Lice Health Video

Video Transcript

SUSAN MCGLADERRY, BM, BCH, MRCP: Hello. My name is Dr. Sue McGladerry. I'm the medical director from the FirstMed Centers in Budapest Hungary and I would like to give you some information about lice. The head louse is a tiny wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs. It feeds on extremely small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. It's a very common problem especially for kids age 3 years to 12 years and it affects girls more often than it does boys. Lice aren't dangerous and they don't spread other diseases. They are very contagious and it's an extremely annoying problem. You may get it too. Bites may cause your child's scalp to become itchy and inflamed. Persistent scratching can then lead to skin irritation and even a secondary bacterial infection. So, how can you tell if your child has lice? Though very small, lice can be seen by the naked eye. Lice eggs or nits are tiny yellow tan or brown dots before they hatch. After hatching the remaining shell that is still attached to the hair looks white or clear. The lice lay their nits on the hair shaft close to the skin surface where the temperature is very pleasant for the hatching lice. Nits look sand grains or dandruff but when you try to brush or shake them off you can't. Unless the infestation is very heavy, you're not going to see lice scrolling around in your child's hair. How long does it take those eggs to become live lice in my child's hair? Well, the eggs hatch within about 1 to 2 weeks after they're laid and then it takes another 7 days for the baby lice to become an adult. Most lice feed on blood every 4 to 6 hours but they can survive for up to 3 days even when they're off the scalp. You should see your doctor if you find lice or if you're suspicious. Your doctor can recommend a medicated shampoo, cream, or lotion to kill any lice. For children under 2 years, those medications aren't recommended and it's much better to use a fine tooth nit comb to manually remove the lice from the hair. You should also hot wash any clothing or bed linen, you need to vacuum carpets, and anything that you can't wash you should put it into an air-tight bag for about 2 weeks and that will kill any remaining lice. Another thing that you should do is remember to inform the school or daycare center because if your child has lice, it's very likely that some of the other kids will too.