Pediculosis is a parasitic lesion of the skin and hair of a person. People can discuss almost all their illnesses, but if a person is struck by this ailment, then a taboo is imposed on this topic, many do not even go to the doctor. This reaction is caused by the specifics of the disease, the causes of its origin, the peculiarities of its manifestation and treatment.
The content of the article:
How does infection with pediculosis occur
Head pediculosis
Pediculosis of the body
Pubic pediculosis
Methods of diagnosis of pediculosis
Treatment of pediculosis
Prevention of pediculosis
Pediculosis
The name of the disease comes from the Latin word pediculus, which means louse. Hence the name of the disease. In humans, three types of lice can parasitize: dress, hair and pubic. The first two varieties are typical for both adults and children, the third only for puberty and adulthood.
Pediculosis has social roots, directly testifies to the state of society and directly depends on compliance with the rules of personal hygiene. However, infection threatens even clean people. Visiting public places: swimming pools, cinemas, schools, kindergartens, etc. there is always a chance of infection.
How does infection with pediculosis occur
Lice are blood—sucking parasites transmitted by household means. This type of insect does not fly or jump, but is able to move at a speed of 40 cm per second. They are transmitted from person to person with close contact and the use of other people’s personal items of clothing and hygiene.
Getting on human skin, parasites begin to feed on lymph and blood. Severe itching appears at the site of the bite. Often combing leads to a rash filled with pus and, as a result, infection with various bacteria.
Parasites “settled” on a person, begin to multiply at lightning speed. Female lice are able to lay 10 to 15 eggs on their hair and clothes every day. After about a week, the offspring appear.
Pediculosis is dangerous with the possibility of developing a number of infectious diseases — recurrent and typhus, Volyn fever. That is why it is important to detect the symptoms of the disease in a timely manner and take urgent measures to eliminate the annoying ailment.
Head pediculosis
The source of the disease is hair lice, parasitic on the scalp. Insects have a white or gray color, their size reaches three millimeters. Eggs laid by females (0.5 mm) are yellowish-white in color, tightly attached to the hair. It is impossible to shake them off, and it is not so easy to remove them, if you try to crush the nit, then you can hear a characteristic crunch.
The main location of head lice is the occipital and temporal parts, as well as places behind the ears. Upon visual examination of the head, the areas of skin affected by bites, covered with yellow crusts, are visible. In advanced cases, furunculosis forms, pustular rash, the hair on the head sticks together. If pediculosis is not treated for a long time, then complications are observed in the form of inflammation of the lymph nodes on the neck and behind the ears.
Head pediculosis is the most common. Children under 15 are mostly at risk. Visiting kindergartens, schools, and in close contact with each other, there is a huge probability of infection with parasites. About 3% of schoolchildren are infected with hair lice, but there are underdeveloped countries where this figure reaches 15%.
Pediculosis of the body
The carrier of the disease is the dress lice. An adult individual, getting on clothes, bedding and bath accessories, lays eggs in the villi of the fabric. The development cycle from the larva to the adult parasite is about three weeks.
Dress lice are placed in the folds of clothing and linen seams. If they are heavily overworked, they can move to the floor and furnishings. Like any other kind of these parasites, when they get on the human body, they feed on blood. The neck, back, and limbs are subject to bites. Papules appear on the affected areas, the skin becomes dry and roughens. Pediculosis of the body with intensive combing is dangerous with such severe complications as typhus and recurrent typhus, Volyn fever.
The reason for pediculosis of the body is a low hygienic culture, as well as the critical situation of the population in countries suffering social and natural disasters.
The peculiarity of the treatment of this type of disease is an integrated approach: it is necessary to destroy parasites not only on the body, but also on clothes, underwear, carrying out its disinfection.
Pubic pediculosis
Phthyriasis (pubic pediculosis) refers to parasitic venereal skin diseases. The pubic louse is located in the genital area and armpits. Much less often, parasites choose the area of the abdomen, chest or head. As a rule, the cause of pubic pediculosis is close sexual contact, but cases of transfer through bed linen or personal hygiene items are possible.
The incubation period of the disease lasts about a month. Only a few weeks after infection, the first symptoms appear, which are characteristic of other types of pediculosis — skin itching.
In addition, signs of phthyriasis are rapidly disappearing bluish spots on the skin (like a small bruise). Intensive combing can lead to secondary infection and skin diseases. The peculiarity of pubic pediculosis is that parasites, affecting the genital part of the patient, violate the natural barrier that prevents the penetration of infection into the genitals. That is why the patient is strongly recommended to be examined for sexually transmitted diseases.
It must be remembered that pubic pediculosis is transmitted mainly sexually, so both partners should undergo treatment.
Methods of diagnosis of pediculosis
Today, diagnostic medicine has the latest equipment to detect the disease at the initial stage.
Of course, adult parasites can be seen with the naked eye or with a magnifying glass. Eggs laid due to the fact that they look like seborrheic scales are recognized under a microscope.
With pediculosis of the body, a Wood lamp is used to detect dress lice. When pointing the device, live individuals fluoresce blue, while the dead remain pale gray. In determining this type of disease, a differential approach is used. Skin itching can be caused not only by lice, but also by diabetes mellitus, seborrheic and microbial eczema, dermatitis, urticaria and a number of other diseases. Therefore, the patient is prescribed a number of laboratory examinations.
If a parasitic disease is detected, all contact persons must undergo an examination by a specialist.
Treatment of pediculosis
Therapy is prescribed individually and depends on the type of pediculosis and the intensity of the patient’s lice. In any case, if the disease is not complicated by a secondary infection, local treatment is carried out.
Modern means of treating pediculosis of the head and pubic varieties are based on chemicals and are divided into several groups:
Drugs that include malathion (Pedilin);
Dosage forms with phenotrin (Parasidosis);
Means, the main component of which is permethrin (Pedex, Higia, Nittifor).
In the pubic variety of the disease, in addition to shampoos, antiparasitic ointments are used. Treatment of pediculosis does not take place at one time using a particular remedy. The course of therapy continues until the complete elimination of parasites. In cases where repeated use of drugs does not bring positive results, some patients choose a radical method — a haircut at zero on the head or a complete shaving of the hair in the pubic and genital parts of the body.
For complete removal of lice in pubic and dress pediculosis, disinsection of bed and underwear is strongly recommended. The fabric is processed by boiling, washing and careful ironing. Also, when the clothes are covered with parasites, the room and furniture items are treated with insecticides.
Prevention of pediculosis
Of course, there are no ways to prevent lice infection. Nevertheless, it is possible to reduce the risk of pediculosis by taking some measures:
Adhere to the rules of personal hygiene;
Periodically dry your hair with a hair dryer using a very hot mode. Lice and nits die at high temperatures;
Do not wear other people’s clothes and hats, use your personal hygiene items and do not give them to anyone;
In a shared dressing room, hang outerwear with the outside side inside, and with the inside side out. The smooth surface of the fabric will reduce the likelihood of fixing lice;
When visiting public places, girls with long hair need to collect them in a ponytail or braid braids — the risk of infection will be significantly reduced;
In order to prevent pediculosis, you can dilute the shampoo with eucalyptus or lavender oil. It is recommended to apply tea tree oil to the temples and the back of the head. A sharp fragrant smell can scare away parasites.
If the infection with lice still occurred, then no matter how unpleasant it was, it is better to consult a specialist. The doctor will prescribe effective treatment, taking into account the age, individual characteristics of the patient.
