Archive for the 'lice infestation' Category

Head Lice Art???

headlice August 19th, 2008

Strange but true! A Reuter's news item dated Wednesday, April 30, 2008, reported on a group of seven Germans who believe that head lice can be a form of art!

"Art is no longer just a painting on the wall," Milana Gitzin-Adiram, chief curator of the Museum of Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, told Reuters. "Art is life, life is art." What that has to do with head lice? It's not really clear at all!

The group of Berliners were living at the  Museum of Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, as part of an unusual art exhibit. They ate, slept, and bathed in a gallery, while maintaining active lice infestations in their hair. "The idea is that we live in the museum as their guests, and at the same time we are hosting lice on our heads," said artist Vincent Grunwald, aged 23. He was wearing a plastic shower cap to prevent the lice from spreading.

From a professional lice removal perspective… this is just plain silly. Head lice are parasites that live off human blood. Lice cause terrible itching, from the irritation that results when a louse bites its host to suck blood. Lice can not live off of a human head. Lice can not fly. Lice do not jump. Lice aren't interested in living any place other than a human head.  The only way that lice spread — which they do quickly — is by crawling from one head to another. Since these folks are apparently all lice infested already, they aren't preventing anything with that shower cap! Lice are small enough to crawl easily crawl under the edges of a shower cap, anyway. Actually, lice nits they are so tiny, that they aren't visible without very close and careful inspection. Which would make head lice irrelevant as hosts on human heads in an art gallery. The only thing a visitor would be able to see, are men in shower caps, possibly scratching their heads.

With all the stress that surrounds a head lice infestation, the absurd idea that there is an artistic element to lice could invite a much-needed momentary lightness!

Avoiding Frustration: Prevent Lice Re-Infestation (part 3 - conclusion)

headlice August 5th, 2008

Rachel had been conscientiously following the lice removal protocol, to rid the lice nits from her daughter Tammy's hair.

However, the real problem was external lice re-infestation. Although Tammy's play group had said that they were enforcing a no-nit policy in the group, one child apparently was not being treated for lice effectively. It only takes one. Three year olds play, cuddle, and tumble together all day. A lice epidemic can not be contained if lice are not treated effectively by every single parent in the group.

Rachel was doing the two week lice removal maintenance again and again. Apparently, another mother was using over the counter lice products, without an effective method for combing out nits. Her child kept re-infesting Tammy. LICENDERS uses a safe and effective method of lice treatment with natural lice products that really work. However, if a different child is reinfesting the group, the only way to end the lice nit cycle is enforcing an absolute nit-free policy in school, with frequent lice checking during the duration of a lice epidemic.

Families and communities are disrupted by a lice epidemic. To prevent re-infestation, all children must be treated for lice at the same time, and a no-nit policy must be enforced. The frustration of lice re-infestation can be prevented!

Lice in Summer Camp

headlice July 28th, 2008

Head Lice love summer camp as much as kids do!

The camp season always brings an increase in head lice problems. The gathering of children from different geographical areas exposes them to a new group of friends - some of whom may be carrying lice and nits. In a camp situation, the ability for the lice to crawl from one head to another multiplies. The shared living environment is very conducive to the spread of head lice.  Sharing of hair brushes and accessories is certainly common. This is an ideal way for head lice to travel. During an active lice infestation, the friendly interchange of personal items can transfer viable nits - lice eggs - between children.

Children in summer camp are involved in many activities that give lice opportunities to move from head to head. Classic camp fun, from organized sports to pillow fights, allow for children to be in close physical contact. Sitting arm-in-arm at a campfire, and trying on hats for a dramatic performance are likely to spread lice.

It is crucial to get control of a lice problem in a summer camp, before the children have an opportunity to interact. The best way to do this is to have a Professional Lice Removal Service, such as LICENDERS, do a lice screening at the earliest opportunity.  A widespread lice infestation can be avoided by checking everyone at the beginning of the camp session. Lice Nits treatment can be provided right away, preventing further lice problems at camp.

Parents, Children and Head Lice (part 2)

headlice June 19th, 2008

continued from Parents, Children, and Head Lice

When a clinician on a job encounters a problem, LICENDERS support staff is always there to help resolve it. Sarah, a LICENDERS representative was contacted by Angela, as explained in our previous post. Her client, Sharon, was resistant to being treated for the active lice infestation on her head. This was after she had spent time and money to treat her son, David*. 
 
