As much as they dislike the itching caused by lice and scabies, people are more often upset by the shame they feel at having these tiny pests. But lice and scabies can infest anyone anywhere. Infact, in recent years there has been a rash of head lice outbreaks in United States, with 6 to 12 million cases reported yearly.
Lice are wingless insects that feed on human blood. Three types move onto the scalp, the body, or the pubic area. Lice are most often from august through November, and they are easily spread through skin-to-skin contactor by sharing clothes, combs and bedding. Crab lice the kind that infests your pubic area are often spread by sex but you can also get them from a toilet seat.
Scabies is an allergic response caused by a burrowing mite that lays eggs in tunnels under the upper layer of human skin. You may not realize you have scabies until you start to itch, and that doesn't happen until about 2 weeks after infestation. Scabies is most often spread through close contact with other people, including sex, and through sharing clothes and bed linen.
While rapid treatment can get rid of lice and scabies, it doesn't always kill them all on the first try. You may have to reapply treatments a few times, maybe more, before the pests are gone.
Scabies Symptoms:
Both lice and scabies
- Severe itching
- Marks and sores on the body from scratching
Head lice
- Itchy scalp
- Small grayish white, oval eggs hanging close to the scalp
- Grayish insects as long as eight of an inch, sometimes visible at the nape of the neck
Body lice
- Raised, red bumps on the shoulders, trunk, and the buttocks
- Nits found on clothing, often in the seams of the underwear
- Headache, fever, and sick feeling with the swelling and infected bites
Crab lice
- Itching around the genitals
- Tiny crablike insects on the skin in the crotch
- Small dark specks on underwear
Scabies
- Itching anywhere that gets worse just after you go to bed
- A rough, red, grainy rash with itchy raised bumps, mainly on the wrists, elbows, breasts and genitals, web betweens the fingers and around the waist
- Dotted lines or wavy gray ridges like pencil marks on the skin
- Large areas of crusty, thick, itchy skin
- In adults, itching from the neck down only
How to prevent scabies?
Head lice:
- Use a flashlight to check your children for lice. Especially from the august through November.
- If you see your child scratching or the school warns you of an outbreak. Look for bites or nits at the nape of the neck or behind the ears
All infestations:
- Wash clothes after 1 or 2 wearings
- Was towels and Lenin often
- Bathe or shower daily
- Don't share hats, combs, headphones, and other such items
- If you have a new sexual partner, trade news about any lice or scabies either of you has had
Home remedies for scabies:
Some of the primary home remedies for scabies are:
Home Remedies for all lice and scabies:
- For itching, try cold soaks, calamine lotion, an antihistamine or pain relievers
- Don't try drastic measures like scrubbing with harsh soaps or dousing the hair and skin with kerosene
- On the day you stat treatment, vacuum your house and car well, and wash sheets, towels, and clothes worn in the last week in hot water and dry them in the heat
Home Remedy for Head lice
- Cover the scalp with a shampoo or crème rinse containing 1 percent permethrin or pyrethrin
- None of these products actually kill the nits though. To soften and remove nits, shampoo hair in warm water and comb the nits out with a special fine tooth comb while the hair is wet
- Boil combs curlers, and brushes
- If your child has repeated bouts of head lice and you don't want to keep using toxic treatments, you can use a mixture of 50 drops of tea tree oil, 2 ounces of warm olive oil. Apply this mixture to the hair and scalp for 2 hours
Home Remedy for Body lice
- Bathe with soap and water
- Apply an anti-louse cream to the entire body
- Vacuum floors; wash clothes and linens as directed for all lice and scabies
- Be sure all family members and people with whom you've been in close contact are treated at the sometime
- Try an over the counter antihistamine for relief from itching
Identifying the need of home remedies for Lice and Scabies.
- If you suspect you have scabies
- If you are unsure of the cause of your itching. Other rashes and problems can mimic the signs of scabies
- If the pests come back even after the treatment
- If your sores become infected and ooze
- If you have lice on your eyelashes. Your doctor may need to remove the pests
- If a baby or young child is infested
- If the itching is driving you crazy
- If you develop a rash or have a seizure after using a medicated lice or scabies treatment
