Book lice (hay lice) in the apartment: their description, causes of appearance, methods of control

A variety of insects often settle in the vicinity of humans, which sometimes cause inconvenience. Some of them are completely harmless to people and animals, while some, on the contrary, are extremely dangerous parasites. One of these insects are hay eaters, or as they are also called “book lice.” They are quite rare insects. However, their appearance in an apartment or house can bring a lot of negative emotions and harm to a person.

An invasion of hay beetles is an unpleasant “surprise” for home owners. After all, they may not even know where these insects came from. In any case, everyone wants to get rid of book lice as quickly as possible so that they do not bother them. We will tell you in what ways this can be done in this article.

Body louse - structure, life cycle, reproduction, nutrition, habitat

Body lice have been parasitic for 70,000 years, they are dangerous insects, they carry various diseases - typhus, fever and others.

Life cycle – 16 days. An adult female can lay up to 10 eggs per day, that is, about 300 in her entire life. The life expectancy of the parasite is 1.5 months.

• larvae are laid;
• hatching process;
• after the first molt a nymph is formed;
• the nymph molts two more times;
• the larva becomes an adult.

Lice reproduce sexually.

Video: body lice (lice)

Linen lice larvae

Linen lice larvae feed only on blood, so they can be found in the same places where adult lice live.

• Insects attach eggs, called nits, to the fibers of the fabric they live on or to hairs on human skin.
• Only the hatched larva measures less than 0.5 millimeters.
• After molting, the larva acquires the features of an adult insect and gradually grows in size.
• At the larval stage, the insect has a color from dirty yellow to brownish-transparent.

Bed louse propagation methods

The insect has enormous fertility. is capable of laying from 5 to 14 nits per day . Thanks to the special mucus secreted by the female, the egg is firmly attached to the fibers of the material until it is fully matured.

The lifespan of one individual is 35 days. During this time, she manages to lay off 200 to 400 nits. The growth of eggs and the maturation of louse larvae occurs due to the parasitic lifestyle on the human body.

As soon as the insects sense the warmth and odor of the body, they begin their activity. Spreading over the body, they choose the most suitable place, pierce the skin with a special proboscis and suck out the amount of blood necessary for further existence. Their color changes from pale gray to bright brown and even brown.

The bed louse is a very tenacious insect . In the absence of a human body and, accordingly, food, they easily survive up to one week. Finding themselves, even after such a long period of time, in an environment favorable to themselves, they quickly restore their strength and continue their parasitic way of existence.

But, after 5-7 days, without access to the human body, the body louse quickly dies. That is why most often this type of insect lives on a contingent of people who are deprived of the opportunity to frequently change clothes and linen: refugees, soldiers in the field, beggars or tramps.

How to determine that body lice have appeared in an apartment?

The size of the parasite is up to 5 mm, females are larger than males and can lay up to 300 eggs in one month, 14 per day. What does this evil look like? The body of the louse is transparent, elongated, with a smooth abdomen and long spider legs. It also looks like a small transparent spider. When it lands on clothing, the insect secretes a sticky substance and thus becomes attached to the folds of the fabric.

Where do body louse like to nest:

• The louse prefers damp, dirty nooks, trying to find the warmest place. Therefore, first of all, it hides in the folds of clothing and in the seams, closer to the human body.
• In the closet you need to examine all the nooks and crannies where parasites like to nest.
• Carefully check seams and folds in all linens, paying special attention to hard-to-reach corners of pillowcases and duvet covers.
• At high temperatures and humidity, the rate of reproduction and growth of the entire colony increases.
• In the bathroom, under conditions of high humidity, lice begin to multiply rapidly. A basket of dirty laundry is an ideal incubator.

Important. Insects are not afraid and even love moisture; the nit of this parasite lives in water for up to two days. This is why simple washing will not help get rid of body lice.

• Bed lice love the seams and folds of mattresses and upholstered furniture, so complete disinfection of all upholstered furniture is necessary when the parasite is detected.
• These insects prefer clothing that comes into contact with the body (underwear, bedding, towels). Since the louse feeds on blood, like a vampire, it “follows” the scent of its prey.
• The parasite is indifferent to woolen items, and is also not partial to coarse synthetics.

How to recognize that this particular parasite has settled in the apartment?

Description of hay beetles, their eating habits and reasons for their appearance in the home

Hay eaters are widespread in the wild. This is their natural habitat. Bugs live in grass, bushes and trees. This type of insect can feed on plant foods and sometimes the remains of dead animals.