Sarah patiently explained to Sharon why it was so important that she herself be treated for the lice. She pointed out that the reason that Sharon brought in David in the first place, was to ensure that his head lice problem was resolved professionally. Sharon* recognized that Angela did a thorough job methodically combing nits from David's head. The truth is that if Sharon's lice and nits are not properly removed, the lice problem is still active in her home! If Mom has an active case of lice, there is a 99.9% chance that the David* will be reinfested. After all, surely Mom loves him, and is going to hug him, and spend time with him! What exactly is the point of removing head lice from a child, and knowingly giving it back to him a few hours later?? Lice treatment kills lice, and removes lice and nits. But no lice treatment can honestly claim to make a child "safe" from catching it again. The only way to properly treat head lice and nits is to make sure that everyone in that child's immediate environment is thoroughly clean as well. As a caring mother, Sharon* understood that the right thing to do for David* was to be properly treated for the head lice herself.
 
*names changed to protect privacy

Parents, Children, and Head Lice

headlice June 16th, 2008

Last week, LICENDERS provided a head lice screening at a private school in lower Manhattan. David S.* in one of the primary grades was found to have a heavy case of head lice. When LICENDERS describes a case as heavy, it means that there are live lice bugs. In addition, usually in a "heavy" case, the hair is infested with too many nits [louse eggs] to count, in various stages of maturity. These symptoms indicate that the lice infestation is not new. Multiple adult lice have had the opportunity to mature, lay lice eggs, and those nits are already hatching. This is minimally a 2-3 week cycle.  The likelihood that other family members are infested with lice during that time is obviously very high.

Sharon S.*, David's mother, was referred to LICENDERS by the school. She made an appointment to bring David in to the LICENDERS Lice Treatment Salon, in Manhattan. We got a call from Angela, the clinician treating the S. family. The problem was, that Angela saw live lice bugs on Sharon's head, but Sharon* herself did not want to be treated! During a lice infestation, parents are often too upset to think rationally. LICENDERS' clinicians understand this, and a professional approach to the situation was implemented. We work together as a team to get the lice removal job done right. Our dedicated staff representative, Zoe, called Sharon* personally.
 
to be continued

Lice Information From a Pediatrician (conclusion)

headlice June 11th, 2008

Dr. John Hong, a pediatrician from Charlottesville, Virginia, wrote an article about head lice and other pests. This is the conclusion of the article, posted with permission from the author:

continued from
Lice Information From a Pediatrician [part 1]
and Lice Information From a Pediatrician (Continued) [part 2] 

But like the nasty bed bugs haunting hotels, lice have become more resistant to topical medicines. So oral medications are sometimes needed, like ivermectin (Stromectol) or adding Bactrim to permethrin.

In South Pacific, Nellie says, "I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair…" and that applies to [head lice] too. Sheets, carpet, couches, towels, clothes, hats– all need to be cleaned to prevent recontamination and contaminating other household members.

Body lice occur more in folks who are homeless or have poor hygiene. The lice live in clothing (in particular, seams) and then feed on the body-– in particular, the armpits and waist where the seams of the clothes are.

Pediculosis pubis is usually sexually transmitted– the creatures look like tiny translucent crabs, without the Old Bay seasoning. An adult female is 2-3mm long, lives about a month, and lays three eggs a day. The nits and lice hang out in the pubic region, but can go to the armpits and even eyelashes. Lice poop looks like brown dots on the skin, and little bruises can form from louse bites.

Lice are pretty horrible. I wonder if Andrew Zimmern, of Bizarre Foods, would ever eat them. Just make sure, if you eat dinner with him, that if he serves you fried rice, it isn't flied lice.

© Dr. John Hong, Inc

"Dr. Hook cracks a joke or two, but he's a renowned physician with a local practice." - THE HOOK, website on which Dr. Hong's article was originally published.

 

The Nature of Head Lice: How a Lice Infestation Spreads

headlice April 7th, 2008

continued from Do Head Lice Jump?

Biologically, Head Lice do not jump. Rather, they crawl very quickly from one head to another. Considering this fact about head lice, one may wonder how it is lice nits spread so quickly. Some people mistakenly think that one bug alone can not cause a head lice infestation. The truth is, it only takes one mature louse to begin a rapid lice infestation on the new host!

Like most live creatures, a louse egg must be fertilized in order to produce additional lice bugs.  Mature female lice only need one fertilization to produce fertilized eggs for the rest of their life - approximately 30 days. An adult male louse will mate several times in its lifetime, fertilizing numerous females. Therefore almost all mature female lice have mated, and are ready and able to start infesting the hair with nits, at an average of 6 nit eggs per day.

Chances are that a mature louse that crawls on to a new head is in fact fertilized and ready to lay more than 150 nits in the hair over the next few weeks. It doesn't take much to spread a lice infestation.