Hanging lice

A body louse is an insect that feeds on human blood and lives on its clothing. Such lice do not even constitute a separate species; they appeared with the development of civilization as an evolutionary form head licewho have changed their habits due to the fact that people began to wear clothes.

On a note!

Unlike others types of liceThis parasite is quite rare.

What is body lice

Infection with such pests can occur in any public place, so every person needs to know how body lice look.

Externally, such insects differ little from the hairy relatives living on the head: they have an elongated body of gray-yellow color 2-5 mm in size (see photo). From the description, you can judge the differences that indicate that this is a body louse:

• color has lighter than head lice;
• there are no wings; therefore, it cannot fly between the hosts;
• their paws are specially adapted for moving through the hairs of clothes, and they can’t grab onto human hair (see photo of body lice under a microscope in an enlarged view).

Interesting!

According to statistics, there are people who are completely not subject to attack by these insects. This happens due to the specific smell of sweat associated with the atypical metabolism of a given person who does not like body lice.

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

Lice breed they by laying eggs (nits) on clothes, attaching them with a sticky secret. Most of all, linen and cotton fabrics are loved, but silk and other slippery fabrics cannot be tolerated.

The larvae hatching from eggs have a size of 1.5-2 mm and are heated near the human body and feed on his 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

Lice Bites cause a disease and damage to the skin, which is called head lice. The main symptoms of body lice are as follows:

• multiple bites on the body that cause unpleasant itching, redness and inflammation, heal in 3-4 days (see photos 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 persistent itching.

Body lice bites can most often occur 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 cannot know how to detect body lice, as consider whether there are lice on clothes, you can with great difficulty.

Who is sick and how is transmitted

A body louse should feed on blood several times a day, so 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 vagabonds, homeless people and soldiers participating in hostilities who do not regularly change clothes.

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 die, which can help a person rid things of annoying bloodsuckers. If clothes with parasites are removed and hung in the closet for several days, then the insect dies from hunger.

Lice are transmitted and you can get clothes lice only by close contact with a sick person or when putting on someone else’s clothing in places such as:

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

Lice treatment

The most effective way to get rid of body lice and nits is to contact the sanitary service, which has potent means for treating people and things.

However, at home it is possible pediculosis treatment, body lice are excreted in many ways. To control pests, it is very important to try to destroy them on all personal belongings and spend apartment sanitation. To remove body lice from your body and clothes, you need:

• wash the things removed from oneself and bed linen at high temperature; to remove parasites, when washing, add an insecticidal agent for body lice, and in its absence - vinegar or an old proven tool tar soap;
• it is recommended to dry clean things in order to treat them with steam and formalin in a 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 the addition of pediculicidal agentthat must be kept on the skin for at least 30 minutes, then rinse thoroughly;
• You can wear only clean clothes that previously hung in a closet or aired in the street for at least 2 weeks.

On a note!

The body 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 body lice can be carried out by the following means:

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

Treatment of bitten places is best done with Zvezdochka, Lifeguard balms, and if allergies occur, drink antihistamines. Following all the recommendations, get rid of lice not be difficult.