Book lice differ from ordinary lice in many ways. The size of domestic hay beetles is 2 millimeters, while the size of other lice and bedbugs is 4-6 millimeters. The color of hay eaters can vary from pale white to dirty yellow. These insects do not bite people or pets, whereas regular lice do so for their nutrition.

When settling in apartments, book lice feed on paste. It is because of this that their name actually arose. Previously, back in Soviet times, book spines were used to prepare paste. That is why hay eaters can often be found between the pages of old books.

Today, such pastes are no longer produced and therefore book lice do not live in all books. They live only in libraries or in the homes of people who collect old publications. Despite this, this type of insect easily adapts to any conditions of residential apartments and houses, finding food for itself there.

Senoyeds can also be found in the so-called “Stalinka” buildings. The fact is that in such houses there are traces of wallpaper glue, which these insects love so much. In addition, fungus is common in “Stalinkas”, which serves as a favorable condition for the proliferation of lice. In addition to mold and paste, hay beetles can also feed on other remains of organic elements. Their rapid reproduction is also influenced by warm air in the room and increased humidity levels.

In many cases, book lice choose as victims the owners of the upper floors, as well as the owners of private houses with leaking roofs.

What do linen lice bites look like on the human body (photo)

The bites of such parasites look like tubercles. You can see a red dot in the center. Here blood appears, which subsequently coagulates. When linen lice are found on the body, what do their bites look like? You can answer this question if you have an idea of ​​the principle of inserting the proboscis into the epidermis. The nature of the formations upon contact with parasites (a lump with dried blood) is due to the fact that the louse also introduces part of the head under the skin.

This is explained by the structure of the oral apparatus: the proboscis is not long enough, which forces the parasite to get to the blood vessel in such an unusual way.

As a result, after removing the head, a fairly large wound remains. This causes a few drops of blood to appear on the skin. When it dries, you can see a bump with a red dot in the center. Moreover, bite marks from linen lice are localized in different places, chaotically. To better imagine what lice bites look like, you can look at the photo. This will allow you to independently determine which pest attacked in the future.

How to distinguish lice bites from other insect bites

Linen lice bites are in many ways similar to the bites of other insects, and a single papule can easily be confused with a bite from, for example, a bedbug. But if you look at the picture as a whole, you can find differences:

• Linen lice bites differ from bedbug bites in the absence of obvious chains of wounds. During feeding, each bug tries to make several bites at a distance of several centimeters from one another. Each louse bites only in one place, and there are no signs of order in the location of the wounds on the body.
• Lice bites can be distinguished from flea bites by their painlessness. Flea bites at the moment of blood sucking are very sensitive and resemble a puncture of the skin with a needle. Lice bites begin to be clearly felt only some time after the parasite has already left the wound. In addition, traces of a flea feast also in some places line up in characteristic short paths, which almost never happens with lice bites.
• Tick ​​bites differ well from linen lice bites in size - after the tick detaches, a large and hard lump, similar to swelling, usually remains. In addition, the tick usually sucks blood from several hours to several days, and it can be easily detected at the site of the bite. Lice feed for a few minutes at most.
• It is easiest to confuse lice bites with mosquito bites. However, mosquito bites usually do not show a hole mark like lice. In addition, linen lice bite only under clothing, and if bite symptoms similar to those shown in the photo below appeared in places covered by pajamas or nightwear, these were most likely linen lice.

Sometimes lice bites are confused with scabies (caused by scabies mites). However, with scabies there are no visible signs of skin puncture at all, and such misconceptions usually occur with scabies in places that are not visible to the victim - on the neck, under the shoulder blades, between the buttocks.

Insecticidal preparations for controlling hay beetles at home

If you decide to destroy book lice in your home yourself, the following insecticidal preparations for crawling insects are ideal for this purpose:

• “Clean House Super” is universal;
• “Raptor” is universal;
• “Combat Multispray;
• "Raid";
• “Destructive power maximum 5 in 1”;
• “Varan.”

If hay beetles have settled in books, you can try to treat the book publications themselves with poison. However, in this case you need to take some precautions:

• Take any old or unwanted piece of paper and apply the product to it;
• After a few minutes, see if the product leaves visible marks on the paper covering;
• If you find no traces, then you can safely use the product for books and paper items.

