Head Lice- Know About The Diagnosis
Head lice are small, wingless parasitic insects that are found in human hairs. It also goes by the medical term pediculus humanus capitis. Although head lice can be annoying, it is not a health hazard and is not responsible for the spread of any disease. The Centers for Disease Control do not keep track of the number of head lice cases, because it is not considered a disease. This makes it hard to determine the precise number of cases.Diagnosing Lice
Head lice or nits are the easiest to see, usually on the scalp and nape of the neck and over the ears. Adult lice are approximately the same size as a sesame seed. Body lice are more difficult to find, but they usually can be detected in the seams of underwear. Pubic lice are found on the skin and hair of the pubic area or on the eyelashes.
Final head lice diagnosis may involve ruling out other medical problems. For example, ordinary dandruff sometimes looks like an infestation of head lice. Scabies also resembles body lice. Scabies is a skin condition caused by tiny organisms called skin mites. Differences among diseases can usually be detected with a microscope. Blood and other laboratory tests are not useful in making these distinctions.
Checking for head lice
You’re unlikely to spot head lice by just looking through the hair. To find one, you’ll physically have to get it out of the hair. To do this, you need a comb that is capable of picking out head lice. These are available from some pharmacies. Ask for a head louse detection comb. Otherwise, you can use a comb with very fine teeth, although this will not work so well. The space between the teeth of the comb should be between 0.2 millimetres and 0.3 millimetres.
Your doctor will diagnose of head lice using a special light, called Wood’s light, under which the nits appear pale blue.Another efficient method for detecting lice is with the use of a fine-toothed comb, stroking it from the crown of your head downward over your entire scalp at least twice. Again, finding nits in this manner doesn’t always mean that there’s an active infestation. A living, moving louse is the best sign of an active infection.
Even if you know where to look, determining if you have head lice can still be difficult. Medical research indicates that on average, children with a head lice infestation will have no more than 10 to 20 nymphs or adult lice. Because nymphs or adult lice are very small, low in number and able to crawl around hairs pretty quickly, finding them can be a fairly difficult task. If you want to determine if a head lice infestation exists, you might want to use a magnifying glass and bright light to make this difficult task easier.
The presence of head lice is indicated by repeated itching of the scalp, or by detecting them in the hair. This can be done using a special fine toothed comb available from your local pharmacy. Your GP or nurse can only confirm the diagnosis if a live louse is found in the hair.
A medical professional should diagnose a head-lice infestation, and this should be based on the finding of a live (crawling) louse. Active lice infestations may be difficult to identify properly, since lice and their eggs are often hard to distinguish from other materials caught in the hair, such as dandruff, scabs, dirt or insects blown in by wind. A correct diagnosis is important because only active head-lice infestations should be treated. An infestation is considered active when live adult lice or developing eggs are observed. The eggs or nits of the louse appear as small white, tan or brown dots attached firmly to individual hairs close to the scalp. If nits are seen, then live lice should be sought before assuming the infestation is active.
Comments
Leave a Reply
