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Head Lice History
Evidence from prehistoric burials shows that head lice have been with us since the dawn of human evolution |
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The lice
Head lice are small insects with six legs. |
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How you get head lice
Head lice can walk from one head to another when the heads are touching for some time. |
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How to treat head lice
How You should only ever treat someone for head lice if you have found a living, moving louse. |
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Head Lice won’t go away
The problem may not be head lice at all. Often we think there are lice when there aren’t really any there. We all start to itch as soon as head lice are mentioned. |
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What families can do with lice
Check all the family’s heads every now and then with a special plastic detection comb from the chemist’s shop. Read "Detection combing - how to do it". |
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How to do detect head lice
Start with the teeth of the detection comb touching the skin of the scalp at the top of the head. Draw the comb carefully towards the edge of the hair. |
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What are headlice?
Head lice are small, grey-brown, six-legged insects which feed on blood taken from the scalp, attaching themselves firmly to hair using specially adapted claws. |
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How is most at risk of lice
Children – particularly six to nine-year-olds – are most at risk. This is probably because their games often involve close contact. |
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Finding head lice
Head lice bites are neither painful or harmful. The greatest health risk posed by lice is from secondary infection. This often occurs when severe scratching has broken the skin – allowing head lice droppings and germs to enter the wound. |
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Infertile lice eggs
Not all nits will hatch – only those laid by a female which has successfully mated will be viable. Research in America suggests as many as 50% of nits could be infertile. And the British Medical Journal reports that “less than 20% of school children with nits will go on to develop infestation within 14 days”. |
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Lice treatment options
Health professionals stress that chemical treatments should never be used unless a live louse is found. |
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Insecticide-based lotions
Rubbing insecticides onto the scalp poses obvious dangers. Which is why health professionals stress they should only be used if a live louse has been found. |
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Alternative treatments
The controversy surrounding insecticidal lotions has spawned a number of non-chemical alternative treatments which are marketed under terms such as ‘aromatherapy’, ‘herbal’ and ‘natural’. These can appeal to parents who don’t want to use pesticide-based treatments, but prefer a faster and easier solution to wet combing. |
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The dangers of lice pesticides
The dangers posed by extracts from naturally occurring plants would seem to pale into insignificance compared to the health hazards associated with modern insecticides. Especially when they’re applied to the scalp, which is known to be far more absorbent than other areas of the body. |
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Malathion & Carbaryl
Malathion can disrupt the body’s immune system, according to a 1992 report in The Journal of Pesticide Reform. |
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Permethrin & phenothrin
Permetherin has been classified as a potential carcinogen by the US Environmental Agency. And German studies have linked both phenorthrin and permetherin to leukaemia, lymphoid cancer and multiple chemical sensitivity |
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Lice developing immunity
As well as the health risks associated with these pesticides, there’s growing evidence that they may not be as effective as the manufacturers claim. Like any organism, head lice can develop resistance to toxins. |
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Head lice school monitoring
Head lice warning letters sent out by schools can prompt many parents to administer insecticidal lotions without correctly diagnosing an actual infection. |
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'Nitty Norahs'
Previous generations of school children were regularly checked for head lice by the school nurse; often affectionately known as ‘Nitty Norah’. |
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head lice advice
There are a number of sources of advice on how best to treat head lice. Many parents will speak to their local surgery or pharmacist. Others will access the Internet for information. |
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Head lice contradictory advice
Anyone searching for clear advice about head lice, and how best to get rid of them, soon discovers there’s very little common ground on which the experts agree. |
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Making a decision
Parents will usually err on the side of caution when it comes to protecting their children. Which is why so many are now deciding to avoid insecticidal lotions in favour of a non-chemical approach. |
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Lice natural treatments
The best reason for using a herbal lotion or conditioner is that it can reduce exposure to other chemicals found in many hair care products. |
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