However, to use this method, you must follow the following algorithm:

• Lay oilcloth or plastic film in the place where you will be processing.
• Arrange the books so that they are open and stand as they would on a shelf.
• Spray the product from above, 50 centimeters from the books.
• Wait until the product settles on the pages, spine and cover of the books.
• Leave books open for 24 hours.
• After time has passed, treat the shelf on which the books were located and put them back.
• Do not allow direct sunlight to hit the pages of books or other parts of them.

This procedure almost always destroys insects. But it does not guarantee that books and other paper products will remain in order after processing.

Before using any product against book lice, carefully read the instructions for use of the product. Remember that you need to find out what objects and surfaces you can use the product on. Remember to wear safety glasses, gloves and a respirator before you begin processing.

If hay beetles are infested in the kitchen, you need to throw away all food and leftover food that may have harbored lice. Next, all shelves and cabinets in the kitchen are treated with the selected insecticide, as well as the entire room.

How does infection occur?

These insects are unusually tenacious and can live in bedding, mattresses or crevices of wooden floors for years. Detecting an infection right away is almost impossible. Only after the parasites occupy several piles of linen in the closet and begin to rapidly multiply in the mattress can they be noticed.

It is a mistaken opinion that linen (body) lice are the lot of marginalized people. You can become infected in transport, in a store, and even in a queue. Wherever there is a large crowd of people and they touch each other's clothes, transmission of infection is possible.

Places where the risk of infection is highest:

• Bedding in long-distance trains (especially blankets and pillows, which are not always properly disinfected).
• Trying on clothes in a large shopping center or second-hand stores.
• When visiting a bathhouse, sauna or swimming pool, it is also quite possible to bring home this “gift”.
• Children often bring lice from camps and sanatoriums, along with parasites in their hair.
• In a hotel whose administration does not comply with established hygiene standards, there is also a risk of infection.
• In emergency hospitals, especially in the emergency department, do not leave items on chairs or benches. In such places, the risk of infection increases several times.

You shouldn’t go to extremes either; the percentage of the probability of infection with this type of parasite is no more than twenty.

Key dangers of book lice

The main danger of hay beetles for human health is the occurrence of an allergic reaction of varying severity from touching the insect or from contact with the place where it has been.

In many cases, such allergic manifestations are not dangerous for people and are usually mild. However, sometimes without proper assistance, a person may develop Quincke's edema, which threatens to suffocate.

Sometimes hay eaters can scare children and even adults. For some who suffer from entomophobia (fear of insects), lice can cause serious inconvenience and problems.

As a rule, the population of England, as well as some other European countries, suffers from book lice.

Danger and possible consequences of infection

Body lice are dangerous due to the following consequences:

1. Night sleep disorder.
2. Decreased concentration.
3. Anxiety.
4. Violation of the integrity of the skin and the appearance of purulent wounds on them.
5. Skin roughening - the insect injects a substance under the skin that reduces blood clotting. If the bite occurs several times in the same place, excessive accumulation of melanin occurs. The area of ​​skin becomes rougher, changes color, and begins to peel off.
6. Allergy to saliva and other insect waste products.
7. Folliculitis, eczema - the result of scratching bites.

Lice are carriers of Volyn fever, tularemia, and typhus . Of course, nowadays these diseases are very rare, but they still should not be excluded.

Important! Diseases such as AIDS and viral hepatitis cannot be tolerated by lice.

Life activity

Bed lice need human blood to thrive. To do this, 3-4 times a day they crawl onto the body, pierce the skin, sucking out up to 5 µl at a time. When a linen louse bites, it secretes saliva containing enzymes that prevent blood clotting. These enzymes cause specific reactions on the skin: pain, irritation, allergies.

The lifespan of one individual is on average 38 days. Every day, a linen louse lays 12-15 eggs (nits), which amounts to several hundred over the entire period. The embryo turns into an adult sexually mature louse in 5-7 days. If apartment types of bedbugs are active at night, then the linen louse also bites during daylight hours.

They actively reproduce in warm conditions (+31…+32ºC), withstand temperature fluctuations from 0º to +40ºC. At moderate temperatures (+10...+20º C), linen louse survives without food for up to 1.5 weeks, nits - much longer. They die when heated above +44ºC.

Body louse development cycle.

Peculiarities of book lice reproduction

Hay eaters can lay either 1 or several eggs at a time. On average, they produce up to 40 eggs in one day. The maximum number they can lay in 24 hours is 60 eggs.

Almost all eggs hatch into larvae in 99% of cases. The lifespan of an adult is related to its habitat: temperature, humidity and food availability. In the right conditions, healthy insects can live up to 53 weeks. However, even if there is no food, hay beetles can live indoors for quite a long time without it.

