Getting rid of lice, scabies and mites
Mites and lice are both common skin parasites. They are passed on through personal contact, and through contact with infected bedding and clothing. They can cause severe irritation, and they spread rapidly if not treated, which is why it’s so important to take action at the first sign of infection.
Mites are the root cause of scabies. The mites burrow into the skin and lay eggs, causing intense itching.
Lice infest a particular part of the body. You get head lice, clothes lice, and crab lice (which often infest the pubic areas). All of them lay eggs that look like white grains attached to hairs. And of course, all of them cause intense itching. Schoolchildren often become infested without knowing how.
Treatment is reasonably easy, but somewhat unpleasant. The treatments are really insecticides that kill the adult insects as well as their eggs. Some are louse-specific, some mite-specific, and some kill both. Note that you must treat everyone in the family, not just the people displaying symptoms of infestation.
If you have scabies, you will apply a lotion to your whole body except your head and neck. Take a shower before applying the lotion. The lotions are messy, and should not be washed off for at least 8 to 12 hours. In some instances you may have to wait 48 hours before the treatment is effective. Fortunately, you only need one or two treatments to remove the scabies mites, although you may still continue itching for some time afterwards. Find a soothing cream to help control the itch.
While you are treating your skin to remove the mites, take the opportunity to wash and disinfect your bedding and clothing to avoid reinfection. Vacuum your mattress thoroughly as well. You may want to use a room fogger first. This is an aerosol which sprays a fog of disinfectant into your room. Remove all pets and plants from the room, close the doors and windows, set the aerosol to spray and leave the room for about eight hours. This will kill all the mites in the room, and vacuuming thoroughly afterwards will help remove all traces.
For lice, it’s usually easiest to use a shampoo containing anti-louse medication for infestations in the head and pubic hair. These usually contain benzyl benzoate, pyrethrins or lindane. (In the olden days, you soaked your hair in a half-and-half mixture of kerosene and vinegar several times.) You can also buy special anti-louse medications which you use directly on the infested area. After 12 hours, shampoo with an ordinary shampoo. After treating head lice, be sure to comb your hair with a fine-tooth comb to remove the nits and dead lice.
If there are lice on the body, you can simply remove them and sterilize the clothing in which they live. Iron the clothing well afterwards.
One final word of advice: if scratching has caused a skin infection, ask your doctor for an antibiotic cream which can be used directly on the skin.
Incoming search terms for the article:
Similar articles
- : (4230408) When trying to get rid of lice, gasoline might not be the best choice
If there was a God, Im sure he would be hated. For making bugs, in this hell he has created. Get on a coat, put on a hat, I am infested It happens just like that. Im sure I hate ‘em There ain’t no maybes, Bodylice, and crabs, Headlice, and scabies. You take ... - Get Rid of Itchy Rash For Good
When it comes to bad skin conditions, scabies tops the list of one of the worst ones you can get. When an outbreak happens, at first, it can look just like a simple case of mosquito bites, or tiny pimples on the skin. Things quickly escalate into something much worse – festering blisters that ... - How to Get Rid of Body Lice
Body lice (Pediculus humanus corporis) are small wingless insects, slightly larger than head lice. As parasites, body lice reside on the human body causing a condition called pediculosis. Body lice hide in clothing and bedding, especially along seams, and they move by crawling. Once they infest an area, they tend to spread to all family ... - HOW TO GET RID OF BUGS
HOW TO GET RID OF BUGS TIPS FOR LOUSY PEOPLE roaddawgz.org, Feb 10, 2003 Look for head lice behind the ears, and the nape of the neck. White nits, (eggs) are a dead give away. Head lice are easily spread by sharing hats or bedding. RID or another product containing ... - Lice | Head Lice | Pubic Lice | Body Lice
What are lice? Lice are tiny insects that live on humans and feed on blood. When a large number of lice live and multiply on a person, it is called an infestation. Three different kinds of lice live on humans: Head lice are usually found in hair, most often on the back of ...