Lice and TEOTWAWKI

Disclaimer.  I am not a licensed health practitioner.  This is just another post on an item you might wish to have available if needed so that a physician can treat you and your family as best as possible.  No medication, including those available over the counter, should be taken without consulting a physician.  Information shared here is for educational and entertainment purposes only.  It is not medical advice nor a substitute for licensed medical care.  A qualified, licensed physician or other medical provider should be consulted before beginning any herbal or conventional treatment.

None of my children has ever had lice, for which I am really grateful.  I'm not bragging, and I'm not asking for it.  But whenever I got a phone call saying that apparently my children might have been exposed to lice, it was like TEOTWAWKI, at least for a day or two.  All social plans got canceled.  Everybody in the house got treated and all the linens were washed, even though all the medical profession says this is unnecessary.  Whatever.  I can be open-minded and reasonable with colds, strep, influenza, maybe even smallpox.  But lice?  Oh, heck, no. 

(It's gonna sound gross, but I think my favorite "illness" as a child was lice.  I didn't feel sick. I got to stay home from school.  And my mom bought me a brand new bead set to keep me occupied making bracelets and necklaces and such.  What's not to love?  I was banned from playing with the girl across the street anymore, but she moved pretty soon anyway.)

We've got three kinds of lice to talk about here, and they have some things in common, but some aspects that are unique to each.

Head lice are what most of us are at least familiar with.  They're about the size of a small sesame seed.  They do not typically carry disease, but the scratching can compromise the skin and introduce infections.  Children are less bothered by lice; the bites don't cause them to itch like they do in adults, so they can become pretty infested before anyone notices.  Unfortunately, lice are pretty easily passed from one child to another, whether it's just in playing together or in sharing toys or combs and brushes.  If you happen to notice something suspicious and are wondering whether it's lice or dandruff, here's your quick and foolproof test:  Dandruff will flake and shake off; lice will not.  If you're still unsure, and you happen to have a black light available (not likely, but you never know), nits will fluoresce as blue dots attached to hair near the scalp. 

Body lice appear very similar to head lice, but they generally confine themselves to the body.  Body lice differ from head lice and pubic lice in that they live in and lay eggs on bedding and/or clothing, especially the seams, and only come out to feed.  Body lice are larger than head lice and can live thirty days between feedings.  They cause severe itching in an area of infestation, with small red, swollen bumps or welts often found at the base of the neck or torso where they feed.  Unlike head lice, body lice can spread disease.  They may spread typhus and are also associated with trench fever. (The recent outbreak of typhus in Los Angeles is attributed to fleas and not body lice.)  Left unchecked, they can actually bleed a person to death.

Pubic lice are difficult to see because of their smaller size and their preferred habitat, pubic hair.  However, while pubic hair is home base, they're open to checking out new locations like mustache or armpit hair or eyelashes and eyebrows.  They spread primarily through sexual intimacy and are considered an STD that is not prevented by using condoms.  Pubic lice do not transmit other STDs.  They can also be spread sometimes through sharing hairbrushes, towels, or clothing.  And they cause severe itching.

What are your treatment options post-collapse?  Commercial products available OTC include:

• RID 
• Active ingredients are piperonyl butoxide and pyrethrum extract
• Designed only for head lice, but physicians recommend for crabs and body lice as well
• Kills lice only, not eggs, so retreatment is required in seven days
• Do not use on individuals allergic to ragweeds
• Nix
• Permethrin-based
• Like RID, it is designed only for head lice, but physicians recommend it for crabs and body lice as well
• Kills both lice and their eggs

Natural remedies from The Survival Medicine Handbook:

• Mix salt, vinegar, tea tree oil, and neem oil (you're on your own for quantities) and apply daily for 21 days for head lice.
• Witch hazel and tea tree oil, applied daily after showering for 21 days for head lice and pubic lice.  
• Bathing with 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide for 21 days.  

The authors of Survival and Austere Medicine, 3rd Edition suggest that if there is nothing else available, hair conditioner or some sort of oil (olive, coconut) can be used to smother lice and nits, and then a nit comb used to remove lice and nits.  This will take a very long time.  (This would not make me happy.  My daughters have waist-length hair.)  And it needs to be repeated a few times a week for a few weeks.

A clinical trial in Australia in 2010 showed that tea tree (10%) and lavender (1%) essential oils in a carrier oil with a shower cap were much more effective than commercial treatments.  Storing essential oils and shower caps may be less expensive than storing commercial products. 

Shaving works for eliminating all lice.  For body lice, an overall shave followed by several hot baths over half a day is most effective.

All linens must be washed in hot water--at least 140 degrees. Burning would be better, if it's an option.   Items that cannot be washed should be placed in plastic bags for two weeks (head and pubic lice) to five weeks (body lice).  Combs and brushes should be soaked in alcohol or hot water (140 degrees) for an hour.

Physicians often recommend Benadryl to relieve the itching.

The best prevention option, beyond strict hygiene and keeping clothes clean, especially when working among people who have lice, is to use permethrin.  Permethrin kills lice, but not the eggs.  However, it is long-lasting and will thus kill any newly hatched lice.  Permethrin is available commercially (Sawyer brand) in sporting goods stores where camping equipment is sold.  It comes in spray bottles to easily apply it to clothing and gear and lasts several weeks.  It is both a repellent and an insecticide and is effective for ticks as well.  It's also available in bulk quantities in feed stores.  How much do you want?  One doctor I know stores two to three quarts of this for his family alone.

(This article is the second in a series of posts on things that bite and treatments for them, beginning with the small bugs and working our way up.  Last week began the series with a post on scabies.  Next week will be bedbugs, followed by ticks, spiders, snakes, dogs and cats.  Apparently, I left out mosquitoes, so I'll have to remedy that and squeeze them in.)

Links to related posts:  
Scabies
Ticks
Bed Bugs 

For further reading:
https://www.webmd.com/children/ss/slideshow-lice-overview
https://www.emedicinehealth.com/lice/article_em.htm#what_medications_treat_lice
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lice/symptoms-causes/syc-20374399
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2933647/ (tea tree and lavender essential oils)

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8.6.24