How to get rid of linen lice

When bed lice are detected, comprehensive control is necessary. You need to get rid of insects and nits that can be on the human body and on his things. If parasites are found in one of the family members, not only him, but all of them will have to be treated.

Firstly

It is necessary to destroy insects on clothes. To do this, it must be washed at temperatures above 40 degrees. To be on the safe side, you can pre-soak things in a pediculicide solution. After washing, you need to dry the clothes well, you can do it in the scorching sun or, conversely, in the cold. Then you should iron your clothes and linen on both sides with an iron. It is good to use a steam generator for processing.

If items cannot be washed in the usual way, they can be dry cleaned. If they are not subject to any processing at all, you need to put them in a sealed plastic bag and leave them there for 2 or 3 weeks. During this time, the parasites will die due to lack of food. Eggs laid during this time will not be able to develop and will die. After such imprisonment, the item must be thoroughly cleaned to remove insects, nits and traces of their presence.

You can also use the temperature method. For example, pillows, blankets, rugs can be taken out into the scorching sun or bitter cold. This is a folk method that does not lose its relevance. But things must be subjected to heat treatment for several hours.

Secondly

All furniture needs to be treated. For cleaning, you should use a steam generator or call special services that use professional cleaning products. Steam treatment is effective because it penetrates the entire thickness of the furniture and destroys insects that are deep under the upholstery.

Any home textiles and cabinet furniture should be treated with pediculicides. We recommend using preparations for the destruction of lice produced by MediLIS Laboratory LLC. All of them are effective against insects and nits, for the destruction of which one treatment is enough. There are preparations that can even be used to treat children over 5 years of age and their belongings.

Also, with insecticide solutions, you need to wash all floors and any surfaces in the room on which adult lice or eggs may remain.

Third

It is necessary to process all people living in this room. Despite the fact that body lice do not live on the human body, they can hide in hair, and nits can be found under skin flakes. On a person, a linen louse can survive difficult times, after which it will move to more comfortable conditions, where it will continue to live and reproduce. To ensure that you get rid of lice, you need to thoroughly wash your body and hair with pediculicidal products. To be on the safe side, comb your hair with a fine-toothed comb. That is, carry out the same treatment that is carried out when fighting head lice.

Considering that the incubation period for nits is 5–8 days, after a couple of weeks it is worth carefully inspecting the room, clothes and underwear to detect new individuals. Due to the small size of the eggs and their ability to survive difficult times in a state of suspended animation, it may turn out that even complex treatment does not destroy absolutely all nits. Therefore, additional checking and processing will not hurt.

Folk remedies

Ancient methods of fighting parasites have not lost their relevance. Previously, lice were treated with kerosene - they smeared the body with it and added it to the water when washing. Today such aggressive treatment is not used, but you can find many effective products that do not leave an unpleasant odor. Regular table vinegar (9%) diluted with water in a 1:1 ratio helps against insects. This solution is used to treat linen, clothing, hygiene items and personal items, and to wash floors and walls.

Turpentine, which dissolves the protective shell of linen parasites, has the same effect. People with hypersensitivity to strong chemical odors may be advised to use herbal infusions, such as tansy or milkweed. If you place dry twigs and leaves of fern, chamomile, tansy in the closet, their aroma will repel insects.

Bed lice cannot tolerate the smell of lavender and tea tree. A few drops of essential oil are added to water, poured into a spray bottle and treated with linen and clothes. Herbal decoctions can be added to the washing machine and wiped all the shelves and upholstery with them. After cleaning the room, be sure to take a hot bath.

Dust soap

A wonderful pediculicide, actively used by people. First, the soap is grated. The resulting shavings are dissolved in water and beaten. To completely remove lice, one treatment is sufficient. Remember that you need to carry out the processing procedure while wearing rubber gloves. Contact of dust soap with the skin is extremely undesirable. After the procedure, the laundry should be rinsed thoroughly. Do not neglect safety tips, as dust soap is a toxic substance.

Tar soap

This drug should be used like dust soap. Unlike the latter, tar soap does not pose a danger to human health. But the effectiveness of this remedy is much less.

Some herbs are also used against body lice, but it must be said that they are even less effective than tar soap, and they are used more as a prophylactic agent or for low degrees of infection.

You can wash infected laundry in mint decoction; the smell is simply disgusting to lice, but this remedy, of course, cannot be called effective. Lemon juice is also used to remove parasites; it is added in large quantities to the water in which contaminated laundry is washed. Also for this purpose, use an alcoholic infusion of angelica or a mint decoction.

