When it comes to Lice, they are anything but difficult to mistake for dandruff, which is a typical issue and need proper scalp care just like skin care to look beautiful. While lice are an infestation which isn’t permanent, dandruff is an interminable condition of the skin. Consistently, 6 to 12 million individuals in the United States tend to get head lice. Most are kids’ ages 3 to 12 years of age. Both lice and dandruff are typically treatable at home. Recognizing one from the other can enable an individual to pick the correct treatment.
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How to Differentiate Between Lice and Dandruff?
Dandruff which is also called seborrheic dermatitis is the condition of the skin which basically causes the topmost skin layer to shed very quickly. This shedding produces a dry, flaky, irritated scalp. Individuals with dandruff may likewise notice pieces of skin on their garments.
Yeast causes a few sorts of dandruff that will, in general, be especially irritated. Lice are parasites that live on the scalp and eat human blood. Lice can cause serious tingling or itching. Head lice don’t spread ailments, yet they are exceedingly infectious.
Close contact with the head of hair of an individual with lice —, for example, from sharing hairbrushes or giving embraces — can cause the infestation to spread. Youthful kids regularly embrace or contact one another, thus head lice are more typical in children than grown-ups and families with children. Some significant contrasts among lice and dandruff include:
- Location: Lice basically lay eggs named nits as compared to dandruff, which causes flaky skin. The two appear to be comparable, yet close examination uncovers key contrasts. Nits adhere to the hair while dandruff sticks to causing flakes, effectively tumbling off of hair. While dandruff is unmistakable on the scalp, lice lay eggs on hair, not the scalp.
- Infection: Dandruff isn’t infectious, yet lice spread effectively from individual to individual. In the event that a cohort, companion, or relative has as of late had lice, lice could be the motivation behind why an individual builds up a bothersome scalp.
- Itching: Dandruff and lice both cause the itching or tingling. Dandruff will, in general, itch more when the scalp is dry. Individuals with lice may feel a creeping sensation on their scalp.
- Lymph nodes: Lice can result in the cause of bacterial contaminations, particularly when an individual scratches their scalp excessively hard and results in causing blood. A few people with lice see that the lymph hubs on their neck or behind their ears feel swollen
- Color: Lice are minor, and individuals may require an amplifying glass in order to see them. Moreover, if the thing is that an individual feels the presence of bugs or dark or darker spots on the scalp or in the hair, this generally implies they have lice, not dandruff.
What are the Symptoms or Signs of Lice?
Lice are significantly more typical among kids and individuals in close contact with kids, for example, instructors, guardians, childcare laborers, and sitters.
Symptoms or the Signs of lice include the following:
- exceptional itching on your scalp
- continually scratching your head
- red or ridiculous spots on the scalp from intense scratching
- swollen lymph nodes
- lice eggs on the hair which are teardrop-shaped
- minor dark spots in your hair or on your scalp
Treatment for Lice:
A scope of insecticidal shampoos can help in killing lice, here and there with the use of only one treatment. It is likewise indispensable to just brush them out of your hair. Individuals ought to pursue the methodology on the hair cleanser packaging. Over-the-counter (OTC), the remedies of lice function admirably, but some lice are resistant to these prescriptions.
So if the primary treatment does not work, an individual might need to see a specialist for an elective professionally prescribed cure. Remedies for Lice could be found at the pharmacies or/and at the online sites.
Head lice aren’t likely to live for a long period of time in the absence of a host. So by washing things which are making it easier for lice so that they can hop back onto an individual can help in reducing the spread of the bugs very effectively. Moreover, the CDC i.e. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests:
- Washing bed sheets, clothes, and other things in the water which is of 130°F or even hotter.
- Soaking your brushes as well as your combs in 130°F water for a minimum of 5–10 minutes.
- Vacuuming all your carpets as well as your rugs in your home.
- By avoiding the use of insecticidal sprays or any other poisonous things.
Dandruff regularly reacts well to OTC shampoos that are anti-dandruff. Individuals can buy these anti-dandruff shampoos in drugstores or at any online site. The American Academy of Dermatology basically suggests shampooing with shampoos that are anti-dandruff two times per week except if an individual is African-American.
African-Americans will, in general, have drier hair and scalps, so they might be in an ideal situation shampooing with shampoos that are anti-dandruff just once every week.
Individuals with light-hued hair ought to stay away from these anti-dandruff shampoos with coal tar since this can change the color of their hair. A few people find that their dandruff improves with the use of these anti-dandruff shampoos. Moreover, if the thing is that signs don’t improve, the flakes might be because of a yeast contamination on the scalp, an immune system condition, eczema, or a serious instance of dandruff.
A dermatologist can enable somebody to recognize the fundamental reason, just as any triggers. A few people may require solution hostile to dandruff shampoos.
How to Prevent Lice?
