The appearance of lice is an unpleasant event for every person. This is not only the discomfort caused by the “new residents”, but also the danger of infecting others. What kind of disease is this, how to fight it, is it possible to avoid infection and how long do lice and nits live outside the head?
Lice are...
Signs of lice infection
To diagnose head lice, you need to identify a number of symptoms. Typically this is:
- Reduced immunity.
- Increased sleepiness.
- Chronic fatigue.
- Depression.
- Frequent headaches and spasmodic pain in internal organs.
Can a louse live without a person and for how long?
Life cycle of a louse
There are several stages of louse development:
So, we can say that the lifespan of a louse from the moment the egg is born until the death of the individual is up to two months maximum, provided that it exists on the human body.
Louse habitat on humans
There are three types of human lice in nature:
- head;
- pubic;
- linen.
- cranberry juice;
- vegetable oil;
- tansy decoction;
- juice or decoction of wild garlic and wild rosemary;
- cosmetic hairspray.
When these products are applied to the hair, lice and nits die, after which they are usually combed out with a comb. If you managed to comb out the louse, but it is still alive, then you should remember how long lice live outside the head. It depends on how quickly the insect hits the person again. Therefore, all combed individuals should be destroyed immediately.
How to avoid lice infestation
- do not use other people’s personal hygiene products for the head and jewelry (towels, hairpins);
- maintain hygiene;
- systematically check all family members for lice infection;
- do not wear other people's hats.
By following these simple precautions, you can save yourself and your loved ones from such an unpleasant disease as lice. After all, everyone now knows how long lice live outside the human head and body.
It is believed that lice live and reproduce comfortably at 36.6 °C. Minor fluctuations are not scary for them. Because in nature, a person is almost constantly in comfortable conditions for himself. There is no risk of freezing or overheating for him.
Based on this, hair protects the louse from the influence of climate and makes it possible to maintain its vital processes.
Nits have greater resistance than adults, since they are protected by their shell - a kind of cocoon. Therefore, lice are much more afraid of any impact. The hotter the conditions are compared to the human body, the worse all life forms will feel.
At 45 °C or more, it is already difficult for them to reproduce; they simply stop doing so. Above 60 °C – all forms die. Humidity is of particular importance. The higher it is, the more destructive the conditions will be.
Effect of low temperatures
Effect of temperature on reproduction
Even a relatively small fluctuation in the thermometer negatively affects the reproduction process. At normal conditions their reproductive cycle is 16–18 days. The optimal indicator in this case would be 30–32 °C.
If you lower the value by 3-4 degrees, the cycle will stretch for about a week, and at 25 ° C it will last about 35 days. If you lower it another 3-4 degrees, the nits’ biological protection will work. They will slow down their “birth” and wait for a favorable environment. This mechanism does not work if they are exposed to heat.
When it gets a few degrees warmer, the reproduction process slows down. So, we have the following sequence:
- 40–45 °C – reproductive activity of females ceases;
- 45–50 °C – adults die within a few hours;
- 50–55 °C – adults die immediately, but nits will still remain viable, thanks to the cocoon;
- above 60 °C – absolutely any forms are eliminated.
Methods of influence
Treating head lice in this way is a method that does not harm health, but is effective and accessible to everyone.
Frost can be used to remove lice and nits from infested clothing.
The following control methods are mainly used:
- Items that need processing must be placed in a plastic bag and placed in freezer. It must be recalled that its power must be appropriate, since nits die instantly at -20 °C. The chamber is suitable for quick freezing of food.
- If it's winter outside and the temperature is right, then just hang your clothes and laundry in the yard for a few days. It should be noted that some representatives can still survive in the cold. Therefore, repeat the procedure after some time.
These methods are universal and do not require financial costs. At the same time, they are absolutely safe for humans and most effective.
But these freezing methods do not remove head lice. It is impossible to create such conditions on the surface of the human body. The hair protects against critical frosts, so lice burrow deeper into the heat and thus save their lives.
Swimming in ice water will also not help: the human body is adapted to such loads and can easily prevent such freezing, even relatively skin. But to starve it out, that is, to keep it at least not -20 °C, but for a long time, will not work. With such cooling, processes in the human body are also disrupted, which subsequently causes irreparable damage to health.
Therefore, against manifestations directly in humans, it is worth using heat. To do this, you can use an ordinary hair dryer. It is necessary to set the hottest mode based on technical characteristics your hairdryer. Carefully treat each strand with a stream of hot air. It is recommended to use a diffuser attachment for warming up. Most often it is sold complete with a hairdryer. But if you don’t have one at home, you can buy it separately in hardware stores.
