Beating lice before they bite!

You receive the dreaded call from your child's school, "Your child has lice. Please come pick her up immediately." You feel like the world's worst mom.
The truth about lice is that it is a harmless infestation that will affect many people at one time or another. It has nothing to do with hygiene, socioeconomic status, or ethnic background. Most importantly it has no health consequences.

Doubts go through your mind: maybe you don't bathe your child often enough; perhaps your need to vacuum the house more often; is your whole house infested now? Should you move? These fears may sound a little over done, but in our society lice has gotten a bad rap. Your child, and perhaps your whole family, will be shunned by the school and the neighbour until you can prove to them that your entire family and house has been sterilized and is now lice-free. The schools inappropriately make a much bigger deal about lice then they should.

WHAT ARE LICE?

Lice (singular – louse) are tiny insects called mites. They are not microscopic – they can be seen with the naked eye. The proper name is pediculosis. Adult lice lay eggs on the hair shafts of the head, about 3 mm from the scalp skin. After one week, the eggs hatch and an immature, mobile louse nymph emerges. This nymph hides in the scalp and after 2 to 3 weeks it matures enough to begin laying eggs. Adult lice can only live 1 or 2 days away from a warm body and the eggs must be close to the warm scalp in order to hatch. They feed on human blood through tiny bites in the skin.

HOW DO I TELL IF MY CHILD HAS LICE?

There are several things to look for:

• Itchy scalp – this is the most common symptom, although very light infestations (5 or less lice) may not itch.
• Visible live nymphs or adult lice – this are tiny, clear to white mobile bugs visible on the scalp or hair shafts. They are most often seen in the hair behind the ears and the nape of the neck. Adult lice are quite fast and therefore more difficult to spot.
• Visible nits – "nits" are tiny white shells that are glued to the hair shaft near to the skin. The nit can either contain a live egg, or can be empty (the egg already hatched). Nits close to the scalp are more likely to contain eggs, and those more than ½ an inch away from scalp are probably empty. Nits are often difficult to distinguish from normal dandruff in the hair shaft. One way to tell is that dandruff will easily slide off the hair with your fingers, whereas nits are glued to the hair shaft and are not easily moved.

HOW ARE LICE TRANSMITTED?

Lice are passed from person to person by direct contact with the hair of an infected person. They can also be passed through brushes, combs, and hats. Remember, lice can only live one to two days off of a person, so it is rare to catch lice just from being in the same room with an infected person. Pets don't carry lice.

ARE LICE DANGEROUS TO MY CHILD?

No. The only thing that lice do is cause itching on the scalp. They do not cause any other diseases. Some children may scratch so much that the scalp will get sore and slightly infected. This may cause the glands in the neck to swell. Sore, crusty areas can be treated with antibiotic ointment 2 to 3 times a day.
Could I HAVE PREVENTED MY CHILD FROM CATCHING LICE?

No. The only way to prevent lice is to keep your child locked in her room 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. There are many myths about lice that have led to its bad reputation. Here are some truths about lice that will help dispel these myths:

• Lice are not a sign of un-cleanliness – it does not matter how often you wash or brush your hair because normal shampoo does not kill or prevent lice.
• Lice do not only occur in lower socioeconomic classes or in certain races. If fact, some groups are much less likely to get lice than Caucasians.
• Long hair does not increase your chance of catching lice – the only difficulty that long hair poses is that it is harder to find lice and nits in long hair.

HOW DO I PREVENT LICE?
Picksan NoLice! Preventative spray is a safe, non-toxic, nature-based spray. Picksan NoLice, which has notched up huge successes in Europe and which has been formulated by top global parasitologist, Prof. Heinz Mehlhorn from Düsseldorf University.
Picksan NoLice spray is applied to the surface of hair.  Lice perceive the odour when the volatile repellents bind to odorant receptors displayed on specialised receptor neurons located on the antennae of the lice.  In occasions that a lice infested person comes close to the hair covered with NoLice the lice strongly respond to the volatiles and avoid approaching the treated hair.
Based on natural repellents which some plants possess, Picksan NoLice does not contain allergenic essential oil constituents and is suitable for adults and children over the age of two. Picksan NoLice contains a combination of the MelAza extract and the compound paramenthane -3,8-diol (which is also found in Eucalyptus). These compounds act together to protect human hair for at least seven hours from invasion of head lice.  Picksan NoLice preventative spray contains both essential compounds.

HOW DO I TREAT LICE?
Treating lice requires the use of an anti lice shampoo. Dermatologically tested Picksan Lice Stop shampoo contains natural active ingredients, including the patented MelAza extract. The MelAza extract comprises a special neem seed extract.  Neem seed oil has been used in Indian Ayurveda to treat lice for thousands of years. 
Picksan Lice Stop shampoo is gentle on the hair, soft on the scalp, has a pleasant scent and has been voted among the best quality anti-lice shampoos in Europe.

WHAT TO DO TO PREVENT RECURRENCE OR SPREAD OF THE LICE?

• Examine household and close contacts – check for nits or lice. Anyone with visible lice or symptoms of scalp itching should be treated. You do not need to automatically treat everybody that has come into contact with your child.
• Disinfect household and personal objects – Brushes and combs can either be washed in one of the medicated shampoos or soaked in hot water for 10 minutes. Water that is close to boiling is hot enough.
• Pillow cases, sheets, hats, clothing worn in the past few days, coats and ornamental hair clips and ribbons can be machine washed in the hot cycle then dried on the hot cycle.
• Anything that cannot be washed can be tied up in garbage bag for 10 days. This will kill any lice or eggs.
• Vacuum the bedroom, sofa, bed and pillows. This will get rid of any stray lice.
• Check your child's scalp every 2 to 3 days for any new lice or nits. Use a nit comb.

You do not need to go all out and disinfect the entire house. You don't need to wash all your child's clothes. You don't need to have the house fumigated.