Lice Do Not Spread Disease, but They Are Contagious!

Lice aren’t dangerous and don’t pass blood born disease disease, but they are contagious and can just be downright annoying. Their bites may cause your child’s scalp to become irritated, and persistent scratching may lead to skin problems and even infection.

Recognizing Head Lice

Though very small, lice can be seen by the Human eye.

Lice eggs (called nits). These look like tiny yellow, tan, or brown sacks before they hatch. Lice lay nits on hair shafts near the scalp, where the temperature is perfect for keeping warm until they hatch. Nits appear a lot like dandruff, only they can’t be removed by brushing or shaking them off. Unless the infestation is heavy, it’s more common to see nits in a child’s hair than it is to see live lice crawling on the scalp. The eggs hatch in about 2 weeks after being ‘nitted.’

Adult and Hatched Lice

Adult lice and nymphs (baby lice). The adult louse is very tiny and is brown-tan in color. Nymphs become fully grown in about a week after hatching. Most lice feed on blood about every 4 to 6 hours, but they can survive up to 3 days off the scalp.

Hair Lice and Scratching

With lice bites come itching and scratching. However, the itching may not always start right away – that depends on how sensitive your child’s skin is to the lice. It can sometimes take weeks for kids with lice to notice the discomfort, meaning the infestation will become more severe. They may complain, though, of things moving around on or tickling their heads as they can feel the lice wriggling near the scalp.

Red Bumps and Scalp Sores from Head Lice

For most children, the irritation is mild; but for others, a more bothersome rash with crusting and oozing may develop. It’s also not unusual for kids to develop some swelling of their lymph glands as a reaction to the bites. Excessive scratching can also lead to a bacterial infection (the skin would become red and tender around the bite area). If your doctor thinks this is the case, he or she may treat the infection with a topical or an oral antibiotic.

Searching For HeadLice

You may be able to see the lice or nits by parting your child’s hair into small sections and checking for lice and nits on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the back of the neck near the hairline). A magnifying glass and bright light may help. But it can be tough to find a nymph or adult louse – often, there aren’t many of them and they’re able to scramble quickly running from the light. It is much easier to find the newly laid eggs attached to the hair shafts.

Are Hair Lice Contagious?

Yes, hair lice are highly contagious and can spread quickly from person to person, especially in group settings (this pretty much means anywhere kids are together such as school, daycare or sports team that share equipment)

Though they can’t fly or jump, these tiny parasites have specially adapted claws that allow them to crawl and cling firmly to hair. They spread mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothing, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats can also help pass them along.

Can Pets Pass Head Lice

Nope, pets like dogs and cats are NOT prone or susceptible to lice or passing it along. They gotta live with the fleas, but not the lice!

Your doctor can recommend a medicated shampoo, cream, or lotion to kill the lice. These may be over-the-counter or prescription medications, depending on what treatments have already been tried. It isn’t uncommon for treatments to be unsuccessful because of incorrect use or because the lice may be resistant to the chemical in the shampoo.

It’s important to follow the directions completely because these products are insecticides. Applying them too much or too frequently can increase the risk to you or your child. Following the directions on the product label is also important to ensure that the treatment works properly. Your doctor may also suggest a special rinse to use on your child’s hair that makes it easier to comb out the nits using a fine-tooth comb. There are specially designed fine toothed combs that will remove lice eggs from the hair.
A good hair cut is also a good idea after an infestation.

Medicated lice treatments can usually kill the lice and nits, but it may take a few days for the itching to stop. Your doctor may recommend repeating treatment in 7 to 10 days to make sure all the nits have been killed and avoid risk of reinfestation.

What About Lice In The House?

Headlice don’t live very long once they fall off the scalp of the host. So it’s unnecessary to spend a great deal of time and money trying to rid the house of lice.

Following are a few tips for eradicating lice in your house after an outbreak on you or your child’s head.

* Wash all bed linens and clothing that’s been recently worn by anyone in your home who’s infested in very hot water (130° Fahrenheit, 54.4° Celsius), then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
* Dry clean any clothing that isn’t machine washable.
* Have bed linens, clothing, and stuffed animals and plush toys that can’t be washed dry-cleaned. Or, put them in airtight bags for 2 weeks.
* Vacuum carpets and any upholstered furniture (in your home or car).
* Soak hair-care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for 1 hour. You can also wash them in hot water or just throw them away.

Because lice are easily passed from person to person in the same house, other infested family members will also need treatment to prevent the lice from coming back.

Here are Some Things You Should NOT Do When An Outbreak of Headlice Occurs

• * Don’t use a hair dryer on your child’s hair after applying any of the currently available scalp treatments because some contain flammable ingredients.
  * Don’t use a cream rinse or shampoo/conditioner combination before applying lice medication.
  * Don’t wash your child’s hair for 1 to 2 days after using a medicated treatment.
  * Don’t use sprays or hire a pest control company to try to get rid of the lice, as they can be harmful.
  * Don’t use the same medication more than three times on one person. If it doesn’t seem to be working, your doctor may recommend another medication.
  * Don’t use more than one head lice medication at a time.

I hope this long article can help you in identifying and eradicating hairlice infestations on you or your children. Now that school is back in session, we will be seeing outbreaks on the rise.