With this exposure, lice lose their ability to cling normally and are easy to remove. After warming up the strands, you should comb out the inactive individuals with a comb.
The comb should have thin teeth that are at the smallest distance from each other. This way, you increase the chances of eliminating all residents, unlike ordinary combs. It will be very difficult to comb out both adults and larvae with them due to the large distance between the teeth.
The easiest way is to purchase a special comb, which can be bought at any pharmacy.
Remember that homemade Appliances, in this case the hair dryer, is not intended to be used for too long at maximum power. To avoid damage, you must carefully monitor whether the device overheats. It may be worth pausing periodically while using a hair dryer.
Because the modern medicine continues to develop, a special medical hair dryer was invented in America to achieve the desired effect without compromising the health of the hair. There was a lot of discussion about lice, but the idea of creating it came to the British professor Dale Clayton, who noticed that in rainy England, lice are more difficult to remove than in the sunny part of America. Having studied the influence environment in this aspect, he took the treatment of head lice to a new level.
Unfortunately, this medical hair dryer is distributed only in the USA. Recently, this equipment can be seen in other countries, but only in private clinics.
The withdrawal procedure is simple. The patient sits in a chair, and the doctor uses the brush of this hair dryer to thermally influence active individuals. After this, a long process of combing out already dead units begins.
The advantages of this device are that it does not damage the scalp, there is no Negative influence on the structure of the hair, does not reduce its quality. Does not involve the use of toxic substances or chemicals for treating hair with lice.
The advantages of this method:
- It's quite hot compared to a hairdryer.
- Convenient to use.
- There is one in almost every home.
- You should be extremely careful, as such heating will damage your hair, making it dry and weakened.
- Reproduction occurs more on the scalp, to which the iron does not have access.
- You will need to repeat several times; it is rarely possible to achieve results the first time.
There are a number of less reliable methods, but they are captivating in their simplicity. For example, if you live in a country where it is mostly always hot, go to the beach to sunbathe. This procedure casts doubt on whether lice die on the beach. A few hours in the scorching sun, if it doesn’t kill them, will definitely weaken them. Plus high humidity will play into your hands in the fight against this disease.
A good way is to go to the bathhouse and take a steam bath. For lice, their larvae, eggs, such a situation is destructive. The advantage of this event is its positive impact on the person himself and his general condition.
The main and main disadvantage of this procedure is that the bathhouse and all its premises must be carefully processed after it. Pediculosis is an extremely contagious disease. And not all rooms, dressing rooms, showers are supported the necessary conditions for the death of these creatures. To avoid infecting all subsequent guests, processing must be carried out extremely carefully.
Do not forget that clothes and underwear in which representatives of this species have settled can also be treated at high temperatures.
The first method is the simplest. Need to load things into washing machine and set the mode at which it will be at least 60 ° C. Washing will show a positive result that will not keep you waiting.
As a separate method or additionally after washing, iron the laundry with a hot iron. It should be noted that very often lice and their offspring huddle in folds and seams. Therefore, pay special attention to ironing these places.
The lifespan of a louse without a person depends on how long it can survive without food.
Lifespan adult lice is thirty days. It is during this time that the female lays approximately ninety eggs. After the incubation period (7–10 days) the nit hatches. Over the next ten days it turns into an adult. Then the cycle repeats again.
As for nits (lice eggs), in this case the situation is different. Nits, enclosed in a dense shell, can remain alive without a person for 3-4 days and hatch only when they appear favorable conditions for survival.
Can lice live in things?
Everything has been tried available funds in the fight against lice, but the problem of pediculosis arises again. What's the matter?
Blood-sucking insects are able to live and reproduce not only on human hair - this is a fact.
Lice live in textiles, namely:
- clothes;
- bed linen;
- upholstery of sofas, armchairs;
- pillows (and not always feather ones).
The causative agents of pediculosis feed only human blood. Hence, their habitat is closely intertwined with human skin.
Linen lice can go without food for longer periods of time. That’s why they can most often be found:
- on clothing, in particular on underwear;
- on upholstered furniture(especially susceptible to damage soft upholstery sofa and bed);
- on bed linen (pillows, blankets, mattress).
The body louse lives only on clothing. As soon as a person puts on an infected outfit, small blood-sucking insects immediately begin to bite him.
Is it possible to get lice without human contact?
The problem of lice is quite common, so many people are concerned about the question of whether it is possible to become infected with lice without human contact?
