The mention of lice is unpleasant, the insects look disgusting, and they bite quite painfully. Where do they come from? How and where can one become infected with head lice (that is, a parasitic disease of the scalp caused by lice)? If they wound up, then how to get rid of them? How quickly do lice breed in humans? There are a lot of questions - we will talk about everything in the article.
It is known that lice adapt very well and quickly to environmental conditions and the scalp of a person’s head is excellent for the life of these little bloodsuckers.
Many people think that such parasites are left in the deep past. You are mistaken - and today pediculosis has not lost its position and can be observed quite often, especially in children who returned after a summer vacation.
On a note! Scientists are firmly convinced that while at least one person is alive on Earth, lice exist.
What are lice
Before answering the question of how quickly head lice multiply, let's figure out what these little bloodsuckers are. Head lice are parasites that feed exclusively on human blood. Their natural color is gray, but they, like chameleons, can adapt to any hair color.
All their not very long life (approximately 4-5 weeks) lice spend on human hair. If in some random way the parasite is outside its habitat, then this indicates a painful death for him within 2-3 days.
The length of the female parasite is about 4 mm, and the male is slightly less - 2-3 mm. A louse has three pairs of legs. Moreover, at the end of each of them there are peculiar hooks with which they are firmly attached to the core of the hair. Parasites move very quickly, for example, they can cover a distance of 12 cm in just half a minute.
Species of Lice
How quickly do lice breed? Let's look at some of their types:
- Wardrobe (the so-called underwear). They carry out their activities exclusively in places such as beds, sofas and clothes.
- Headache. They chose the hairline of the human head (beard, mustache and hair).
Important! Head louse is less dangerous for humanity in comparison with clothes, because it is not a carrier of such a terrible disease as typhus.
- Pubic (or flat). They live on the external genitalia and cause itching and burning in this place.
On a note! Each of the varieties of parasites has its own life cycle. But head lice multiply the slowest, and pubic insects are the fastest.
The parasitic insects that inhabit our smaller brothers
Can lice living in the hair of domestic animals (dogs and cats) - lice eaters, breed in humans? No way. Sometimes these insects can randomly go to the skin of a person, but they will not stay there for a long time. This is not their territory. By the way, head lice (or other varieties) from humans, too, can not pass to our smaller brothers.
Important! Lice beetles lay nits both in animal hair and in their habitats (for example, on bedding or in booths). To feed, insects jump on animals. In the event that a dog or cat is not nearby, they begin to bite a person’s legs, since it doesn’t matter what warm-blooded organism they have for lunch today.
How and where you can get infected
Before answering the question of how quickly lice multiply after infection, let's look at how these parasites can be in your hair.
You can get lice anywhere. It can be beauty salons or hairdressers, if neglect of used instruments thrives in them.
Or in such public places as kindergartens, nurseries, schools, summer camps, motels, shopping malls or sports sections.
It is very easy to become infected with head lice: parasites simply jump from a sick person to a healthy person and begin to multiply rapidly. Also, infection can occur when using other people's personal hygiene items, for example, a pillow, comb, towel, clothes, headgear, etc.
Symptoms of Pediculosis
It is worth considering how quickly lice breed. To do this, consider the signs of head lice:
- Constant burning and severe itching of the skin of the head, namely behind the ears, as well as in the neck and neck.
- The presence of combs and bites in the temples and neck, as a result of which red dots form.
Important! Itching, which leads to irritation and wounds (as a result of scratching), increases the risk that the infection can easily penetrate through damaged areas of the scalp.
- With a thorough examination of the scalp, you can observe the direct presence of insects.
- The presence of a large amount of dandruff.
- The hair looks pretty dull and clammy.
- Temperature rise.
- Sometimes there is some hair loss.
- Decreased appetite.
- There is a general deterioration in the health status of the infected person, including depressed mood.
- The presence of inflamed lymph nodes.
