Everyone should know how to identify this parasite. To do this, you need to learn how to distinguish lice bites from the bites of other blood-sucking insects.
Why are lice dangerous
Lice bite wounds cause intense itching. But not only this. diseases:
- typhus;
- quintan;
- relapsing fever.
Pathogenic bacteria are found in the excrement of insects. They enter the human body through open wounds that appear after the insect bites the human skin.
Interesting!
Numerous scratching leads to the appearance of:
- dermatitis;
- eczema;
- purulent inflammation.
My daughter has red spots on her neck. I remembered that the day before she had eaten a lot of sweets, and therefore I decided that the body reacted to a large amount of sugar with a rash. Gave the child an antihistamine and sent her to bed. At night, the daughter woke up and complained of itching. In the morning we went to the hospital. What was my surprise when the pediatrician identified.
Ekaterina Anatolievna, Murmansk
Itchy wounds do not allow children to concentrate, interfere with normal study and sleep. Adult family members do not realize that the child is tormented by pediculosis. Nervousness is attributed to severe stress.
head lice
We will figure out what the bites of certain lice look like, what is dangerous for the patient and how to treat the injury sites.
The louse itself is not dangerous - it is not poisonous, its punctures are miniature and in principle cannot cause any inconvenience in a single specimen. But its threat, firstly, in a very high reproduction rate, and secondly, as a carrier of a number of diseases.
Previously, it was believed that itching on the head delivers the moment of skin puncture, but today it has been proven that this is not the case. At the moment of a lice bite, a small dose of painkiller is injected, that is, the person himself does not feel the injection. The danger lies elsewhere - the anesthetic enzyme is the strongest allergen, it is this substance that provokes itching, irritation and pain.
The more lice, the more bites and the higher the concentration of the allergen. The patient constantly scratches the wounds, which leads to their secondary infection.
In addition to the standard consequences in the form of irritation and constant overthrow, lice bites are fraught with infection with more serious diseases:
- relapsing fever, manifested by multiple febrile attacks, severe intoxication, skin rashes, hepatosplenomegaly, jaundice of the skin and sclera;
- typhus leads to destructive changes in the vascular endothelium and the development of generalized thrombovasculitis;
- Volyn fever - an acute infectious disease with fever attacks, pain in the bones and muscles;
- tularemia is an acute zoonotic infection that occurs with damage to the lymph nodes and internal organs
These are precisely the consequences of a lice bite - that is, the carrier in this case is the insect itself. Pubic lice can additionally carry infectious sexual diseases, but these cases are rare.
Pubic lice are not carriers of AIDS and HIV infections.
In addition, pediculosis is dangerous with psychosomatic disorders, which is especially unpleasant for children and people with a conditionally mobile psyche. Symptoms:
- anxiety;
- sleep disturbance,
- decreased concentration;
- irritability;
- nervous breakdowns, etc.
Do not forget about the allergy to lice bites, which is manifested by swelling, skin rashes, the appearance of crusts and exfoliation of the upper layer of the epidermis.
In children with an advanced form of pediculosis, pyoderma is often diagnosed - a purulent skin lesion provoked by the activity of streptococcal and staphylococcal bacteria.
What do hair lice bites look like?
With a small number of insects in the hair, bites are difficult to identify - many parents mistake them for allergic wounds, mosquito bites, etc. Outwardly, this is a small swollen area of skin with a noticeable puncture site in the center and dried droplets of blood - this is how a louse bite looks like within 3-4 hours after the attack, then the skin evens out.
Oddly enough, but the more lice, the easier it is to consider their bites - on average, an insect feeds once every 2 hours, respectively, with a large number of them, the attack on the skin is constant. At the same time, keep in mind that nits do not bite, only adults.
Over time, bluish spots appear around the punctures - this distinguishes lice bites from any other insects.
If the treatment of pediculosis is not started in time, the scalp becomes covered with a thin crust, foci of purulent infections are noted. These are, of course, neglected cases, but even in pediatric practice they occur.
What do body lice bites look like?