Effective insecticidal preparations

It’s clear where pests come from, but not everyone knows how to quickly get rid of them. First, you need to wash and treat all things that the infected person has come into contact with. For this purpose, you can use a Karbofos solution prepared from 6 g of insecticide and 2 liters of hot water. Bed and underwear are soaked in the resulting product, applied to beds and chairs, and wiped all horizontal surfaces. After 40–50 minutes, the solution is washed off with clean water.

Some people advise adding Karbofos or kerosene to the washing machine, but this should not be done. You can soak clothes or linens in an insecticide solution, and then wash them at high temperatures and rinse. Boiling will help destroy parasites, and Karbofos can be replaced with the less toxic, effective Medifox. Outerwear, fur items, down jackets and feather pillows will have to be dry-cleaned, where they will be disinfected in a formalin-vapor chamber.

Then you need to start treating the body, for which you need to take a shower with any antiparasitic agent. For this purpose, special shampoos, ointments or sprays are used. The most popular means:

• con (effective against bedbugs, as well as fleas, cockroaches, scabies mites);
• lotion "Nittifor";
• means "Bubil";
• Pedilin shampoo;
• spray "Veda-2".

According to the instructions, prepare a solution or apply the preparations to clean skin for 20–40 minutes, wrapping the body in plastic wrap. After the allotted time, you can take a shower with soap or gel and rinse well with clean running water.

Complex treatment is carried out immediately, on the same day, to prevent re-infection. Washed and processed clothes are hung outside, where they are left to dry, and then carefully ironed.

This is perhaps the most effective drug. Its developers claim that it can get rid of not only lice, but also nits. Sold in aerosol form. It consists of two active components - Piperonibutoxide and Esdepalletrin. Before using the drug, things should be washed in the manner indicated above, after which the drug is sprayed over the entire surface of the clothing.

Akromed

The main active substance of this drug is Permethrin. It also contains kerosene, but there is no need to worry about the appearance of a characteristic odor. The drug is sold in the form of an emulsion, four liters of which is enough to treat 1 kilogram of things.

Forsyth

It is also a very effective drug, the main active ingredients of which are Permethrin and Fenthion. Sold in the form of an emulsion that requires preliminary preparation. 20 ml of the drug is diluted in a liter of water. To process a kilogram of things you will need 4 liters of ready-made solution. The treatment procedure requires repeating after a week.

Avicin

Active substance – Permethrin. To prepare the solution, take 1 part emulsion and 100 parts water. Soaking time for contaminated items is 25 minutes.

Celandine

The active substance of this drug is the same Permethrin. The drug is sold in the form of an emulsion, ready for use.

Prevention methods with hay eaters

The dilemma of how to exterminate hay beetles is familiar to residents of Russia. However, fortunately, this problem is not as widespread in our country as, for example, in the UK. Therefore, there are no special methods to combat hay beetles. However, there are tips and tricks to help remove these harmful bugs:

• You should pay special attention to cleanliness and hygiene in your apartment or house - wash the floors every day, wipe the dust off the bookshelves, take out the trash every day.
• If there are flowers and herbariums in the house, it is recommended to frequently wipe off the dust from them.
• It is better not to store old cereals and expired food in the kitchen. They need to be thrown into the trash so that they do not become a source of food for hay eaters.

If there are a lot of book lice in your home, only heavy artillery will help. For example, disinfection of premises, which is carried out using special chemical poisons. Special services can effectively deal with insects using insecticidal preparations. In very advanced cases, treatment with cold or hot fog will help, which will cover the entire area of ​​​​the apartment or house.

Help with bites

Having discovered bed lice bites on a person, the following tips will help alleviate the victim’s condition.

1. The first thing that means treating linen lice bites is maintaining hygiene. It is necessary to take a hot shower, thoroughly washing off any parasites that have entered the body. In some cases, pediculicidal drugs with antiparasitic properties are used, which are used according to the instructions. Wash off the composition from the skin using a detergent.
2. Hydrogen peroxide, Zvezdochka balm, tar soap or Rescuer will help reduce itching and relieve inflammation of damaged areas.
3. If allergies occur, it is necessary to take antihistamines and gels that relieve the allergic process.
4. Symptomatic therapy is necessary for skin complications and the development of pustular lesions.

Reader Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Is there an organization for the extermination of body lice and what is its name?

The state organization for treating premises against parasites is the SES. There are also private companies that, if they have a license, can also conduct similar events.

