Pediculosis humanus capitis

A kind of parasitic insects that infested the head called lies :

Predisposing factor:

Precipatating factor:
Playing
personal hygiene
such as clothing, headgear
hats, combs, hairbrushes,
hair barrettes, may occasionally play a role in the spread of head lice

young age;
close crowded living conditions

environmental sanitation
fomites

;female
white or Asian race
perhaps warm weathe

The head louse is the most common of the 3 species. The average length of the head louse is 1-2 mm. Female head lice are generally larger than
males. The louse is wingless and white to gray and has a long, dorsoventrally flattened, segmented abdomen. It has 3 pairs of clawed legs. Its average life
span is 30 days.

spread by direct contact with an infested person

The female louse attaches her eggs (nits) to the base of the hair near the scalp, and the nits hatch 710 days later.

Moving lice or nonmoving nits may be seen on the scalp and hair. Each louse is approximately 13 mm long and is whitish-gray in color. Lice
crawl; they do not jump or fly. Nits are smaller, about 0.51 mm, white, and are firmly attached to the hair very close to the scalp.

Small red bumps or sores may be seen on the scalp, neck, and shoulders. Occasionally, the lymph nodes behind the ears or in the neck may be
swollen and tender. Lice may sometimes be seen on the eyelashes, causing the eyes to become red and irritated.
Because head lice infestations are quite itchy, scratching is common and may lead to resultant infection or scabbing. In addition to an itching or
tickling sensation, children may also be irritable or have difficulty sleeping

Management and Treatmentt:

Wood's lamp is used to look for lice and nits. During this procedure, the doctor shines a black light at the scalp, and the insects and eggs appear
as yellow-green fluorescent spots.
Malathion lotion 0.5% (Ovide) Kills lice and some eggs and can be used only on children aged older than 6 years. Malathion can irritate the skin
and is flammable. It can be absorbed into the skin, especially if it is left on the skin for a long time, so follow the application directions exactly.
Lindane shampoo 1% This can be toxic and is absorbed into the blood stream and, therefore, is not used much anymore it. This
medication is used only when other medications have failed.
Ivermectin pills This oral medication is passed to the lice when they eat human blood. Again, this is used only when other medicines
have failed.

Prognosis
Treatments are highly effective in killing nymphs and mature lice, but less effective in killing eggs.
Causes of therapeutic failure include the following:

Misdiagnosis
Inappropriate treatment
Noncompliance
Insufficient application of pediculicide (ie, amount, duration)
Lack of ovicidal activity of pediculicide and failure to re-treat within 7-10 days

Lack of removal of live nits

Lack of environmental eradication
Sharing clothing, bedding and towels used by a person infested with body or pubic lice
Failure to treat close contacts
Re-infestation
Resistance to pediculicide

Frequent use of pediculicides may cause persistent itching. Body lice can be vectors for diseases such as epidemic (louse-borne) typhus, trench fever,
and louse-borne relapsing/recurrent fever. Violation of the integrity of the skin from a bite can lead to bacterial infection with organisms such as methicillinresistantStaphylococcus aureus (MRSA). More commonly, infestation with lice produces social embarrassment and isolation rather than medical disease.