In terms of prevalence, they are slightly inferior to the head ones, and carry exactly the same danger to humans.
The place of localization of damage is the armpits and popliteal cavities, abdomen, inner thighs, forearms. In a word, all those areas where the skin is soft and easily pierced. Affected areas itch, scratching is fraught with secondary infections, wounds do not heal for a long time, and then scar.
Pubic lice
A piquant topic in which many find it difficult to say what symptoms appear and what the patient feels. Objectively - everything is the same as with head lice. Insects attack the delicate skin of the groin, it is very difficult to control yourself at such moments.
Constant itching, irritation, bluish skin, crusts and pustular infections - this is what a bite of pubic lice looks like.
Differences between bites of lice and other pests
It is much more difficult to identify body lice bites, because bed bugs and fleas leave exactly the same traces. A distinctive feature of bed bugs is the chain of bites - they almost go in a straight line. Fleas also leave chains, less pronounced, but still not the same as those of lice. These bite chaotically - where they grabbed hunger, they dined there. No system and no chains.
First aid for lice bites
The indisputable truth is that as soon as insects are discovered, it is necessary to begin to eliminate them. This applies to both the patient himself - treatment with insecticides, combing out nits, and his environment. Along with the treatment, it is necessary to carry out a complete reorganization of the apartment with furniture cleaning, washing at the maximum temperature of bed and underwear, etc.
If it is not possible to start treating pediculosis right now, and the bite sites are very disturbing, you can do the following:
- Treat wounds with soapy water and any alcohol tincture - calendula, propolis, etc.
- As an antiseptic, treat wounds with Rescuer ointment.
- The most common Asterisk, a balm known to everyone since childhood, helps to relieve itching well.
- To avoid allergies, Menovazin ointment is applied to the skin.
- Go to the pharmacy for remedies for pediculosis and, while the patient is resting, proceed to sanitation.
A few words in conclusion
Pediculosis seems to many to be a terrible and even shameful disease, which is why the patient postpones a visit to the doctor and tries to get by with improvised means. The longer you delay with treatment, the more severe the consequences can be, up to mental disorders. Believe me, humanity has been fighting lice for more than 10 centuries and has learned how to deal with them perfectly.
Nits (lice larva) are no more than two millimeters. Despite its meager size, this little thing brings a lot of harm. Infection occurs through direct contact:
- From hair to hair or from the comb of the patient. The most common infection is in kindergartens, in dormitories of educational institutions.
- From clothes to clothes or directly to the body. There are many cases of diseases in combat conditions and among the homeless in the absence of the ability to observe the rules of hygiene.
- During sexual contact, infection with pubic lice occurs.
A few weeks of illness make it possible highlight the main features infections:
- constant itching in places with hairline;
- every day an increasing number of bite marks;
- hair on the head and skin become untidy;
- at the roots of the hair, the presence of larvae becomes noticeable - nits.
Itching at bite sites
At the moment of a lice bite, the feeling is as if. After that, the introduced secret begins to act and itching occurs. Oddly enough, but when there are several insects the itching is less noticeable. At the initial stage, when washing your hair, everything can disappear. This means everything is back to normal. If the itching does not go away even after washing, you should examine the skin under the hair. Since most often the disease occurs in children, it is possible to determine the presence of a problem even by the behavior of the child. When behavior changes, the following signs of the disease are distinguished:
- head itches all the time;
- small children are constantly capricious;
- older children either touch their hair all the time, or often begin to comb it with a comb.
Sometimes from ignorance of the problem you might think that the child has an allergy for anything. A large number of small bloodsuckers leads to the fact that spots on the skin can take on a bluish tint.
Hair loses its attractive appearance and begins to stick together. This happens because the female insect lays eggs by sticking them to her hair.
And since gluing often occurs immediately to several hairs, the result is the formation of tangles. In general, lice bites on the head, nits and tangles lead to suppuration, dandruff. Therefore, the main method of dealing with the disease is frequent and thorough washing of the head and combing with a fine comb.
