Lice are back, tips for defeating them in children and pets

With the reopening of schools, the season of lice begins, insects that infest humans and animals.Here are the expert's tips for defeating them

• Lice are insects that infest the skin of humans and animals.
• The problem presents itself punctually with the reopening of schools and the proximity of students in classrooms.
• These parasites can also be defeated with the help of a few small precautions in the case of light infestations.

THE lice they are small insects about long 2-4 mm, wingless, with 6 robust legs equipped with hooks with which they tenaciously attach themselves to the hair or fur covering the bodies of men and animals.This also happens with the fibers of the fabrics, thus contaminating clothes, linens and personal effects.Every year these unpleasant guests colonize schools And nurseries and, of course, houses And public places causing quite a few problems.Knowing their nature, therefore, and the right tools to deal with them becomes fundamental in order to defeat them and minimize the damage.

To each his own lice

With a view to a prompt resolution of the lice problem it is good to answer one fundamental thing:Can pet lice attack people?Explains Dr. Chiara Dissegna, veterinary doctor:“Lice are so-called parasites obliged which die if away from the skin of their hosts.These little insects show a profound species specificity, usually relating to mammals or garlic birds.So a child with lice will not infest a cat and feline lice will not jump on the child's head."

Don't worry, then, if our child comes back from school with a head full of lice.He will not pass them on to the house cat.Nor will the four-legged carrier of these unpleasant guests be able to make them migrate onto the child's scalp.

“The lice of humans, although they are much older than recent Homo Sapiens,  they have evolved in the last few 5-6 millions of years.What interests us and particularly interests us children of school age is the  Pediculus humanus capitis measuring in length:males 2.6–4mm; females 2.4–2.9 mm.Today, lice infestations are one of the most common human infections in the world, especially in kindergartens and schoolchildren aged between 3 and i 15 years,  and it is increasingly important to establish meaningful, safe, healthy and low-budget eradication methods for their control in a world of increasing resistance of these small pests,” underlines Draw.

Lice treatments

From the middle years 90, in fact, there has been a decrease in the effectiveness of products for lice control.And researchers found that most infestations were misdiagnosed and therefore unnecessary treatments were performed. Chiara explains. Draws:“To combat infestations resulting from this insect, active ingredients such as pyrethrins or the permethrin precisely because these compounds have lower toxicity for mammals and therefore for humans.But the insect, over time, has developed a certain resistance to the molecules used and, often, the treatments implemented have proven ineffective.Other insecticides available, then, include malathion which is definitely toxic and unusable under 2 years of age in the child".

They can be eliminated with good manners

A "gentle" approach to the lice problem comes to us from integrated medicine.“There is a lot of attention currently on essential oils like theneem oil, Of tea tree, Of lavender or of lemongrass.Managing and controlling head lice resistance requires a lot of education and communication between parents, teachers and healthcare professionals.Schools that are proactive in educating families about these parasites and regular head combing can lead to fewer head lice incidents in children,” adds Dr. Dissegna.

What to do then in case of pediculosis in children (i.e. lice infestation)?

If there are few insects we can:

• buy a comb with very narrow teeth
• apply a thick layer of conditioner, remove the largest knots with a comb with wider teeth and then comb through lock by lock with the comb from base to tip
• rinse well under water and check for lice, insects or eggs
• comb until we have gone through all the hair 2 times
• rinse and dry
• repeat the operation every 3 days to eliminate any lice that may have arisen in the meantime.

Continue like this for 2 weeks

Obviously if lice infest children's scalps it will not be necessary to put a pesticide on the cat or dog at home.

Lice in pets 

Head lice infestations dogs and in cats they are more frequent in elderly animals or sick and, in particular, in felines a long hair that struggle to clean themselves.They are not particularly frequent parasites, also because they are insects sensitive to most of the common pesticides that are applied to the animal to control fleas And ticks.The most common cat louse is the Felicola subrostratus and in the dog the Trichodectes canis.Lice are visible on the skin to the naked eye and, in addition to this, we can notice patchy hair loss, itching, restlessness and a generally scruffy appearance of the coat." concludes the veterinarian.However, a good product against parasites will be enough to eliminate the problem and get our four-legged friends back in perfect shape.