What are head lice?
Lice are tiny insects (they are so small,
that you can barely see them with your eyes) about 2 - 4 millimeters
long. They like to stay in your hair and live by sucking a little
bit of blood from your body everyday. They grow and multiply so
fast that if you have one louse, within a couple of weeks you'll
have tens of lice crawling within your head.
But
why do I scratch my head?
Lice live by sucking blood from our body.
They attach their tiny claws in the skin to suck the blood. The
skin becomes irritated and feels itchy. Be careful, for if you scratch
your head too much, you may cause more infection on your head.
But
how did I get the head lice?
Lice are insects that need the blood of a
person to survive. They can be found on anyone's head. They tend
to spread more in kids as kids play together more closely and stay
together. Lice move from one person's head to another if it comes
in contact with another person's head. They can also spread by sharing
clothes, towels, blankets, pillows, bedsheets, combs, brushes etc.
These lice then lay eggs called nits within your hair. Each nit
looks like a small white particle. These nits attach to your hair
close to the scalp and once hatched develop into tiny lice. So you
can see haw fast they can multiply.
So,
what should I do if I get lice?
If you are scratching your head a lot, tell
your parents to look for lice or nits in the hair. With a fine toothcomb,
nits and lice can be removed but it requires lot of patience and
time. Your doctor may prescribe a special medicine in form of lotion,
oil or shampoo to be applied on your head. This medicine will kill
the lice. The treatment may have to be repeated after 7 to 10 days
to kill remaining nits before they hatch. Sometimes you may have
to take antibiotics to treat the infection that occurs due to excessive
scratching. You may also need to wash all your beddings, hats, brushes
and stuffed toys in hot water to kill any lice living there.
How
can I prevent getting it again?
As you also know by now that prevention is
better than cure, the best way to treat head lice would be to prevent
it. Try and avoid sharing combs, brushes, hair clips, ribbons and
other hair accessories. Remember, no matter how much you try, head
lice may still come and stay in your head, but at least being careful
would help.
"Head
without lice is very nice
But not to scratch really has no match."