Ellen Campbell -Grizzle - PHARMACY TODAY MANY PARENTS often seek solutions to the burdensome problem caused by head lice (Pediculus capitis). These small parasitic insects live mainly on the scalp and neck hairs of human hosts. They feed by sucking blood from the scalp and at the same time injecting saliva.
Head lice have six impressive legs that allow them to grasp hair shafts. They are unable to jump or fly and are acquired by direct head-to-head contact with an infested person or less frequently, by sharing combs, hats or other hair accessories.
Clear in colour when hatched, they quickly develop a reddish brown appearance after feeding. Female louse lay up to 100 nits (eggs) at a rate of six per day. It takes seven to 10 days for a nit to hatch into a nymph and another seven to 10 days for the female to mature and begin laying eggs. Head lice live for about 30 days on their hosts but will not survive for more than 24 hours without access to human blood. They feed once or twice per day.
Generally, an infested person has fewer than 12 active lice on the scalp at any time but may have hundreds of nits. A nit is a smooth, oval shaped structure that is cemented to the side of the hair shaft. It is easy to find the parasites if you use the following technique to "nit pick." You should:-
Apply conditioner to dry hair and cover each strand from root to tip. Conditioners stun lice for up to 20 minutes.
Detangle the hair using an ordinary comb.
Comb the hair with a fine tooth comb and then wipe off the comb on a piece of tissue and look for lice and eggs.
Repeat the combing for each part of the head at least five times.
Treatment is needed only when active lice or nits are observed. Itching or "the feeling that something is running on your head" is not sufficient evidence to start delousing. The decision to treat will depend on the state of the eggs and lice that you found. You should:-
Talk to your physician and pharmacist about your findings.
Tell them the last time that you used treatment for head lice.
Avoid overuse of lousicides (chemicals used to kill nymphs and adult lice) and ovicides (chemicals used to kill eggs).
Successful delousing requires a repeated dose of the treatment within seven to 10 days to eradicate the new nymphs. You must "nit pick" every day for 14 days or until no live lice are discovered. Wash all pillowcases, sheets, night clothes, hair curlers, stuffed toys and towels in hot water. All members of the family must be treated.
Lice on children's heads are no cause to brand their parents as "neglectful" or to ban children from attending school. However, parents and teachers must work together to prevent and eliminate infestation. Children must be taught about the life cycle of the head lice and the importance of frequent hair washing and examination of combs.
Remember it is dangerous to overuse the chemicals that treat head lice or to use them routinely as prevention. Keep these medicines away from the face, eyes, mouth or nose. Never apply flea or tick treatments, fly spray or kerosene oil to your hair.
After successful delousing, there is a wide range of herbal shampoos containing organic oils that emit scents that lice do not like and will help to keep them away. If you would like to know more about how to keep your family or school lice-free, ask your pharmacist, you have the right to know!
Ellen Campbell Grizzle, President of the Caribbean Association of Pharmacists (CAP) and the Director, Information & Research, National Council on Drug Abuse, Kingston, Jamaica.
