Lice Information from a Pediatrician
headlice June 4th, 2008
This article appeared on THE HOOK, the web site of a Charlottesville, Virginia Newspaper by the same name. It is posted here with permission from the author, Dr. John Hong, a reknowned physician with a local pediatric practice in Charlottesville.
DR. HOOK- Nit picking: Pediculosis can louse up a day
by JOHN HONG, MD
published 5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM
"I'm hairy noon and night. Hair that's a fright. I'm hairy high and low. Don't ask me why. Don't know" (Hair, the musical).
At my school, Denison University, when we produced Hair, they actually had a nude scene, though the lights were spinning all over the place, and I could tell a bum bum from a tum tum. But there was a lot of hair! What if some of it had lice?
Don't laugh! When I saw a different musical, Naked Men Singing, one guy had a fungal infection, tinea versicolor, and another was recovering from shingles. I almost jumped up on the stage to apply creams. Yikes!
Pediculosis is the medical term for lice, and there are three types: pediculosis humanus capitus (head lice), pediculosis corporis (body lice), and phthirus pubis (pubic lice, aka "crabs"– or in royal circles King Crabs– hmm).
Head lice are most common in kiddies, and in fact lice is the #2 communicable disease in North American elementary school students! In 1997, one in four had head lice at some point. The louse doesn't jump or fly, so it's contracted by direct contact between folks– through sharing clothes, hats, combs, headphones, beds, towels, etc.
Even hanging jackets besides each other in the classroom can spread lice, because the louse can survive away from a human body for 55 hours.
To Be Continued
© Dr. John Hong, Inc
body lice Child Head Lice Head Lice head lice facts head lice information nitpicking pediculosis
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