Author: Paula Tooney
We have all heard of lice, and many of us have seen our children come back from school with head lice. But there is a lot of confusion between body, head and pubic lice. The three types of lice have common points: they are bloodsucking insects responsible for a common, frequent and contagious parasitic disease called pediculosis; they only affect humans, and their transmission is purely inter-human. But there are important differences between the three types of lice.Body Lice
They are also called pediculus humanus corporis, which means the human louse of the body. They are responsible for pediculosis of the body. These lice live in the seams and folds of our clothing, and they go to the skin only to feed on our blood. Highly contagious, they are nowadays affecting only homeless people or people living in conditions of extremely poor hygiene.
The symptoms of body lice are a violent itching, responsible for skin lesions.
Nits can be found on the clothes. Lice can be seen on the skin in the form of small black dots moving. The doctor will examine and look for associated scabies, as it is often the case and scabies are commonly found in these patients affected by body lice.
As far as treatment is concerned, disinfection of clothing and bedding is necessary during 48 hours with powdered lindane. The body treatment can be done with products containing lindane, malathion or pyrethroids. The doctor treats the itch associated if necessary.
Head Lice
They are also called pediculus humanus capitis, which means the human louse of the head. They are responsible for pediculosis of the scalp. The female lives in the scalp and lay eggs, also called nits, at the base of the hair. Very common in all countries, it is not linked, unlike body lice, to a lack of hygiene and the social environment. They affect mainly communities of school aged children.
The symptoms of head lice are itching of the scalp. Skin lesions related to scratching may appear on the scalp, temples and neck. They can become infected if not treated properly.
For reasons related to treatment, the physician must distinguish live nits (grayish and sticking to the hair root) and dead nits (white, non-adherent, further from the hair root).
Basically the treatment has to kill both lice and nits. Traditional chemical treatments and shampoos are effective if applied following the directions carefully (quantity and duration of exposure). The bedding, dolls and hair accessories are subject to routine decontamination. Siblings of children infected should not be treated but careful monitoring is needed for them. You\'ll find additional resource at the bottom of this article for the treatment of head lice.
Pubic Lice
They are also called phtirius pubis, which means the human louse of the pubis, and is commonly called crab louse. They are responsible for pubic phtiriasis, which is another name of pediculosis. The pubic louse remains attached to pubic hair, but can also reach the hair of the thorax, abdomen, beard, and eyelashes; but not the head. Contamination occurs most often during sexual intercourse, usually affecting adolescents and young adults.
The symptoms of pubic lice are itching of the pubis. It is permanent and responsible for skin lesions in the pubic area.
Nits and lice are brown and can be seen by examination under a magnifying glass. Brown dust in the bottom of the underwear can be found and is the sign of louse feces. The doctor looks systematically for clinical signs of other sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV or syphilis.
Local treatment uses a synthetic pyrethroid. It is absolutely essential to treat the patient\'s sexual partners and other possible sexually transmitted diseases.
In addition to the cure, prevention plays a key role in the management of these diseases. At the collective level, it is necessary to inform parents, and school exclusions are necessary in cases of bacterial infection. At the individual level, it is essential to adopt rules of basic hygiene such as not sharing personal belongings, and to conduct a regular monitoring of children\'s hair and a regular treatment if the child is often contaminated.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com
About the Author
If your children have head lice and you prefer using natural treatments, read more about home remedies for head lice on http://headlicecenter.com, a trusted resource with head lice information.
