Lice – A Common Skin Infestation

Lice seem like such a dirty little secret and come across as a problem that only people who are unclean have. Nothing could be further from the truth as lice can infest anyone from any ethnic or socioeconomic group. Lice are little insects with no wings which can easily hop from one human host to another through shared hair brushes, clothing and plain old body contact. There are three basic types of lice and they come in different sizes from barely discernible to the naked eye up to around 1/8 of an inch which is huge in lice terms.

Types of Lice

Three types of lice are possible to contract and they are head lice, pubic lice and body lice. With head lice, the most common form, these guys infest the hair on your head. This type is the kind spread through shared brushes, combs and hats. School children get this all the time and it spreads like wildfire. Many kids will get sent home every year from school to get treated for lice. Up to several years ago, school nurses still checked each child's head for lice.

Body lice are common in people who have poor hygienic practices. In addition, you can also live in crowded areas with others or even wear clothing that another person with body lice had. In rare instances, you may even get body lice from sleeping on a mattress in a hotel room, especially if the facility is not the kind to put a mint on your pillow. Lice in the pubic area aka crabs are irritating and you are most likely to catch this from a sexual partner. These "crabs" can also spread to your armpit hair, chest hair, eyelashes, eye brows and even a moustache or beard.

Symptoms and Treatment Options for Lice

The first thing you are going to notice with a lice infestation is severe itching. If not careful, scratching excessively can break the skin, which could then lead to bacterial infections. Some children will have mild itching with their head lice while others may do nothing but scratch. You can bet that the body lice and pubic lice are huge irritants to the skin.

The lice, by themselves, can be hard to detect. However, their eggs are quite easy to spot. These eggs are called nits and are a shiny dull white color which looks like little gobs of foreign material on your hair near the scalp. When someone does not completely treat the lice, a chronic infestation occurs. Therefore, occasionally in these circumstances, you will discover the lice eggs a bit further away from the scalp due to hair growth.

These nits are easy to spot and are quite distinguishable from other things because they adhere so strongly to the hair. You may find adult lice as well as the eggs they lay in seams of a mattress or even infested clothing. They will nestle into a hat or brush until a human host comes along.

There are a number of over the counter as well as prescription lice treatments that can help eradicate these little pests. Shampoos and creams can be effective but are best when repeated several times to ensure that both the adult lice as well as their many nits are killed. For more stubborn cases, there are stronger medications but doctors have to be careful with them as some can cause side effects in children or fetuses in pregnant women.

It is important to not only treat the body but also the clothing, bedding, furniture, grooming brushes and more which may have come in contact with the lice. If these are not treated to kill lice, you could get them again and the process starts over. Always follow the product directions as well as that of your doctor to ensure that the lice are gone for good.

Recommended Reading

1. Psoriasis and Your child
2. A Mite with Might Can Give You Scabies
3. Defining the Common Wart
4. Skin care treatment for the most common skin conditions
5. Are Skin Care Schools Really Important?