lifestyle

The Facts Of Lice

Head lice (kuto) is a small, wingless, flattened insect which produces irritating dermatitis on the scalp and is very common among children.  They are parasites that can be found on heads of people. 
 
lice
photo from the web
 
How will you know if you or your child is infected with lice?
  1. There is intense itching of the scalp and neck.
  2. The presence of head lice nits (eggs) on hair follicles.
  3. There is a sensation of something crawling on your scalp.

 

When I was still a young girl, I experienced lice infestation on my head.  It is really very annoying.  I keep on scratching my head.  During those times, my mother uses “suyod”(a fine toothed comb) to take away the lice and “gugo” (a plant extract) to shampoo my hair.  She had my hair cut short to eliminate the parasite in a short time.
suyod
 
How do we become infested with lice?
  1. Through personal contact with an infested person, very common during play, sports activities,school activities or even at home when your kids sleep together in one bed.
  2. Wearing of infested clothing such as hats, and ribbons.
  3. Using infested combs, brushes and towels.

 

There are myths and facts about lice that we need to know too.
Myth:  Only kids with dirty hair gets lice
Reality:  Lice like to live in clean hair too
Myth:  Only poor families gets lice
Reality:  Insects don’t care about household income levels.
Myth:  Lice jump and fly
Reality:  They don’t fly and are not effective jumpers.  Most cases needs head-to-head contact
Myth:  Lice transmit disease
Reality:  Head lice might sicken you, but they don’t make you sick.
We can easily get rid of lice nowadays, aside from using the suyod, there are different anti-lice shampoos sold in the market.  The last time I went to a salon, I have seen this shampoo that they are selling to eliminate lice.
 
anti-lice shampoo
 

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6 comments

  1. This gives me a creep. It reminds me when i was still teaching in public school, I had to have a spare of suyod and every lunch time instead of letting my pupils to run around under the heat of the sun i let them made suyod suyod their ulo hehehehe

    Visiting thru TBE – Teacher Momma

  2. Kaya dito kapag may kuto ang bata, bawal pumasok sa school,tapos bago pabalikin, kailangan i check muna ng school doctor kung wala na talaga syang kuto.

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