The incubation period of the parasite
Consider what happens in the early stages of pediculosis. That is, when a person only became infected. What is the incubation period? This is a hidden course of the disease, when the symptoms are not yet sharply manifested. The signs of the disease will become apparent after about 16-20 days, during which, in addition to you, all family members and people who are in close contact with you will fall ill.
How quickly do lice breed in humans? The main stages of the transformation of larvae into adult insects:
- An adult lays eggs (nits) on human hair, at a distance of 1-3 cm from the root, using a very strong adhesive (it is produced by the glands of the female) that cannot be washed off with shampoo or water.
On a note! The number of eggs laid by a female parasite for a month (this is how much she lives) can reach several hundred.
- Larvae hatching from eggs in 8-10 days go through the molting process and become nymphs (that is, sexually immature young individuals).
During this period, a sick person can already infect others.
- After two molts (after about 7-10 days), the larvae already turn into adult parasites, namely adults, which have reached puberty and are able to reproduce.
After the appearance of new individuals, the disease can no longer be overlooked. Insects begin to actively secrete very unpleasant enzymes and it is pretty painful to bite.
What determines the speed of the incubation period
How quickly do lice breed on the head of a child or an adult? It all depends on the temperature regime at which parasite reproduction occurs:
- At a temperature of about 37 degrees, nits develop in 5-8 days, and at 23 degrees this process will take about 2 weeks.
- If the infected person spends most of his time indoors, the temperature of which is below 22 degrees or above 40, then reproduction of insects is impossible.
If the temperature varies from 10 to 20 degrees, then the parasites can survive without food for as long as 10 days.
Drug treatment of the disease
Regardless of how quickly lice breed in a child, at the first sign it is necessary to immediately seek help from a medical institution. The doctor will prescribe an examination and prescribe the necessary medications based on the results. Moreover, today doctors have a huge amount of anti-pedicular drugs, with which you can already cope with the disease at an early stage.
You already know how lice on the head multiply rapidly after infection, but remember - only a doctor can confirm whether you have parasites or their absence. Uncontrolled intake of anti-pedicular drugs (and in some cases unjustified) can lead to serious complications, because almost all drugs for pediculosis have side effects.
Treatment of lice with folk remedies
If you have no desire to get rid of the disease with medications, which include chemical components, then you can try to cope with pediculosis folk remedies. For these purposes, we use ordinary table vinegar, which is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1. Next, we perform the following actions:
- Wet the hair with the prepared solution.
- We cover them with plastic wrap and wrap them with a towel (preferably terry).
- After 30 minutes, we begin to comb each strand (you can use a conventional comb or a special comb, purchased in the pharmacy network), while removing any nits. The procedure should be carried out over a white sheet.
Combing should be carried out daily, and repeated measures with vinegar treatment can be carried out in 3-4 days (not earlier).
Why can the method help in the fight against the disease? The fact is that vinegar is able to dissolve that sticky mass with which eggs are attached to the hair.
Also in the pharmacy network you can buy a relatively safe and not very toxic product called "Pediculen", which can be presented in the form of a spray, shampoo or lotion.
Prevention
Based on how lice multiply rapidly, we recommend that preventive measures be taken to help prevent or quickly remove the focus of the disease. This applies especially to the moment when your child returns from rest. It will be appropriate to conduct a very thorough examination of the hairline on the head (to be more precise, the area behind the ears, neck and temples) of your offspring.
Remember that louse is quite similar to dandruff, only it is difficult to shake off hair. If you manage to disengage from the feeling of disgust, then you can remove the alleged nits and crush them mercilessly with your nails. If at the same time you hear a characteristic crack, then a disappointing diagnosis is confirmed - your child has lice.
Based on how quickly lice breed, they should be destroyed immediately after the discovery not only of the parasite carrier on the head, but also of all members of the family or team in which you work. Otherwise, efforts will be in vain. Do not be ill!