By Sharon Emephia
A few weeks ago, I went to get my hair fixed in a salon around the city, and not too long after I got in, a lady came in with her daughter of about 10years, to also get her hair fixed.
Something striking about the little girl was that her hair was thoroughly tied with a scarf. The lady that brought the little girl began a very disturbing conversation with the ladies working in the salon, about how her young daughter has been complaining of persistent itch in her hair, which even affects her sleep at night. Immediately, everyone in the salon screamed, Lice!!!
Lice in the City?
Everyone got really concerned as the little girl was immediately whisked outside the salon, and the hair stylists started searching frantically for any confirmation of everyone’s fears, and it only took a few minutes of their search to start finding tones of Lice in the girl’s hair, while they tried killing as many as they could and recommended the girl’s mother continued the process at home for several days, to ensure there were no more lice in her hair.
For the benefit of someone who may be knowing about this for the first time, Lice are small, wingless, parasitic insects that feed on blood and live on the bodies of people or animals. The word “lice” is the plural form of “louse” and commonly refers to head, body, or pubic lice in humans. Lice are insects that live on a host and feed on blood.
Types in humans: There are three types of lice that affect humans: head lice (on the scalp), body lice (on clothing and body), and pubic lice (also called crabs).
Transmission: Head lice spread through direct head-to-head contact, body lice through infested clothing or bedding, and pubic lice through sexual contact.
Life cycle: A louse goes through several stages: it starts as an egg (nit), hatches into a nymph (an immature louse), and matures into an adult.
More than 90% of lice cases comes from head-to-head or hair-to-hair contact. You get lice when your head touches someone else’s head that is contagious. This happens through hugs or sharing pillows,. Anytime hair touches hair you are at risk for getting lice if that person has lice
Getting infested with Lice is not a sign of poor hygiene — head lice need blood and they don’t care whether it’s from someone who’s clean or dirty. It’s best to treat head lice right away to prevent them from spreading.
How did lice start?
Researchers are unsure where lice originated, but they know that lice have affected primates for at least 25 million years, eventually spreading to humans.
How do you get lice?
When either a pregnant louse or two live bugs made their way to your human head through head-to-head contact with another human head hosting an active case.
According to Experts
no single treatment kills head lice instantly, but several methods are effective, including prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications like ivermectin and spinosad, which can kill lice quickly with one application. Other methods, like applying a dimethicone-based lotion, can kill lice in minutes by suffocating them. For the most effective treatment, follow the product’s instructions and repeat the treatment after 7 to 10 days to kill any newly hatched lice.
However, please know it is hazardous applying lethal substances like Sniper to a person’s hair or scalp in an attempt to kill Lice because the poison in the Sniper will penetrate the person’s scalp into the person’s system and lead to death. Always seek for advice from medical professionals in dealing with any health case as self medication could be disastrous.
What hairstyle do lice hate?
Braided hairstyles offer excellent protection against lice transmission because they keep individual hair strands woven together and contained. French braids, Dutch braids, and simple three-strand braids all work effectively to reduce loose hair contact. The tighter the braid, the better the protection it provides.
What attracts lice?
Getting head lice isn’t a sign of poor hygiene or unclean surroundings. Head lice prefer clean hair to attach and lay their eggs. Another common misconception is that head lice can jump or fly from one person to another. Head lice only crawl, most often leading to transmission through direct head-to-head contact.