Yeast infections can be spotted as diaper rash, thrush, skin rashes, sores, and swelling of the skin. However, in most cases skin blocks the penetration of yeast cells into the bloodstream. But, slight cuts or bruises may allow the entry of fungus into the blood stream thus infecting the internal functioning of body.

Women are generally more vulnerable to yeast infection since vagina comprises of certain amount of yeasts cells that if in any case overgrows results into burning sensations in vagina. There may be several factors responsible for the overgrowth of yeast infection in vagina including sperm, menstruation, contraceptives pills, diabetes, and usage of antibiotics.

It’s not necessary to get yeast treatment in hospitals in all the cases. Generally mild yeast infections can be treated using natural methods and individuals with weak immune system due to heavy intake of antibiotics and are undergoing HIV ort cancer treatment, it is mandatory to consult the doctor in order to stop infesting fungus more into the body.

There are certain over-the–counter medicines which are usually taken by women for yeast treatment at home.

1. Butoconazole (Femstat)
2. Clotrimazole (Femizole-7, Gyne-Lotrimin)
3. Miconazole (Monistat-Derm, Monistat Vaginal)
4. Tioconazole (Vagistat Vaginal)

These are topical treatments so you are required to massage these medicines in the insides of your vagina for a week. If irritation occurs consistently, stop applying the remedies and consult the physician immediately.

Besides taking medication it would be better if the main focus is given to the natural way of curing skin infections and disease. As it is said prevention is better than cure, this means that one must always keep body system ready to combat the hyperactivity of any harmful external agent. Usually, fungus attacks body when your immune system is degraded and is not working properly. Immunity can be gained only by the intake of healthy and appropriate diet on regular basis. So, strengthen your body cells to fight back the microbial infections.

Yeast Treatment can be done with the help of some natural home made remedies including apple cider vinegar, yoghurt, grape fruit extract, and honey. All these products are organic and natural in composition and have no side effects on human skin. The distinctive feature of natural remedies is that all of these subdues the irritation, burning, itching in the body pasts exposed to fungal infection.

You know what fleas are right? Those little wingless bugs that suck blood? They feed off the blood of humans and animals such as dogs and cats.
Fleas DO CARRY and TRANSFER diseases, but thankfully, not very often in the US or other developed nations. (don’t you feel better now?)

Since fleas use a wide range of hosts, diseases can be transferred from one host to another. Fleas are known to transmit tapeworm larvae and, uncommonly, the disease murine typhus. They are most notorious for transmitting bubonic plague from wild rodents to humans in certain parts of the world.

There are three main species of flea that infest humans:
Cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis)
Dog flea (Ctenocephalides canis)
Human flea (Pulex irritans).

A flea bite is extremely itchy and secondary infections caused by scratching are common. In fact, that is where most complaints arise from are the infections that develop due to overly scratching and opening the wound further.

Symptoms of a flea bite

The bite of a flea has certain features:

* It is extremely itchy.
* A red, swollen spot or welt develops within 30 minutes of the bite.
* After a day or so, the welt may develop into a blister or small open wound.
* The legs and feet are often targeted.
* Secondary infections caused by scratching are common.
* Some people may be highly allergic to the bites.

Physical characteristics of the fle

• wingless, oval shaped and around 2 to 8mm long
• deep brown in color
• small head
• six legs
• large hind legs that enable them to jump long distances.

Fleas and Blood feeding

Adult fleas can survive for some months without feeding on blood. The flea uses its saw-like jaws to slice into skin, usually on accessible parts of the body such as the legs or feet. Flea saliva contains anticoagulants to encourage the blood to keep flowing. Female fleas lay their eggs soon after feeding on blodd.
The larvae cocoon themselves within weeks of hatching. Vibration, such as footsteps, prompts adult fleas to emerge from their cocoons. This is why you may be bitten after entering a house that has been unoccupied for some time.

Flease On Household pets

As your are aware, dogs and cats are common hosts for fleas. Your pet may be irritated by flea bites and scratch often. If you are trying to check your pet for fleas, you want to look around the ears as that is where they hang out most often. If you can’t find actual moving fleas, look for their frass (feces). Flea feces look like small dark specks.

Treatment of Flea Bites on Humans

* Don’t scratch
* Wash the bites with antiseptic soap to reduce the risk of infection.
* Apply an icepack frequently to help take down the swelling.
* Use calamine lotion, anaesthetic creams or similar to treat the itching.
* See your pharmacist for advice on appropriate antihistamine medications to reduce the swelling.
* See your doctor if the symptoms get worse or if a secondary infection develops (indicated by discharge of pus from wounds).

Get Rid of Fleas in Your House

Clean your pet’s bedding and the general surrounds thoroughly.
Vacuum your entire house. Throw away the vacuum cleaner bag, since it will contain fleas and eggs. If you have a bagless vac, be sure to disinfect it with Lysol after emptying.
Take a day away and “flea bomb” the house.
It would be a good idea to treat your lawn with a general lawn insecticide labeled to kill fleas and ticks.
Plan to do these steps again in a couple weeks to get any larvae that have newly hatched.

Professional pest control treatment
Sometimes, it may be necessary to call a professional pest control company. They are equipped with chemicals that kill faster and last longer. Maybe a free estimate from Terminix would be a good idea.