Body louse: how to detect and how to get rid of, symptoms, photo review, video answer to the question where do lice come from

Among human parasites, the body louse occupies an important place. There are several types of lice. The wardrobe is characterized by what is most often found on a person's clothing. Despite such a parasitic lifestyle, the louse feeds on blood, periodically switching from clothing to the skin. The disease caused by head lice is called head lice. This pathology is the prerogative of dermatologists. What are the features of the causative agent, symptoms and treatment of the disease?

The body louse most often settles on a person's clothes.

What do body lice look like?

Body lice are similar in appearance to head lice. According to many experts, body lice are the result of the evolution of head lice. In both types of lice, the body has a slightly elongated abdomen. Body length does not exceed 3 mm. The body color is light gray or light yellow.

These insects do not have wings, so they are not able to move impressive distances and quickly move to another prey.

The larvae of these parasites are completely similar to adults and differ only in size (only 1.5-2 mm). In the process of their development, the larvae go through three stages of molting, after which they become full-fledged adults capable of laying eggs.

The eggs of body lice, like head lice, are called nits. The shell of the nits is covered with a special adhesive, with the help of which they are securely adhered to clothing. Removing nits just like that, mechanically, is unlikely to work. The eggs are about 0.5 mm long and are elongated. Due to the fact that nits are quite small in size, it is just as difficult to detect them, except by accident or purposefully, knowing that these parasites have appeared.

At temperatures of up to +30 degrees, body lice feel great. In such conditions, they multiply rapidly and lead an active lifestyle. If the ambient temperature drops to +15 degrees, the development of eggs stops, and when the temperature drops below +13 degrees and above +60 degrees, the eggs of body lice die.

Females can live up to 45 days, but during this period they manage to lay from 100 to 140 eggs. Males live less, about one month.

When the nit is born and drinks blood once, it immediately sheds and becomes a nymph of the first age. After 5 days, she sheds a second time and becomes a nymph of the second age. After another 8 days, she sheds a third time and becomes an adult, capable of laying eggs. In other words, under certain, suitable conditions, in 16 days the former egg already begins to give new offspring. If you do not take any measures, then after 2 months the colonies of these parasites will increase several hundred times.

Head lice: what is it?

Lice head lice differs in one, but very important feature: lice live, multiply and develop not on the human body, but on his clothes. Despite this feature, they cannot exist without a human body and after a while they die, since human blood is included in their diet. The body louse spends most of its life in the folds of clothes, and when hunger comes, it moves to the human body, where it receives its dose of nutrients. After that, insects move to their original places, into seams, into pockets, into folds, etc.

The body louse can eat up to 4 times a day.

When the parasite is not hungry, then the color of the abdomen changes, acquiring a dark shade. Hungry parasites are pale, and sometimes even transparent.In a well-fed state, the body louse looks more like a flea that cannot jump, since it is not capable of it. Fleas, as a rule, move through impressive leaps.

Linen flea bites

Small jumping creatures do not live in underwear, clothes. They prefer to settle under the floor, baseboards, in carpets, near the sleeping place of a pet. The flea is dark, almost black in color, jumps well, bites painfully. Begins to attack in the evening. Bites on exposed areas of the body. Legs are often affected. You can feel the bite right away, since there is no anesthetic component in the saliva of insects. Redness immediately appears, a dark spot with caked blood, severe itching. Edema occurs with multiple bites. They parasitize mainly in the warm season, in winter there are no fleas. They do not sneak into the bed of a sleeping person.

Now reading: Lice and nits incubation period - when to wait for replenishment

How to avoid getting infected?

It will not be difficult to prevent the appearance of head lice if you know how it spreads and what needs to be done to prevent this from happening. For example:

Lice can spread to another person as a result of close contact, moreover, for quite a long time. Lice are able to move at a speed of 20 cm per minute, so quick contact does not threaten infection, since the parasite will not have time to move to another victim.
Infection with body lice can be obtained in crowded places. For example, it can be public transport, when people are in contact with each other for a long time and this time is enough for lice to get to another person.
Preschool institutions and schools, especially junior grades, are also not an exception. As a rule, children are in contact with each other, regardless of the appearance of the children or classmates.
These hotbeds include spontaneous markets (flea markets) that offer used clothing. Such clothing should be treated appropriately immediately.

If you know how these parasites spread, then you can protect yourself from them by being at a distance from groups of people. Of course, in some cases it is simply unrealistic to do this, for example, during rush hour, but then you need to inspect your clothes upon arrival home. When entering an apartment, it is better to shake it off on the landing.

How do you identify parasites?

The fact that body lice have appeared may be evidenced by several factors. For example:

Bite sites, if there are not a large number of them, heal within 4 days.
The bite sites are accompanied by unbearable itching, and not so much the bite site as the area around them.
Possible manifestations of allergic reactions, which are accompanied by headaches, nausea, malfunctioning of the digestive tract, fever or skin rashes.
If there are many bites, then spots of a bluish tint appear on the body.
Unbearable and constant itching leads to sleep disturbances or nervous disorders.

Interesting to know! Children and women react most painfully to body lice bites. Children begin to cry for no apparent reason, do not sleep well and react nervously to various events.

