Probably everyone heard about lice. This is a disease that is most often found in kindergartens and schools. If one person has lice, then they quickly spread to the entire group. This is a fairly well-known and easily treatable disease.
But there is an opinion that there are subcutaneous lice in humans. What is it and how to deal with it?
Myth or reality
This legend has rather deep roots. Severe subcutaneous pruritus has long been considered a symptom of subcutaneous lice in humans. When medicine began to develop as a science, pioneers in this area managed to find tubercles under the skin that were filled with insect eggs. As a result, they became even more convinced of the correctness of this opinion. That is, a person really has subcutaneous lice, and treatment methods must be sought. In fairness, it should be noted that the treatment gave good results - the use of sulfuric ointment was especially helpful. But a person has never had subcutaneous lice.
Substitution of concepts
Today, science has stepped far forward, and the achievements of medicine are far ahead of those that our ancestors had to be content with. Therefore, it became possible to distinguish between two diseases that gave rise to the myth of subcutaneous lice in humans.
Lice live only on the surface of the body. These are external parasitic insects that are small in size. They are quite easy to detect, they will not be able to penetrate under the skin, even from the point of view of physiology. They breathe air, so they simply die if they block access to oxygen. If an insect accidentally enters the wound, it immediately tries to get out of there, and not dig deeper.
But there is another disease, and this is scabies. In this case, the parasite really lives under the skin. But this is a tiny scabies mite, not a subcutaneous louse at all. On the human body, they can parasitize quite successfully, which leads to intolerable itching. At the same time, no insects could be seen on the surface that would cause it.
Their similarity is the presence of irritation and continuous itching. If at the same time insects are found on the head, then the reason is clear. The causative agent of scabies is tiny, and it is impossible to see it without a microscope.
Why was such a myth born? It was just necessary to come up with an explanation of why the body is so itchy.
Features of pediculosis
Pediculosis is an unpleasant, but not too dangerous ailment. You can pick it up directly from the nursery person. To do this, you can use his comb, put on his headgear or sleep next to him, on one bedding. Lice do not know how to jump and can only crawl, therefore, without close contact with a human carrier, infection is impossible.
That is why children become infected more often than adults - they rarely adhere to safety measures, and games involve close bodily contact. This disease is much less common in adolescents. At risk are homeless people and drunks. At the same time, subcutaneous lice on a person’s head almost never occur.
Louse or tick
You can distinguish one from the other even at home, despite the fact that the symptoms are quite similar, it will not be difficult. The biggest difference between lice and ticks is different habitats. Lice always choose places with thick hair - usually this is the head. Theoretically, they can choose the pubic zone, but usually this is the habitat of smaller lice, which is not so easy to notice and destroy. On the head there are quite large insects that are clearly visible to the naked eye.
It’s even easier to find out if a person has subcutaneous lice. It is not necessary to sort out locks of hair for a long time, it is enough to examine a person's hands. Most often, itching affects the area between the fingers. The itch mite makes subcutaneous passages - they are very easy to detect, just put on gloves and feel the alleged places of damage. And when the disease is started, tubercles appear on the skin, these are clutches of insect eggs. Since the skin itches, a person constantly scratches it, which leads to the formation of scabies. But lice never leave bite marks on their heads.
Lice treatment
Our grandmothers used acetic acid, fly ash and even dust to treat pediculosis. Today there is no need to endanger your body and apply a substance that is potentially hazardous to your health on your scalp. There are fairly simple recommendations that will quickly remove parasitic insects.
- With a thick scallop you need to carefully comb out your head. All extracted insects must be destroyed.
- Dry your head with a hairdryer (hot air) to destroy the eggs of the parasites.
- The pharmacy sells shampoos, ointments, sprays and aerosols - all these products contain substances that are toxic to parasites, but safe for humans.
These measures may be quite enough to get rid of insects. If in a few days new parasites emerge from the eggs, the procedure will need to be repeated.
How to treat scabies
This is exactly the pathogen that is called the subcutaneous louse of a person (a photo of this creation can be done only under a microscope). Despite its tiny size, this parasite can cause major trouble. To combat it, sulfur ointment helps very well.
You can also use a solution of copper sulfate, as well as dust soap, but all these are traditional medicine - they are toxic and can be harmful if used improperly. It is better to choose pharmacy creams and ointments.
If the situation has gone very far and the lesion area is very large, then antibiotics must be used. Without this, the restoration of the skin can be very long. To relieve itching, antihistamines are recommended that can alleviate a person’s condition.
Preventive measures
The possibility of infection with these parasites is quite real: both scabies and pediculosis are social diseases. Every day you ride buses, hold onto the handrails, go to the shops, so when you return home you need to wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. To work with yourself, it is better to take your own towel or use disposable handkerchiefs. And if you notice an itch, you should immediately consult a doctor.