Dandruff is a really common, but a very difficult thing to prevent once it starts occurring. Washing your hair regularly may help in reducing dandruff in the case of a few people, but dandruff isn’t caused by the lack of proper hygiene. People who suffer from dandruff can try for the identification of the triggers, for example, cold or/and dry air.
People who have specifically dry scalps sometimes may be able to get enough relief when they are sleeping with a humidifier. In order to prevent the occurrence of lice, try to avoid close contact with as many people as possible especially the ones who are at a very high risk of lice, including very young kids.
Try to avoid your comb, pillows, brushes, and other things sharing where lice may have been hidden. If any person in your family has the problem of lice, help them get it treated along with the care of other family members to stay away from the occurrence of lice.
Moreover, neither having the occurrence of lice or dandruff is very dangerous. But the problem starts with the constant scalp scratching which can injure your scalp skin, however, and may also result in the scalp infection. Both lice, as well as dandruff, usually reacts well to treatments which are store-bought, and so an individual can try for an OTC remedy as the very first response to it.
In the case, if you feel like OTC treatments are not working at their best, it is highly recommended seeing a professional or doctor or dermatologist for the itching or pain in the scalp.
How you can treat your Head Lice Naturally?
Well, most of the people have been there. Right?
Perhaps it was twenty years or so back yourself, or possibly its correct now as your cousin or kid. In any case, a large portion of us has had a comb or brush with head lice (pun which has been totally proposed). One legend that should be busted is that head lice flourish in unclean situations. This basically isn’t valid. Head lice are strong little parasites, and will make their home on whatever head of hair appears to be fit, regardless of the tidiness.
When I used to be a kid, I remember I would come home from my school with my head having lice and then my mum used to smother all my hair thoroughly in a weirdly smelling concoction which was taken from a local chemist.
Most of the treatments for the head lice that you are used to buying at the chemist consist of neurotoxins and many of which could be easily found in our common garden pesticides. Other than this, head lice have now become highly resistant to these treatments which have the presence of neurotoxins, very slowly making them as ineffective.
However, the use of an over-the-counter product is basically not the last option that is available in order to rid of your head of its new amount of lice. There are a lot of natural as well as very cheaper alternatives and ways in order to remove or prevent head lice that do not even include any potentially harmful chemicals substances.
1. Good old-fashioned elbow grease Treatment:
The use of a nit comb (metal is best) which is high-quality in order to comb through a lice-infested hair is very crucial in the case of almost all the head lice treatments. The use of olive oil/vinegar/tea tree oil treatment etc. which has been listed below is quite easier than to comb out of your hair with lice and their eggs especially from a dry or flaky head of hair.
2. Olive Oil Treatment:
A very generously application of olive oil to the hair and to leave it on for a night in your hair will help in preventing lice by suffocating them for the entire night. So before you to go to your bed, apply a generous amount of olive oil in your hair and cover your head with the use of a shower cap. When you wake up in the morning, make sure that you comb/brush out all the lice or parasites with a clean nit comb or brush. You might have to repeat this process a few times over the next few days in order to make sure no nits remain in your head afterward.
3. Tea Tree Oil Treatment
The use of this essential oil is a very brisk method of controlling and preventing or to eradicate head lice, as it works as a natural insecticide for it. For centuries, Australia’s Indigenous people have been utilizing tea tree oil in order to treat various types of skin/scalp infections.
In order to treat your head lice, go ahead and just mix 60 mils of olive oil or any natural shampoo with about 15 to 20 drops of essential oil and then simply apply it to your hair with the use of a few contain balls. This method could also be carried with the use of lavender essential oil. You wish to thoroughly saturate the hair so there are no chances for the lice to stay mobilized and it’s very easy to brush or comb through your hair.
With the mixture of tea tree oil still on the hair, separate your hair into smaller sections and utilize a nit comb/brush in order to remove your head lice. Once you are done with your whole head, you can go ahead and just rinse your hair off with a gentle shampoo and water. You might probably have to repeat this process a few times for a few days, which again depends on if you still come to find any nits that are still lurking amongst your hair.
Important Note: While the tea tree oil is usually considered as a very gentle treatment for the head lice, a few precautions still have to be carried out while you are using it. In the case, if any sort of irritation occurs while you are using tea tree oil in order to treat head lice, stop using it immediately.
4. Salt & Vinegar Treatment:
Not only for chips, but salt & vinegar found in your household can also be utilized in order to treat head lice. Simply mix a ¼ cup of salt with a ¼ cup of warm vinegar and utilize a spray bottle in order to spray and cover the hair until they get wet.
Leave this mixture on for a few hours by covering your head with a shower cap, and then you can rinse your hair off. You might have to repeat this whole process once every 3 days i.e. twice per week for the best possible results.
Have you got any tips or natural remedies to share? Please feel free to share them with us.
Until then!