one thing that is always needed is the classic head lice comb: this is a small comb, deeper and shorter than a standard one, that has very closely packed teeth and is designed specifically to drag the lice, and the nits – tiny eggs that are attached to our hairs – from the hair, and whatever alternative method you use there is always the need for a nit comb to play a part.
Further methods involve the use of special medicinal shampoos, and among these one very popular prescription only insecticide shampoo is that known as Ovide; containing the insecticide Malathion in very small quantities, this is a preferred method by many, yet there are those who opt not to coat their children’s hair in chemicals that can have side effects.
The alternative is to use a shampoo that contains a natural substance, and among these Tea Tree oil – an essential oil taken from the tea tree plant native to Australia – is very popular indeed, and many claim it has excellent effect and brings about results.
There are more unusual methods of getting rid of head lice, for a popular head louse treatment method involves smothering them with household products. The head louse breathes through a series of holes on either side of the body, and these can be closed for periods of time to prevent drowning when we wash our hair. However, the louse has to open them at some time, and if we can smother them and prevent them from breathing then they will die.
To do this people use products that may at first seem rather odd – mayonnaise and olive oil are preferred – as these congeal on the lice and prevent it from breathing when it opens the breathing holes. Messy but reportedly successful, a thorough comb through with a nit comb, after a wash of course, is also needed to finalize this effective if unusual treatment regime. Following any treatment, regular inspection is also recommended in order to keep the population from reappearing.

Once and for all get Rid of Rid Head Lice Treatment!
Head lice – annoying and irritating creatures that are almost guaranteed to play a part in our lives at some point, and that have evolved over millions of years to become extremely resilient creatures that are unwanted visitors in homes across the world.
The argument over which is the best get rid head lice treatment rages in internet websites, books and magazines every day, for what is successful in one case is not guaranteed to be so in others. For instance, in the case of the often prescribed insecticide shampoos many people are insistent that they work, while others report that the chemicals involved – among them Permethrin and Malathion – were once successful but no longer seem to be. This is likely to be because the head lice have become immune to such insecticides, and is one reason why many people choose not to use these prescribed shampoos and to rely on natural alternatives.
In the case of shampoo these tend to be those that contain the ubiquitous Tea Tree oil, an essential oil whose use appears to be widespread and varied; again, the jury is out on Tea Tree shampoo as where many people report its success and effectiveness others, in equal numbers, declare it of no use at all. Therefore, what is right for one is not right for the other, which is why more unusual remedies have become widespread, too.
Chief among these is the practice of smothering the head lice, and this comes about thanks to an unusual biological feature of these tiny creatures: the louse breathes through a series of miniscule holes and, rather cleverly, these can be shut for limited periods of time which explains why lice do not drown when we wash out hair. However, this is a limited period, hence smothering the hair for a length of a few hours with thick substances such as, believe it or not, mayonnaise and olive oil can lead to the breathing apparatus becoming blocked, and the lice suffocating.
This method of getting rid of head lice is not foolproof – none are – and will still need the routine wet combing with a special nit comb in order to draw out the remaining lice and nits; remember that the nits can hatch in one week after laying, and only take a further week to become breeding adults, at which point the process begins all over again. Whichever method you use, keep an eye on the patient with regular inspections and examinations for at least a couple weeks after the initial treatment.