Find out more about where lice come from and how you can get infected with them on our website.
Why do lice appear on the head?
Lice. Causes and treatment.
At what temperature lice and nits die, you need to know in order to quickly get rid of them and prevent re-infection. Inaccurate data and misunderstanding lead to all efforts being in vain.
Dangerous temperature
Lice and nits die at temperatures of 60 °C and above. When boiled, even the thick shell of the egg cannot withstand it, and the larvae inside die. This method is used for disinfection of clothes, bedding, underwear, any items made of fabric.
On a note!
When washing, lice die within 5 minutes; heating for about 30 minutes is required to destroy nits. If you decide to boil the accessories, you can achieve the desired result in just 5 minutes.
Additional processing
After washing, boiling linen, clothes must be allowed to dry naturally. Hang it in the cold or in the bright rays of the sun. The final stage is ironing with an iron high temperature with steam. Special attention pay attention to folds and seams.
On a note!
Thermal treatment with steam can be easily carried out using special equipment - a steam generator. The steam jet warms up to 100°C and can be adjusted independently. Under the influence of the device, adult lice and nits die. The difficulty is that such equipment is expensive.
Errors
Almost everyone knows about the effectiveness of the temperature control method. But not everyone knows how to use technology correctly.
- Using a hair dryer does not guaranteed result, to . The air temperature heated by the hair dryer does not rise to a critical level. It is necessary to act for at least 30 minutes. Such sacrifices are useless, since a positive result will not be achieved. The larvae will continue to develop in the egg.
- If the temperature outside the window is higher than -13°C, you should also not special efforts. The lice will be dead within a few hours. But the nits will live. When the clothes enter the room again, the processes will take their course. As soon as a person puts on clothes, small lice appear from the nits.
- To clean carpets, rugs, and things from lice, pour ice water on them, sprinkle them with snow, or pour boiling water over them. Effectiveness can be achieved by leaving the carpets under a layer of snow for an hour. Water boiled water there is no point, it cools down quickly. This way only spoils the furniture.
An effective method still needs to be applied correctly. In this case, you can achieve the desired result and not waste time.
However, people, faced with this disease, try to use any available means.
It is worth immediately noting that the composition of the hair dye includes 2 components: a coloring agent and also an oxidizing agent.
The first substance, i.e. The coloring agent has absolutely no harmful effect. With the second component, things are somewhat different.
Hydrogen peroxide is often used as an oxidizing agent., i.e. a chemically active element that has a negative effect on lice.
Selection of coloring composition
Today, there are a number of permanent paints that do not contain hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. Is it possible to remove lice and nits with hair dye with this composition?
They shouldn't be used, because you will not get any effect.
When planning to get the expected effect from dyeing - change the color, as well as get rid of lice, you should carefully pay attention to the composition of the paint.
In the instructions for the paint, in the “composition” section, need to find hydrogen peroxide or ammonia. It is this combination that makes regular paint cure for .
Correct coloring of curls
To treat head lice, paint based on ammonia or hydrogen peroxide is used.
Step-by-step algorithm for dyeing hair from lice and nits:
- Mix all paint components;
- Apply this product to your hair using a special brush;
- Wear a special cap;
- You need to stay in this form for 10-20 minutes;
- After dyeing, hair should be washed using shampoo.
Advantages and disadvantages
Now you know whether you can kill lice with hair dye. Using anti-lice hair dye has several obvious advantages:
- Efficiency- in 93% of cases it is possible to get rid of pediculosis completely;
- Safety- at correct use this medicine is not harmful to health;
- Economical, as well as ease of use.
Along with obvious advantages, this method also has negative sides.
Among the main ones we can highlight the appearance of allergic manifestations. However, there are others:
- Negative effects on the hair structure, as well as the skin. This procedure is an excellent way to get rid of this disease, but it cannot be done in one application. To achieve a positive result, you need to use this method 2-3 more times over 4 weeks.
- There is a risk of developing the disease. On the one hand, the paint eliminates the appearance of lice, but on the other hand, the risk of skin irritation increases, which occurs due to a weakening of the protective functions.
Efficiency
Can you get rid of lice using hair dye and nothing else? No. For achievement maximum effect must be used not only folk method, but also pharmaceutical medicines, such as shampoos, lotions, and combs.
If you use paint alone, it is unlikely that you will be able to get rid of head lice completely.
You should avoid using other people's towels, combs, and hair clips. It is also necessary to avoid crowded places and crowded buses.
