Unfortunately, my family has been plagued with head lice recently. As well as being really irritating, the lice have given me a blience subject to blog about. So, #4 in my series will be about lice. The first section will just be about head lice in general. Section #2 will explain about the bad things they can do. In section three I will talk about treatment for them.
Head lice are insects, who only live on humans. They cannot jump or fly. Lice lay their eggs on hair shafts. They spend their entire lives on the scalp and hair, and feed only only human
blood. They live about 1 month. They itching is caused by a reaction to their saliva, so only some people itch.
Unlike the body louse, head lice do not pose any disease risk. They are, other than making your head itch, harmless. I am not sure where all the fear and stigma about them came from.
Finally, treatment of head lice. To get them out of my hair, I went to a lice "clinic" where I had them combed out after my head had been covered in conditioner. I also slept one night with olive oil on my head with a plastic bag on my head. I have filled my head with conditioner and combed it out every three or so days. The lice clinic told me and my mother that the "lice killing" shampoos do not work. I am not entirely sure which treatments work and which don't, but my lice seem to have gone away, so something I did worked.
Thanks for reading, and put blog ideas in the comments!
Bibliography:
(Photos came from here too) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_louse
I'm sorry you had this experience. It must have been awful. I was very interested in the factual information you posted. I wondered if you might be able to cite the source you obtained this information from? If it was online, a link to the site would be great. I always like reading more about a subject. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt mainly came from wikipedia.
DeleteGood post Max. A comment from the CDC
ReplyDelete"Head lice should not be considered as a medical or public health hazard. Head lice are not known to spread disease. Head lice can be an annoyance because their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep. Sometimes the itching can lead to excessive scratching that can sometimes increase the chance of a secondary skin infection."
Retrieved on 22MAY13 from http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/gen_info/faqs.html#spread
I love "Blience Tuesday" and you know we are well versed in my house about lice. I am wondering though, HOW do the little critters get into a head? Can you find any more info about how and why we get them? How do they travel in a classroom or among friends if they only live on hair?
ReplyDeleteAnd I also loved the lemon bar! yumm is right!
I also want to know why lice seems so much more prevalent these days? Is it an issue of a SUPER-bug, becoming resistant to something that we do?
ReplyDeleteYou MUST post the photos of you and Charlie (esp. the b/f and after)!
I don't think it is more prevalent. I remember "lice checks" in elementary school whenever there was an outbreak. The pesticide shampoo RID worked for us, although I'm not sure how good for you it is.
ReplyDeleteI am itchy now.
Keep that hair short mister....consider your house like a military base and you and charlie are enlisted men....just tell the barber on base "I want it high and tight".
ReplyDelete