You have discovered that you or someone in your family is infested with head lice. What do you do?
Don’t panic. Be thorough in following these directions and those on the packaged head lice treatment that you will find at the pharmacist. Paying careful attention to directions will eradicate the lice and prevent them from returning.
Caution: These medicated products are insecticides and should not be used on children under the age of 2.
Be sure to check with your physician or pharmacist before using them on anyone who is pregnant, nursing, or has asthma or other medical conditions.
Head lice are tiny parasitic insects that like to live among human hairs. If you are a parent of school aged children, you may know that head lice are epidemic in schools today. If you or your children have experienced being in infested with them, you may take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Every year, 6 to 10 million people in the US have head lice. Three quarters of those are school children under the age of 12. As you can see, this is a very common problem. While very annoying, they are not dangerous. They don’t spread disease, and contrary to popular belief, they seem to like clean hair as opposed to dirty hair. Head lice cannot live on animals. If your animals have lice, they will not infect you. – (Those are different lice.)
What do they look like? Adult lice are usually reddish brown in color with no wings and are about the size of a sesame seed. Females lay from 50 to 150 eggs that appear as shiny white, yellow, tan or brown dots. Empty eggshells are called nits. (Sometimes the word nit is used for both the egg and the empty shell.) Eggs are about half the size of a pinhead. Individual eggs are glued to hairs close to the scalp and hatch after 5 to 10 days.
What are the symptoms? The first indication of an infestation is itching or scratching, then, there may be small red bumps. Sometimes children will develop some swelling of their lymph glands.
To check for lice, use a bright light and look closely for adult lice and for eggs. Look from different angles since newly laid eggs are almost transparent. Adult lice will move quickly to avoid the light. Eggs and nits will be seen on the hair shaft. They can be distinguished from dandruff because they stick to the hair and are not easily removed.
Are lice contagious? Lice are highly contagious. They spread from person to person in group settings, such as schools, playgrounds, and slumber parties. They don’t fly or jump but they do crawl and they cling to hair shafts. They spread when children, or adults, get their heads together. They also spread from sharing combs, brushes, hats, clothes, even bed linens.
Dieting and feeling deprived does nothing to improve my attitude. That kind of diet is short lived and ends in failure and see-saw weight loss and gain.
It is possible to change your diet, in order to lose weight, without feeling deprived. This involves “fat-causing” habits--exchanging them for habits that cause weight loss and weight stabilization.
Use these tips to lose pounds and maintain stable weight.
Recognize what makes you over-eat and work to change those habits
Often hunger pains are nothing more than dehydration. Before you eat, try drinking water first. Buy bottled water by the case and always have a bottle available
Don’t skip meals. Skipping meals may slow your metabolism. It saps your energy and increases the risk of eating the wrong things like grabbing a candy bar or a fast-food cheeseburger on the run.
Plan ahead to eat four smaller meals throughout the day.
Cut out 'white' - bread, cereal, rice, pasta. Eat only 100% whole grain!
Eat well-balanced meals.
Fruits, vegetables and whole grains offer large portions for a small amount of calories. A meal should include:
Large serving of vegetables
Fat Free Milk
If you need a desert, eat fruit
Small bowl of grapes
One ounce of Nuts
Baby carrot sticks
Over 600,000 Americans, under the age of 65, have early onset Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia. Add to that the number of those who are over 65 and the threat begins to hit home.
It’s time for my yearly checkup with the doctor and I’ve been thinking about my health. I worry about preventing stroke – which seems to run in my family.
They (health and nutrition authorities) keep telling us, “Cut down on the amount of fat in your daily diet.” What does this mean exactly? Our bodies need some fat to function. Fat is important to brain health, among other things. What fat do I cut out?
According to the health care authorities, we should cut out or severely limit solid fats and trans-fat.
Trans-fat is essentially man-made fat that has been found to contribute to the risk of heart attack. Researchers estimate 6 to 19 percent of heart attacks and related deaths per year could be avoided by eliminating trans-fat.
Doctors talk about good fat and bad fat. Food fats are polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids. These fats are liquid at room temperature and are found in fish, nuts, and vegetables.
Monounsaturated fats are found in:
· Olives and olive oil
· Canola oil
· Peanut oil
Polyunsaturated fats are found in:
· Safflower oil
· Cottonseed oil
Saturated fat is found in:
· Whole milk
· Ice cream
· Red meat
· Coconut milk
· Coconut oil
Trans-fat is found in:
· Most margarine
· Vegetable shortening
· Partially hydrogenated vegetable oil
· Deep-fried chips
· Many fast foods
· Most commercial baked goods
I can see that more planning is needed to change my way of eating, beginning at the grocery store. I’ll read labels and be sure that low fat items don’t compensate by adding more sugar or salt. I’ll focus on fruits, vegetables and 100% whole grain products. I’m told if I change my eating habits for the better my chances of becoming a stroke victim will diminish.
Dietary guidelines call for anywhere from five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetable a day depending on your calorie intake. So the mid-line is nine servings every day. That’s four and one half cups.
These healthy habits were suggested:
Always eat breakfast. This is the meal that many people skip when trying to lose weight but they shouldn’t. A healthy breakfast gets your metabolism going – helping to start burning calories. Choose whole grain cereal – not the sugared kind! – with fruit or low fat yogurt.
It is permissible and even suggested that you eat a couple of small, healthy snacks between meals. This helps to keep you from over-eating at mealtime.
Losing weight comes from consuming fewer calories than you use during the day.
Portion control is of utmost importance. Plan ahead. Don’t prepare more than you need or don’t put it on your plate.
Eat slowly. Always sit while eating.
Drink water or unsweetened ice tea with your meal for a fuller feeling.
Exercise. Start an exercise routine so that you are burning more calories. You can start with as little as a 20 to 30 minute walk every day.
Lynne Chapman served as Hair Site Editor of BellaOnline.com for fifteen years. She is a professional stylist and colorist of more than forty years.