Table of Contents
What Are Lice?
Lice are small, insect-like creatures that live on the bodies of other living beings. As lice are parasites, they need other living beings to obtain their nutrition. These flat insects live on our bodies and feed on our blood. However, some of these wingless insects can also bite us. These tiny six-legged creatures are about 3 millimeters long and are found worldwide. Millions of people worldwide are affected by lice infestations. In the United States alone, it affects six to 12 million people every year across various age groups. We can easily find these yellow-gray or brown-red creatures in our household.
What Are the Different Types of Lice?
Lice are of two types. One is blood-sucking lice, which drain their host's blood of its nutrients. Another one is biting lice. These lice are found on the bodies of animals and birds. These lice feed on the substances trapped in the feathers or the hair on the bodies of the animals and birds. The first kind of lice live on the human body and are dangerous to us.
Lice that affect us are of three kinds. These are;
Head Lice:
Head lice, or Pediculus humanus capitis, are two to four millimeters long, blood-sucking creatures. They live on our scalp and suck our blood from there.
Body Lice:
Body lice, or Pediculus humanus corporis, do not live in our bodies. They mainly reside in the clothes or bed covers. However, when they come into contact with our bodies, they suck our blood to obtain nutrients.
Pubic Lice:
Pubic lice, or crabs, or Pthirus pubis, reside in the pubic hair. However, these lice can also be found in the facial hair or axillary hair.
How Does It Happen?
Lice do not hop or fly. As a result, contact is the only way of transmission. Head lice transmission occurs through hair-to-hair contact. Sharing headgear, combs, or caps is the main way of such transmission. Schools and salons are the main place where such transmission happens.
Pubic lice transmission happens through sexual contact. Though it is considered a sexually transmitted disease, the occurrence of such transmission is relatively less than that of head lice or body lice. Such infestations are common in rural areas, refugee camps, and jails.
Body lice transmission happens through clothes. Bed sheets, towels, pillow covers, and clothes are common sources of such transmission. You should know that animals or birds cannot transmit these parasites.
Lice eggs on the finger or on used clothes are responsible for this transmission. These oval-shaped, yellow-white eggs are known as nits. These nits stick to our clothes and hatch within one to two weeks. Nymphs are the adolescent lice that are hatched from eggs. After feeding on our blood, these nymphs turn into mature lice within nine to twelve days. Both nymphs and adults need blood to survive. Without the presence of blood, they will die.
What Are the Symptoms of Lice Bites?
As lice bite while sucking blood, most of the symptoms associated with it are related to it.
1. Body Lice symptoms:
Lice bite on the skin causes irritation, a burning sensation, and itching.
You can see tiny purple, red, or brown spots on your body.
While sucking blood, lice inject their saliva into our bodies. This can lead to a lice rash. This causes redness and severe itching on your skin.
Bacteria can enter our body through a lice bite. These bacteria can cause typhus, also known as trench fever.
2. Head Lice Symptoms:
Head lice bites on our scalp. Lice bites on the scalp cause severe scratching. Such constant irritation prevents you from sleeping and causes scalp swelling.
Head lice bites on the neck cause a neck rash. It can cause secondary bacterial infection and swelling of your neck nodes.
3. Pubic Lice Symptoms:
Pubic lice cause severe irritation in the pubic and groin areas.
You may notice pale blue spots on your abdomen or thighs.
You can find nits present in your pubic hair. These appear as white dots in your pubic area.
How to Identify Lice vs Other Insects or Conditions?
People often mistake a lice bite or lice rash for a skin rash. However, in a lice bite, you can find bite marks appearing as tiny red, purple, or brown dots. Also, sometimes people mistake head lice infection for dandruff or eczema. However, in a lice infestation, you will always find white lice eggs in your hair. These eggs will be present in your bed or clothes, too.
Also, differentiating lice from bed bugs and dust mites is important. Bed bugs are slightly bigger than lice. On the other hand, dust mites mostly cause an allergy. Also, dust mites are very small in size.
What Is the Treatment for a Lice Bite?
For the treatment of lice, local application of certain medicines is useful. These are;
One percent Permethrin is the most widely used medicine that you can apply locally. In addition, 5% benzyl alcohol lotion is useful for body lice.
Currently, other medicines such as Lindane 1%, Malathion 0.5%, and Spinosad 0.9% are also becoming popular. These medicines kill lice by blocking their breathing.
If you have head lice, you can apply these medicines to the scalp or armpit areas as directed. Also, the shampoo of 1% Lindane shampoo is effective. However, Lindane can cause nerve-related complications.
If your condition is serious, the doctor can prescribe an Ivermectin tablet at a dose of 200 micrograms per kilogram body weight for 7 days. However, this treatment is not approved in many countries.
If you are experiencing skin irritation or a burning sensation from a lice bite, you can use ice, Aloe vera gel, or oatmeal.
How to Prevent Lice Bites?
You can prevent lice bites through some simple steps.
Maintaining basic health and hygiene can protect you from lice infestations.
Do not share your clothes, headgear, and combs with others.
Regularly cleaning the floor and furniture with antiseptic solutions and a vacuum cleaner is very useful.
Wash and dry any clothing, bed linens, and other items that the infested individual used. You can use a hot-water laundry cycle at 130 degrees Fahrenheit and a high-heat drying cycle for these clothes. For clothing and items that cannot be washed, consider dry cleaning them or sealing them in a plastic bag and storing them for 2 weeks. Additionally, soak combs and brushes in water at 130 degrees Fahrenheit for five to 10 minutes.
When to Seek Help?
If you are facing any of the following issues, you should seek help.
Itching and burning sensation while sleeping on your bed, as body lice bite while you are sleeping or on your bed.
You can see tiny red, purple, or brown dots in your skin.
You will constantly scratch your head.
You can find white dandruff-like substances in your head.
Conclusion
Lice are parasites that feed on our blood. Lice transmission happens through personal contact or through sharing belongings. As it needs our blood to survive, constant blood-sucking can be injurious to us. It can cause skin injuries, rashes, or irritation. Even issues like lice bites on the face can harm your beauty, too. In severe cases, it can lead to secondary infections. For further queries regarding a lice bite, you can talk to the general physician about it.
Key Takeaways
Lice infestation occurs through the sharing of clothes, headgear, caps, or combs.
Adult lice bite us to suck our blood, which helps them survive.
Lice bite causes skin irritation, itching, and a burning sensation. It can cause secondary infection.
Lice infestation can spread via sexual contact, too.
Medicines like Permethrin, Lindane, and Ivermectin can be used to treat this.
