Lice Doctors Philadelphia, PA says we will delve into knowing our enemy and how to deal with him. They are insects for relatively small (2mm in length), without wings, with a flattened brownish body, with 3 large legs that end in a claw that allows them to catch hair or fibers of clothing, thus acting as an ectoparasite (external parasite).
What Are They?
They are insects for relatively small (2mm in length), without wings, with a flattened brownish body, with 3 large legs that end in a claw that allows them to catch hair or fibers of clothing, thus acting as an ectoparasite (external parasite). Lice are not dangerous and do not transmit any disease, but they are contagious and very annoying.
Types Of Lice
Three types of lice infect man:
- Head louse.
- Body louse.
- Pubic lice or LADILLA.
Females can deposit up to 300 eggs, better known as LIENDRES; these eggs are attached less than 1cm from the hair root utilizing a substance that makes detachment difficult. The eggs hatch after 5-10 days, giving rise to the larvae that mature in two weeks.
They feed on blood that they suck from the host, making many stings at very short intervals throughout the day.
As a curiosity, we can say that the European louse has the hooks of its legs prepared to fixate on European hair. Hence, it is tough to notice, for example, black hair that, in addition to being frizzy, has an oval section.
How Are They Transmitted?
Lice do not jump or fly but are spread by direct contact from infected to clean hair. This can happen in conditions of close coexistence, as is the case in schools and kindergartens. They are also transmitted through the exchange of combs, head ornaments, hats, scarves, towels, handkerchiefs. Lice survive outside of humans for about 48 hours.
Transmission is possible as long as live lice are on the infected person or their accessories. Lice can spread quickly; their presence on a single person is enough to infect those around them, thus producing an epidemic.
In the case of nit, brushes, combs, towels are not so crucial in contagion. Nits that are eggs shed from one place will no longer be fixed again in another place. They cannot be fixed because they lack the mother’s glue.
Getting infected by eggs attached to loose hair is very difficult since the egg, to mature, has to be, at least, a week at head temperature. On the other hand, lice that fall on the shoulders or the backs of chairs are also not contagious since they are dead or weak lice by Lice Doctors Philadelphia, PA.