Lice larvae
The appearance of nits in itself is main symptom of pediculosis and the fact that the disease has entered a new stage of its development. Nits are the eggs or larvae of an adult insect. Determining the presence of one single nit is difficult. But when they pour on clothes or on a pillow, then there is no longer any doubt.
With the development of the disease, especially when tangles appear, nits become more noticeable. On one hair, sometimes several nits are attached.
In this state of affairs, one can observe small white dots all over the hair. If a person also has dandruff, then, apart from thorough washing of the head and the use of medicines, nothing can be done.
Strangers in our house
Periodically, now in one region, now in another outbreaks in our country. This mainly happens in the summer-autumn period, when children return from camps, and adults - from places of rest - little-known campsites, private boarding houses. You can also pick up insects somewhere in public transport, if even one nit or an adult accidentally gets on you from a carrier of the disease.
As soon as the louse has begun its activity, it is necessary to look for it not only on the body, but also in underwear.
To live and develop normally, a linen louse must eat 3-4 times a day. She lives in folds and seams.
The adult hides in clothing that is rarely changed. Nits are deposited in the folds of linen, the seams of pillows and sheets. The problem with mass infection is almost impossible to solve with ordinary washing - treatment with special preparations is required. If only one or two insects were noticed, it is enough to wash the linen at the maximum temperature and iron it well.
Differences from bites of other insects
In most cases people from pediculosis prefer to be treated themselves. Therefore, it is worth knowing what the bite of one or another insect looks like in order to choose the right treatment tactics.
Features of lice bites:
Treatment Methods
At the initial stage of treatment, the bite sites are washed with clean water. This procedure best done with laundry soap or any other that is at hand.
After that wounds are wiped with alcohol. The inflamed places are treated with the Rescuer ointment. Excellent for itching, as well as for mosquitoes, "Asterisk" helps. But this is all for first aid.
Folk remedies and methods include:
Particularly difficult cases cannot be resolved without the intervention of a doctor, but so far it has not come to this, they help in the treatment:
- Hydrogen peroxide for treating fresh wounds;
- Antihistamines - hydrocortisone ointment, menovazine, diphenhydramine;
- To relieve itching and reduce the size of inflamed areas, ointments "Golden Star" and "Rescuer" are used.
Most often, a person has a head louse, which feels great in the hair. Also, the head louse can live in the thick beard or mustache of men.
The female also lays her eggs there. They are attached near the roots of the hair, but at a safe distance. For added protection, the eggs are covered with a white coating. They are also called nits.
How can you get head lice:
- upon contact with an infected person;
- through the patient's personal belongings, such as a hat, towel or pillowcase;
- when swimming in the same pool or in a pond with a peddler of lice;
- when using shared bedding.
The risk of infection is much higher in crowded places.
It is worth noting that head lice bites are more common in children. After the lesion, the skin is covered with bright red spots that itch. It is also possible to develop a severe allergic reaction.
If there are a lot of lice in the head, red spots may take on a blue tint. This form of pediculosis is considered very dangerous.
Linen lice bites
The affected area is very itchy. Sometimes a person simply cannot control the process of combing, so in the future, deep and non-healing wounds appear at the site of the bites. There are also forms with abscesses.
It also happens that a person for a long time does not even notice the existence of body lice on his body. This happens only with those patients whose skin sensitivity is below normal. And only after the bite of a linen louse is covered with a blue coating, and the insects have already bred to the size of an army, a person begins to fight pediculosis.
Pubic lice. A big problem
Symptoms of pubic pediculosis are as follows:
- red small spots on underwear;
- nits found in pubic hair;
- constant itching in the intimate area;
- swelling of the skin in the pubic or armpit area.
It is worth noting that sometimes pubic lice crawl onto a person's eyelashes. In this case, pediculosis can already harm a person's vision, since constant scratching of the skin in the eye area can lead, for example, to the formation of conjunctivitis.
What is moose louse?
Moose louse is a small insect that is not well known among the population. In fact, many have met this insect, but confused it, for example, with a tick. They are especially numerous in forest areas. There they make their way into human hair, bite through the scalp and drink blood.