As a rule, in most cases it is possible to find out about the existence of body lice due to the above symptoms. Due to their very small size, it is almost impossible to see them with the naked eye. In addition, they find places on their clothes where they can safely hide.

Basically, the presence of body lice is indicated by intolerable itching at the bite sites. This is due to the fact that the parasite injects a special fluid into the wound, which reduces the degree of blood clotting.

It is very important to start fighting these parasites in time, otherwise the consequences can be sad.As a result of constant lice bites, some kind of skin disease can develop. In any case, boils and abscesses may appear at the bite sites, and sometimes the development of pyoderma can be expected. Since the itching is unbearable, it is difficult to resist scratching the bite sites. Children take it especially hard and immediately begin to comb problem areas on the skin. In such conditions, children are difficult to keep from this process, which can lead to secondary infection.

Body lice bites have a peculiar appearance.

As a rule, the body louse parasitizes on the areas of the body where there is no hair.

There are also advanced forms of head lice.

Most often, body lice parasitize on the following parts of the human body:

Waist.
Shoulders.
Upper back.
Small of the back.
Neck.
Armpits.

The bites of these parasites can also be found on other parts of the body that are not covered with hair. It all depends on the neglect of the case.

On a note! Body lice were the main source of the development of relapsing fever and typhus, which claimed hundreds of thousands of lives during the war. In our time, residents of African and Asian countries suffer from these ailments, where their living conditions do not meet the elementary requirements of sanitation rules.

Means for treating lice bites and relieving pain

Usually, occasional and single bites of linen lice do not require treatment and go away without consequences after a few days.

In case of serious parasite infestation and the development of head lice, to get rid of itching, use:

Hydrogen peroxide - it treats the freshest bites with an unhealed puncture wound. First of all, such treatment is important for the disinfection of the affected skin areas.
Hydrocortisone ointment that prevents the development of allergic rashes.
Balm "Rescuer" or the usual Vietnamese asterisk, capable of relieving itching and reducing the size of the papules themselves.

If you have pustular rashes, a rash on the body or other symptoms of head lice, you should see a doctor as soon as possible. Self-medication - especially if misdiagnosed - can be dangerous and can exacerbate the situation.

Purchase clothes (linen) louse it's just enough to be in a public place where someone else's bedding is used or to wear clothes from someone else's shoulder. It is quite difficult to get rid of them, especially if you do not notice them in time and do not start a fight.

How to get rid of body lice

Methods for getting rid of these parasites include a number of measures that can be called complex. To get rid of them, you will have to process things, as well as the body with the necessary drugs. The set of measures involves the following actions:

All contaminated items will have to be processed with high temperature. They must be machine washed at maximum temperature with the addition of insecticides.

Advice! Alternatively, items can be dry-cleaned by notifying the staff.

Treat the body with special preparations (it is better to use shampoo), then rinse everything off.
After that, it is best to wear clean, non-contaminated clothing and underwear. It is better to hang previously contaminated items outside in frost or under direct sunlight (in summer).

Advice! Clean and not yet processed items should not be stacked side by side. This can lead to contamination of clean items.

Body treatments

For body treatments, you can use shampoos, lotions and sprays. Among the reliable means are:

Couple Plus.
Neti Fore.
Nit Free.

How to use these tools is written in the instructions, which must be read carefully. As a rule, the affected areas of the body are processed, after which, for a while, you should wrap yourself in plastic (food) wrap. After that, the product is washed off.How much you need not to wash off the drug is indicated in the instructions, since for different products, different times are provided.

On a note! It is possible to use folk remedies such as vinegar or kerosene, but they must be used carefully enough, since you can burn the skin, and the aroma from these substances is not very pleasant and lasts a long time.

Means for processing clothes

Earlier, when there were no effective drugs yet, lice clothes were treated with kerosene. Kerosene was diluted in water for washing, after which all this was boiled and the lice died guaranteed. Unfortunately, this method has several disadvantages. For example:

You should not add kerosene to the washing machine, since this unpleasant smell will soak all other things, which will then be washed in the machine.
If you wash things with your hands, it is better to wear rubber gloves, otherwise allergic manifestations are possible.
If boiled, poisonous vapors are released, which can lead to poisoning.
The smell of kerosene is felt for a long time, and it is almost impossible to get rid of it.

Nowadays, to get rid of body lice, it is enough to use highly effective anti-lice remedies. For example:

Means "Medifox"... The main active ingredient is permethrin, which is relatively harmless to humans, but at the same time destroys insects.

In the case of its application, it is necessary to ensure that the agent does not get on the mucous membranes, that is, in the nose, mouth, eyes, etc.

Means "NOK"... Possesses anti-lice and insecticidal action. Violates the integrity of the membranes of nerve cells, which leads to paralysis of parasites.
Means "Bubil"... Available in the form of a shampoo that kills both head and body lice.
Means "Pedilin"... The product is based on malathion and tetramethrin. The substance penetrates into insects through the chitinous layer and leads to poisoning. In other words, it is a contact substance.

With prolonged contact with the drug, side effects are possible.