How quickly do linen lice reproduce?

The fertilized female lays eggs, which after a few days transform into larvae. The full cycle of transformation into a sexually mature individual takes about 2 weeks.

Do lice live in feather pillows?

Lice can live in pillows, including feather pillows.

How long does a body louse live without a person?

A body louse can live without its owner for 4 days; if the air temperature reaches 30 degrees or higher, then it will live only 1 day. But at temperatures below 9 degrees Celsius, the parasite goes into hibernation and can live without food for up to 2 weeks.

Prevention of body lice

The best method of preventing body lice is regular body hygiene, as well as timely washing of clothes and bed linen and subsequent heat treatment - ironing.

To avoid becoming infected with body lice, you must refrain from visiting the habitats of homeless people, do not use other people’s things, and also thoroughly wash items purchased at second-hand stores or spontaneous markets.

For many people, lice is a bolt from the blue; identifying the symptoms of lice literally comes as a shock. But there is nothing terrible or fatal about pediculosis, of course, if you deal with it in a timely manner. Treating your home, clothing, and using pediculicides will help quickly solve this problem.

Characteristics of the parasite

It is almost impossible to distinguish a body louse from a head louse with the naked eye: this is an insect with a characteristically elongated abdomen measuring 3-4 mm. Its chitinous body is grayish-yellow or whitish in color, almost transparent, therefore, when drinking blood, the parasite turns brown. Linen lice look abundantly saturated, almost like fleas, but, unlike the latter, they cannot jump.

With such an obvious similarity between the two varieties, if a linen louse accidentally lands on your head, it will not stay there for long. This is because the insect's legs are not designed to climb hair and lay eggs.

"Shelter" and food

The bed louse feeds on human blood. It feeds every three to four hours, but the insect does not need to constantly be on the body of the “owner”. Therefore, the parasite spends most of its life in the folds, seams and lint of clothing. Lice feel more comfortable in linen and cotton products. They avoid satin and silk: there is nothing to cling to.

The adaptability of parasites is amazing: pests almost never settle on woolen products, since people rarely wear such things on their naked bodies.

Life cycle

The lifespan of a male is a little less than a month, a female is about 45 days. During this time, she manages to lay approximately 100-140 nits (about four eggs per day). The life cycle of an insect can be roughly divided into five stages.

1. Egg. The rudiment of a louse, covered with a special sticky substrate, is called a nit. This formation is attached to the fibers of clothing so firmly that it is problematic to remove it mechanically.
2. Larva. After three days, a larva emerges from the nit, which outwardly looks like a small adult.
3. Nymph of the first instar. The insect drinks blood, after which it immediately molts, changing its chitinous body - now it is a first-instar nymph.
4. Nymph of the second age. After five days, the next molt occurs, and the parasite becomes a second instar nymph.
5. Adult. After another eight days, the third molt occurs, after which the louse becomes a sexually mature organism capable of reproducing.

The body louse travels from an egg to a sexually mature insect in 16 days under favorable conditions.

Harm

The body louse is a carrier of dangerous diseases: typhus (relapsing and typhus), Volyn fever. During the war, typhus, spread by pests, claimed thousands of lives. In the modern world, the likelihood of such infection is low. The main “trouble” caused by the parasite to humans is the bites of linen lice, the consequences of which are:

• unpleasant sensations - burning, itching;
• danger of infection - through the wound it is easier for pathogenic microorganisms to enter the blood;
• dermatological lesions - in advanced cases, scabs, suppurations, and pyoderma appear on the skin.

On a social level, a person infested with lice also experiences inconvenience, feeling discomfort when interacting with other people. The dermatological symptoms that result from a lice infestation are called body lice.

Where do they come from?

A body louse cannot live without food for more than five to seven days, so if you do not wear clothes that have been “occupied” by insects for at least a week, the adult louse will die. Therefore, by and large, the “carriers” of parasites are representatives of asocial groups and people who neglect the rules of personal hygiene.

However, anyone can accidentally “catch” lice. Infection occurs only through close contact with the tissues on which the parasites live: they cannot fly or jump. The risk group consists of volunteers, medical and social workers, people who come into contact with representatives of antisocial segments of the population. Where else do linen lice come from? You can catch the pest:

• when using someone else's bed linen and clothing;
• in a store fitting room;
• in places where large numbers of people gather;
• in kindergartens and schools.

Linen lice can be detected by two signs: the presence of bites on the body and the presence of the parasites themselves in clothing and bedding.