When a person, after going to the forest, finds lice bites on the body, or rather, on the scalp, most likely he suffered from just such an insect.
However, doctors strongly advise not to panic and not to run to the clinic to receive specialized help when such a louse is found. Moose lice are absolutely not interested in people. They often live on the body of moose, from which they got their scientific name "elk bloodsucker". In human hair, they appear quite by accident and do not multiply in such an environment.
Are moose lice bites dangerous?
But if the bloodsucker nevertheless found itself in the hair of a person and bit him? What to do? The question arises, is the bite of an elk louse dangerous? What is he fraught with?
From a medical point of view, not a single disease has been recorded that could be transmitted from the bite of a moose bloodsucker. But these insects can deliver very unpleasant sensations to a person. The affected area can be sore and itchy for a long time. There is also a high chance of redness and swelling.
In this case, a person can provide first aid to himself by taking an antihistamine and using a soothing gel.
How does a louse bite? Process
When it hits the hairy part of the body, the louse wields sharp stilettos that are located around its mouth. It is worth noting that the flea also has the same stylets, so their bites are often confused.
Next, the louse begins to move into the deeper layers of the skin until it reaches the blood vessel. That is why, when considering a louse, often its body is in an upright position, and its head is completely recessed into the skin.
For a person, the bites of an adult louse are much more dangerous, despite the fact that the larvae can also damage the skin. The fact is that in the saliva of the larvae there is very little of the same enzyme, therefore their bites are almost invisible.
As for the nits, they are completely devoid of sharp stylets, so they cannot bite. However, patients with pediculosis very often complain of itching, which is caused by nits.
First aid for bites
Things are a little more complicated with the bites of linen lice. In this case, you should, first of all, inspect the person's clothing. Most often, larvae and nits can be found in the folds of the fabric and immediately after detection, proceed to the first security measures.
A person, even without medical assistance, is able to treat lice bites himself, thus giving himself first aid. What is recommended to do:
- first you need to thoroughly wash the affected surface with soapy water;
- then the surface must be disinfected and dried. It is recommended to do this with propolis tincture, but in its absence, any alcohol-containing liquid is suitable, for example, medical alcohol, vodka, etc .;
- to relieve discomfort, bites can be treated with "Rescuer" or "Fenistil". Also, itching is perfectly relieved by menthol-based ointments.
If an allergic reaction occurs, it is advisable to consult a doctor, and before that, take a suitable antihistamine.
Medical treatment
Treatment of pediculosis with drugs is indicated only if the patient has experienced a severe form of the disease.
The help of a specialist is needed if the patient has a high fever, headaches or nausea from lice bites.
Most often, dermatologists prescribe such drugs:
- hydrogen peroxide to treat affected areas. It dries bleeding wounds, accelerates healing and eliminates the risk of infection;
- balm "Rescuer", which perfectly eliminates itchy skin;
- hydrocortisone.
Also, the doctor must explain to the patient that pediculosis is a contagious disease. Throughout the treatment, it is recommended to limit contact with family members and perform basic personal hygiene.
Preventive measures
- do not use someone else's underwear and bed linen;
- it is recommended to take a shower every day and wear clean clothes every day;
- after returning from a trip, the head and other hairy parts of the body must be carefully examined;
- things need to be washed well and be sure to iron;
- maintain cleanliness and order in the house.
Such simple preventive measures can protect both children and adults from head lice.
Linen lice cause a lot of trouble and discomfort to a person. Individuals have adapted to live in direct contact with people, feeding on their blood. They settle in the folds of clothes, underwear and bed linen. A lice bite leads to reddening of the skin, a rash. Sometimes there is a lump under the skin. Numerous bites can provoke a violation of blood clotting in the body.
The most pressing question is, what do linen lice look like? The size of an adult varies from 2 to 5 mm, and the offspring from 0.5 to 1 mm. They are transparent and do not have wings. May change color due to the filling of the abdomen with blood. Therefore, a full louse is often confused with a flea, but it is not able to jump.
