Body or clothes, clothing or linen lice are light-gray insects that are the largest human lice. In size, they are not very large. The female can reach 2.2-4.7 millimeters in length. Males of these insects have a shorter length - up to 3.7 millimeters. Their linen counterparts differ from the head lice in that they have long and thin antennae, and the edges of the abdominal segments are smooth and do not have deep notches.
Their habitat is human underwear, especially its folds. Here they live, eat and breed. Females lay eggs and attach them to clothing threads using a special adhesive. They are quite fertile. During its not very long life, one linen louse can lay up to three hundred eggs, which in a week will turn into new "inhabitants of the colony." And this is fraught for their owner not only with unpleasant sensations, but also with the possibility of contracting diseases such as trench Volyn fever, relapsing fever or typhus.
It is generally believed that lice carriers are people who are not completely hygienic, such as homeless people. But among a completely prosperous population, these parasites take root too. Head and linen lice cannot fly, jump or run. They can get to a new carrier only through direct contact. This can happen if you use charged things. These include towels, hats, bedding or even combs. This is possible in public places such as swimming pools, saunas, and the like. It is enough to sleep in a bed in which a person infected with lice was before, and pediculosis is provided for you. Most of all it concerns children. They communicate more closely with peers in schools, kindergartens or nurseries. And children have the greatest chance of getting underwear or head lice.
That a person has become infected with lice can be determined by symptoms such as severe itching. If the head lice, then the occipital part of the head and behind the ears will itch. And if a person is overwhelmed by linen lice, then places where the clothes fit very tightly to the body will itch. From constant scratching, boils, pustules and other unpleasant consequences may appear. The patient with head lice disappears appetite and sleep.
After such symptoms, it becomes clear that a person has head or linen lice. How to get rid of them - this question arises immediately. Normal washing or shampooing will not help here. To eliminate head lice there is a radical way - this is to shave your head bald. This will bring, of course, some discomfort, especially for the female population. But it will help solve the problem. There are also many other remedies that allow you to get rid of lice settled in the head. These are both folk and scientific means. Each pharmacy sells a variety of ointments, sprays, or shampoos suitable for this. For example, you can take helical water. This is a cheap and effective tool.
And it is unlikely that it will be possible to solve the problem with clothes lice by washing with ordinary washing powder . In this case, all clothing and linen require thorough boiling and steaming. Then these clothes should be dried for at least a week in the sun in a room that is ventilated or just outside. Before washing, things can be treated with an insecticidal preparation for certainty and allowed to soak for several hours. Then, after the clothes have dried, they can be ironed properly for preventive purposes. In particular, attention should be paid to the folds and seams.
But pediculosis, like any other disease, is easier to prevent than to treat. To linen lice do not wound up, you need to observe personal hygiene. To do this, you need to regularly wash and change clothes as often as possible. It is advisable to wash this laundry at high temperature and iron it well, especially the seams. These parasites can live without food for no more than a week. Therefore, things that have been infected should not be used for at least two weeks. This period is quite enough to completely get rid of lice.