“At the beginning of the school year, lice often return to school,” writes ANSES (national drug agency) on Twitter on Monday, less than two weeks after returning to school. These tiny insects, which are 2 to 4 mm long, feed on human blood and, generally for lice, lodge on the scalp.
They are “frequent, especially in schools, and then affect children and parents from all walks of life”, can be read on the information site of the French Society of Dermatology (SFD), which emphasizes that they are not the sign of questionable hygiene.
It is possible to detect its presence by itching, by the bites of the louse to feed, but this is not always the case. Only “the discovery of live lice, visible to the naked eye after combing, as well as nits attached to the hair but not slithering through the hair, provides diagnostic certainty,” writes the SFD. But once its presence is verified, how to get rid of it?
“There was a time when all products against lice were insecticides, but the louse became resistant to them a long time ago,” explains Arezki Izri, a parasitologist at the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny (Seine-Saint-Denis), to BFMTV.com. In addition to being rendered ineffective against lice, these products are dangerous to humans and the environment, he adds.
The UFC Que Choisir also warns about “products containing pyrethroids. Some (permethrin, deltamethrin, cypermethrin) are suspected of being endocrine disruptors.”
The magazine points out, however, that most of these lice treatments are no longer marketed in France today.
“Today, what is most often used are dimethicone-based products”, explains the parasitologist, these lotions are “mineral oils that will penetrate the louse’s system” and suffocate it by closing the holes through which it breathes, drowning it in oil somehow.
These are “liquid silicones prepared in a volatile solvent” explains Health Insurance website who notices that they are flammable. “The advantage is that they do not cause resistance (unlike insecticide products) and they are not toxic, so they have gradually supplanted pyrethrin-based insecticides.”
It is absolutely necessary to correctly read the instructions of each product used and to respect the rest times to achieve the maximum effectiveness of the product, but “unfortunately, no product can claim to be 100% effective in real conditions of use” at once, writes UFC What a chooser. The magazine reminds that to “be effective, a treatment must work on lice AND nits”.
Nits are the eggs of lice, which can hatch several days after effective lice treatment against adults, but not against the eggs. That is why it is important to proceed to a new application of lice products seven to ten days after the first one, and check in the following days that there really are no more.
• Are lice salons effective?
In recent years, anti-lice centers have flourished in several cities in France, promising effective treatments, often 100% natural, and a control visit in the following days. However, it is still difficult to judge the actual effectiveness of each of them.
Arezki Izri explains that she cannot comment on the abilities of all the salons, but claims to have “received people treated in these centers who come to see us afterwards because it did not work.”
• The comb should not be used alone
In the panoply of anti-lice treatment we also find the comb and its closely spaced teeth that help eliminate the famous nits before they hatch and dead lice after applying a suffocating product. It is advisable to use this comb as a complement to the treatment and to choose “a metal comb with fine and tight teeth instead of the weak plastic combs”, writes the Health Insurance.
“Comb wet and untangled hair carefully and for a long time for 30 minutes, 3 times and then 2 times a day, going from the scalp to the ends of the hair,” it is written, specifying that the comb must be cleaned after each pass. through the hair
On the other hand, in use alone, that is, without treatment, the comb “would only be completely effective in about one in two people” in removing lice, writes UFC Que Choisir.
• Examine all family members
Arezki Izri explains that “lice do not fly, they do not jump, on the contrary, as soon as they are offered a hair, they cling to it and start running, they are perfectly adapted to the hair”, he explains. In this sense, “we caught them by direct head-to-head contact.”
Therefore, it is logical that members of the same family become infected at the same time. If lice are detected on one of them, it is therefore necessary to check the head of each one, “as well as the immediate environment, even if they do not show symptoms and treat only the affected subjects”, writes the SFD.
If family members are carriers of lice, you should wear your hair tied back to prevent them from getting infected.
• Wash hats, scarves, pillowcases…?
The parasitologist adds that lice live only on the head and can only survive a few hours outside their habitat. For him, therefore, it is not necessarily useful to wash textiles (pillowcases, sheets, scarves, hats, etc.) at more than 60°C when someone has lice.
On the other hand, “if you use a fine comb to comb your hair, lice can remain” and infect the next person who is going to use it. Also, although still very rare according to him, lice can land in one place when you brush your hair and then attach to another person.
The Health Insurance advises for its part “wash pillowcases as well as hats, scarves and other clothing in contact with the scalp or neck, in the washing machine at a temperature above 50 ° C” to eliminate lice. And “objects that cannot be washed at this temperature, such as combs or brushes, can be soaked in an insecticide solution for 5 to 10 minutes. Then wait 3 days before using them again.”
• Treatments that don’t work
Several treatments are totally inadvisable to eliminate lice, such as the use of “gasoline or kerosene to disinfect objects that have been in contact with lice. These products are really very dangerous,” writes Ameli’s site.
“Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, vinegar water has never been shown to be effective against lice; on the other hand, water with vinegar (1 tablespoon of vinegar for a container of water) makes it possible to ‘remove the nits more easily when the lice pass’. comb’, is added.
The UFC Que Choisir had warned in 2019 about the very limited effectiveness of certain home products: coconut oil kills lice but much less nits, and mayonnaise would kill on average only 60% of lice and 14% of the nits Essential oils have also not been shown to be effective against lice and nits and may cause allergies.
The ANSES, for its part, called at the beginning of the school year to never use “antiparasitics intended for pets to treat lice in children.”
• Contact your doctor in case of a prolonged problem
When the lice problem is particularly resistant, Arezki Izri explains that it is possible to use an ivermectin-based medicine, which works perfectly. But “all studies recommend taking it only as a last resort” to prevent the louse from developing resistance to this product.
In any case, if there is a prolonged problem, a secondary infection linked to scratching or a bad reaction to a product, it is important to consult your doctor.
Source: BFM TV