The composition of the saliva of a pathogenic microorganism includes a specific substance that prevents blood clotting, anesthetizes, so a person does not immediately feel the bite and its symptoms.
Life features:
Individuals are well adapted to adverse living conditions. They can live without a host for seven days. Then, getting into a favorable environment, they actively bite. If food is not resumed after a week, the lice die.
For your information, the most “favorite” places of lice are the back, lower and upper limbs, sides, and abdomen.
Symptoms of pediculosis and patient sensations
With a large accumulation of lice on a person, a disease called pediculosis occurs. Unlike the signs of single bites, the clinical manifestations of the pathology are more extensive and differentiated.
Manifestations of multiple bites in humans:
- Red dry spots all over the body. They are observed even in areas where they did not bite. They itch, when scratching, pain occurs.
- Excoriations are formed - damage to the skin in the form of small scars. They look like healing scratches. Over time, deep scarring forms in their place.
- Pigmentation of a bluish color in places of skin damage. A fairly characteristic symptom, almost never develops with allergies to other pathogens.
- The occurrence of ulcerative lesions, boils. If there is no drug treatment, they are converted into pyoderma.
- Thickening and coarsening of the skin is revealed; dark spots appear.
As a rule, manifestations of pediculosis are found in patients who have been living near pests for years. In most cases, people seek help, which prevents the development of negative consequences.
The bites of linen lice are in many ways similar to the bites of other microorganisms. For example, a single papule is easily confused with a bed bug bite. But if you study the clinical picture as a whole, then there are distinctive signs.
A lice bite differs from a bug bite in that there are no chains of damage on the human body. Bed bugs make 2 or more skin punctures in one feeding, which are located at a distance of 1 cm from each other. If a louse has bitten, then there are no signs of order in the localization of the wounds.
Bite Treatments
Definitely, looking at the photo of the bites of linen lice, you cannot make a diagnosis on your own. Therefore, it is recommended to visit a doctor. Single bites in the vast majority of pictures go away on their own, they do not require drug treatment.
If the tubercles are festering, the rashes are multiple, you should consult a doctor. Self-medication is fraught with aggravation of the picture. A person can die due to blood poisoning. Such outcomes are rare, but recorded in medical practice.
How to get rid of bed lice?
Even the high adaptability of the pest to adverse conditions does not allow it to survive with the right methods of control. At what temperature do lice and nits die? Any temperature regime above 45 and below 5 degrees is deadly for pathogenic individuals.
Actions due to which lice and nits die:
- Timely and high-quality washing of things. Since lice die at temperatures above 45 degrees, this moment must be taken into account when setting the mode on the washing machine;
- Ironing things on both sides;
- It is necessary to dry clothes and other things in the open air, preferably in direct sunlight;
- Processing clothes with special means.
To achieve the desired result, the struggle is carried out as follows:
- The use of insecticides as a spray or solution. They destroy many types of pathogenic microorganisms. Representatives - Medifox (as in the photo), Feverfew;
- Tar soap is a simple and effective remedy after which bed or linen louse does not survive. All clothes and underwear are soaked with it. It is permissible to use as an antiseptic, lubricating itchy skin surfaces;
- 3 day freeze method. It is used in cases where a person returns home from a long business trip, or purchases used clothes. In winter, they hang out on the street for three days;
Bed lice chemicals
Knowing at what temperature lice die, getting rid of negative cohabitation is easy. However, in some situations, heat treatment is not enough. Special means that kill pests come to the rescue.
The Nyuda remedy contains the active ingredient dimethicone, and is available in the form of a spray. It is inflamed to the surface, as a result of which a film is formed that prevents the free breathing of individuals, they die. The time range of exposure is 15-20 minutes.
Preparations:
When choosing a drug, you need to carefully look at its scope and expiration date. Many products effectively destroy various types of pests.
The main weapon for protection against bed lice is cleanliness. You should follow the basic rules of personal hygiene, do not use other people's things. After visiting an unsanitary place, carry out high-quality processing of clothes.
