Ward headache

A clothes louse is an insect that feeds on a person’s blood and lives on his clothes. Such lice do not even constitute a separate species, they appeared with the development of civilization as an evolutionary form head licewho changed their habits because people started to wear clothes.

On a note!

Unlike about others lice speciesThis parasite is quite rare.

What is a louse?

Infection with such pests can occur in any public place, so everyone needs to know what body lice look like.

Externally, these insects differ little from hair relatives living on the head: they have an oblong gray-yellowish body, 2-5 mm in size (see photo). According to the description we can judge the differences that indicate that it is a clothes louse:

• the color is lighter than the head lice;
• there are no wings, so can not fly between the owners;
• Their paws are specially adapted for moving through the hairs of their clothes, and they cannot grasp human hair (see the photo of body lice in an enlarged view under a microscope).

Body lice

Interesting!

According to statistics, there are people completely unaffected by these insects. This happens because of the peculiar smell of sweat associated with the atypical metabolism of the person who does not like body lice.

The parasites spend most of their lives clinging to the inside of the clothes with their paws, and crawling to the human body for feeding, for which they received their second name - body lice.

Lice breed they are by laying eggs (nits) on clothes, sticking them with a sticky secret. Linen and cotton fabrics are most popular, but silk and other slippery fabrics are not tolerated.

The larvae hatched from eggs have a size of 1.5-2 mm and are heated near the human body and feed on its blood, most often at night, when the person is in a relaxed state of sleep. As they grow, they molt 3 times, gradually turning into an adult insect.

How to recognize bites

Linen lice bites cause disease and damage to the skin, which is called lacy lice. The main symptoms of body lice are as follows:

• multiple bites on the body, which cause unpleasant itching, redness and inflammation, heal in 3-4 days (see the photo of body lice bites below);
• the occurrence of an allergic reaction, which is accompanied by a rash, occasionally fever and headache;
• detection of brown spots on the skin - occurs at an advanced stage, when body lice live on a person for a long time;
• possible nervous breakdowns, insomnia, caused by incessant itching.

Lice bites on the body

Biting lice, most often, can appear in the following places: upper back, neck, shoulders, hips, waist and lower back.

Important!

Body lice love pleasant perfumes and, conversely, poor sanitary conditions.

People who have not previously encountered such pests can not know how to detect body lice, because Consider whether there are lice on clothes, you can with great difficulty.

Who is sick and how is it transmitted

The louse must feed on blood several times a day, therefore the proximity of the human body is an important factor for it. Insects parasitize exclusively on those people who rarely change their clothes. Their main victims are tramps, homeless people and soldiers participating in hostilities who do not change clothes regularly.

The most favorable temperature for their life and reproduction is + 30-33ºС. When the temperature drops below -13 ºС or rises above +60 ºС, lice diethat can help a person rid things of annoying bloodsuckers. If clothes with parasites are removed and hanged in a closet for a few days, the insect will die of hunger.

Lice are transmitted and you can get ward pediculosis only by close contact with a sick person or by putting on other people's clothes in such places as:

• refugee camps;
• kindergartens and schools;
• places where homeless people spend the night;
• tents in the war zone;
• transport, where many people ride, incl. trains;
• baths and saunas;
• children's and sports camps;
• tourist travel;
• cheap hotels where there are no sanitary conditions.

Pediculosis treatment

Destruction of laundry lice

The most effective way to get rid of lice and nits is to contact a health service that has powerful tools for treating people and things.

However, at home it is possible pediculosis treatment, body lice inferred in different ways. It is very important for pest control to try to destroy them on all personal items and spend sanitary treatment of the apartment. To remove body lice from the body and clothing, you need:

• discarded clothes and bed linen washed at a high temperature; in order to remove parasites, an insecticidal agent for body lice is added during washing, and in case of its absence, vinegar or an old proven agent tar soap;
• It is recommended to dry-clean things in order to process steam and formalin in the disinfecting chamber;
• in winter, clothes can be hung out in the cold (at least -20ºС) for up to a week;
• wash your own body with adding pediculicideswhich must be kept on the skin for at least 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly;
• You can only wear clean clothes that have been hung in a closet or ventilated in the street for at least 2 weeks.

On a note!

The clothes louse does not die in the water, but can swim for several days. During washing at normal temperature and drying, adults and nits also survive.

Treatment for lice can be carried out by the following means:

• Karbofos, Medyfox (Permethrin), Pedilin - for the treatment of the bed and things;
• NOC Veda, Hygia - for washing the body;
• A-Par, Executioner, Akromed and others - insecticides in the form of aerosols or solutions for disinfecting things.

It is better to do the treatment of the bitten places with the help of Balsam Zvezdochka, the Rescuer, and in case of allergies you should drink antihistamines. Following all recommendations, get rid of laundry lice not difficult.