Ciliary Lice and Nits

Many people will be very surprised when they find out that lice can start not only in the head, but also in other places of the human body. There are lice on the eyelashes, on the pubis, in the armpits. This disease is called phytiasis or damage to the pubic lice, it is quite rare.

Who are pubic lice

Pubic lice, they are ploschiki, usually settle in zones of hair growth on the human body: on the genitals, around the anus, crawl onto the stomach, settle on the eyelashes. Outwardly, they are different from ordinary head lice: similar to small brown-yellow crabs no larger than 2 mm. How ciliary lice look in the photo is shown below.

Fixing itself near the skin at the base of the hair, the louse hardly moves, but multiplies very quickly: the female lays 2-3 eggs per day. Almost transparent 0.5 mm nits adhere tightly to the eyelashes using a special secret.

Pubic lice eat only human blood, biting through the skin twice a day. During a bite, an adult insect injects an enzyme into the wound, which prevents blood clotting, resulting in a slight itching in a bitten place, and then the wound. The lice on the eyelashes in the photo are an unattractive picture, but in reality they look even more disgusting.

On a note!

How many lice livedepends on the living conditions. Without nutrition, the louse falls into an suspended state, in which it can stay for several months, so that then, under favorable circumstances, it starts again a full-fledged “blood-sucking” life.

How can you get infected

A healthy person can become infected with this type of louse in several ways:

• during sexual contact with a person who has such insects;
• close contact with a sick person: hug, handshake, kiss;
• When pubic lice appear in the genital area, a person through his own hands can easily transfer them to other parts of the body that have hair: armpits, eyelashes;
• through the patient’s personal belongings: towel, clothes, bedding;
• in public institutions: sauna, pool, etc.

Important!

Having settled on the eyelashes, lice can cause various eye diseases, because the infection easily gets into the resulting wounds.

Symptoms of Phthiriasis

The disease is very unpleasant, its treatment depends on how quickly the parasites were detected. Symptoms that suggest that a person has lice on eyelashes or eyebrows are as follows:

• severe itching on the eyelids or at the roots of the eyelashes, more often at night, as This is the period of maximum activity of insects;
• swelling of the eyelids, sometimes in the morning a person can hardly open his eyes;
• sensations of gluing or thickening of the cilia appear when eggs are glued on them, due to which the hairs are condensed;
• the appearance of pustules on the skin near the eyes, with pressure on which fluid is released, pimples often form in such places (see photos);

  

• darkening of the skin of the eyelids to brown-black: when trying to rinse with warm water (when a woman thinks that it is the residue after makeup) - nothing happens, this happens because of the laid small eggs of lice.

Important!

Ciliary lice cannot be washed off with water or when scratching the eyes.Adults bite so hard into the skin, and small nits on the eyelashes are so firmly attached to the hairs that it is difficult to remove them by mechanical action.

Treatment methods

If a person suspects lice on his eyelashes, then the first step should be to see a doctor to make an accurate diagnosis and determine the optimal treatment. Eyelash fever is treated in two ways:

• Mechanical - involves the removal of insects and nits manually using a special comb for eyelashes or with tweezers. Before using tweezers, you should lubricate the eyelashes with petroleum jelly, which will help to “slow down” the insects and prevent them from running away. Removing lice and nits with tweezers must be done several times until they are completely exterminated;
• Chemical - using special ointments or creams, but only after consultation with an ophthalmologist. Most commonly assigned remedies for lice, Permethrin emulsion is usually used, the use of which is permissible in the eye area, but with a lower concentration of the active substance: the drug should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 1. You can also use Pedilin, Nyx, Couple plus, Here, Paranit, Veda, Medifox, Avalanchewhich are applied with a cotton swab along the line of hair growth. Having sustained the necessary time, the product is washed off with water.

The most radical way is to cut your eyelashes completely. It is used most often in children, who in other ways are very difficult to cope with this problem.

Folk methods of treatment for phthiasis

All folk methods for removing lice on the eyelashes should be used with great care to avoid damage to the eyes and infection.

One of the old and efficient folk remedies is an use of kerosene solution and ordinary soap, diluted in equal amounts. Apply this mixture with caution so as not to get into the eyes. It is necessary to withstand it for 10 minutes, then rinse everything off with warm water.

Sulfur ointment is less commonly used, which must be applied to the affected areas daily, tar soap.

Treatment duration

To get rid of all lice on the eyelashes, it will take at least 2-3 days, depending on the degree of damage and the number of parasites. With strong foci of infection, treatment can take several weeks.

Be sure after the treatment course, preventive measures should be taken to prevent re-infection.

Prevention

To avoid such troubles as lice in eyelashes, you need to follow a few simple rules:

• perform daily hygiene procedures: wash hands, face, etc .;
• use caution in public places: after visiting institutions such as the beach, pool, solarium, sauna, you should take a bath and treat the likely sites of infection;
• always use only your own hygiene products;
• avoid contact with sick people;
• change bedding regularly and iron it more often with a hot iron.

By following such simple rules, anyone can avoid the disease. head lice and phthyroidism, but even with infection with pubic parasites, one should not panic, although these insects are very unpleasant and cause disgust in many. As soon as possible, steps should be taken to determine the exact diagnosis by visiting a doctor and tackling the problem.