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3 years
I found lice in my daughter's hair. I'm afraid because I have to wash everything in the house and I don't know how to deal with this situation and find the source of these parasites. What to do?
Aug 14, 2014

Dr. Rania Mousa General Medicine
Lice is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs and feeds on tiny amounts of blood drawn from the scalp. Lice (the plural of louse) are a very common problem, especially for kids.

But while they're frustrating to deal with, lice aren't dangerous. They don't spread disease, although their bites can make a child's scalp itchy and irritated, and scratching can lead to infection.
It's best to treat head lice quickly once they're found because they can spread easily from person to person.

Is you daughter in a day care school or any thing else ?

Lice are highly contagious and can spread quickly from person to person, especially in group settings (like schools, childcare centers, slumber parties, sports activities, and camps).

Though they can't fly or jump, these tiny parasites have specially adapted claws that let them crawl and cling firmly to hair.

They spread mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothing, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats also can pass them along. Kids are most prone to catching lice because they tend to have close physical contact with each other and share personal items.

do you have pets ?
also if you have pets you may catch them from the pets havin lice infection .

>Treatment include:

A medicated shampoo, cream rinse, or lotion to kill the lice. These may be over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medications, depending on what treatments have already been tried. Medicated lice treatments usually kill the lice and nits, but it may take a few days for the itching to stop. For very resistant lice, an oral medication (medicine taken by mouth) might be prescribed.

It's important to follow the directions exactly because these products are insecticides. Applying too much medication — or using it too often — can increase the risk of causing harm. Follow the directions on the product label.

Treatment may be unsuccessful if the medication is not used correctly or if the lice are resistant to it. After treatment, your doctor may suggest combing out the nits with a fine-tooth comb and also may recommend repeating treatment in 7 to 10 days to kill any newly hatched nits.

>>NOTE :If your child is 2 years old or younger, you should not use medicated lice treatments. You'll need to remove the nits and lice by hand.

To remove lice and nits by hand, use a fine-tooth comb on your child's wet, conditioned hair every 3 to 4 days for 2 weeks after the last live louse was seen. Wetting the hair beforehand is recommended because it temporarily immobilizes the lice and the conditioner makes it easier to get a comb through the hair.

Wet combing is also an alternative to pesticide treatments in older kids. Though petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, or olive oil are sometimes used in an attempt to suffocate head lice, these treatments aren't effective.

NEXT STEPS :

-Keep in mind that head lice don't survive long once they fall off a person. So you don't need to spend a lot of time and money trying to rid the house of lice.

-Wash all bed linens and clothing that's been recently worn by anyone in your home who's infested in very hot water then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.

-Dry-clean anything that can't be washed (like stuffed animals). Or put them in airtight bags for at least 3 days.

-Vacuum carpets and any upholstered furniture (in your home or car), then throw away the vacuum cleaner bag.

-Soak hair-care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for 1 hour. You also can wash them in hot water or just throw them away.

-Because lice are easily passed from person to person in the same house, bedmates and infested family members also will need treatment to prevent the lice from coming back.

-Don't use a hairdryer on your child's hair after applying any of the currently available scalp treatments because some contain flammable ingredients.

-Don't use a conditioner or shampoo/conditioner combination before applying lice medication.

-Don't wash your child's hair for 1 to 2 days after using a medicated treatment.

-Don't use sprays or hire a pest control company to try to get rid of the lice, as these treatments can be harmful.

-Don't use the same medication more than three times on one person. If it doesn't seem to be working, your doctor may recommend another medication.

-Don't use more than one head lice medication at a time

- Try to avoid head-to-head contact at school (in gym, on the playground, or during sports) and while playing at home with other children.

-Do not to share combs, brushes, hats, scarves, bandanas, ribbons, barrettes, hair ties or bands, towels, helmets, or other personal care items with anyone else, whether they may have lice or not.
-Do not to lie on bedding, pillows, and carpets that have recently been used by someone with lice.

-Every 3 or 4 days, examine members of your household who have had close contact with a person who has lice. Then, treat any who are found to have lice or nits close to the scalp
Be patient and follow the treatments and prevention tips as directed by your doctor, and you'll be well on your way to keeping your family lice-free.
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Dr. Beatrice Khater Family Medicine
Wash everybody's hair, iron well the staff in contact with her head (pillow, hats...) and put all her toys with fur or hair in a plastic bag that you will close for 7 days.
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