Head Lice Essay Essay Example

Head Lice Essay Essay Example Head Lice Essay Essay Head Lice Essay Essay Head lice, spend their entire life on the human scalp, feeding on human blood. The hosts of the parasite are humans. They do not normally in breed, however it can happen. Head lice are more common in children however they can affect a person at age or gender whatsoever. The female louse lay 3-4 eggs per day, and the eggs attach to the base of the hair shaft. The eggs need to be kept warm so the female lays them close to the scalp in cool climates and in warm weather the eggs can be laid further away from the scalp. The eggs are attached by glue from the female reproductive system; the glue then hardens, and covers the hair shaft and large parts of the egg apart from the operculum which is where the embryo breathes. The eggs are approximately 8mm long; they can be bright to a tan coloured. After the egg is hatched, the nymph leaves its shell behind. The shell stays in the hair until it is removed by the lice or by accident. The nymph will moult three times before it reaches adulthood. The abdomen grows in size after each moult. Head lice cannot survive away from the human head. The lice will mate which produces fertile eggs. The lice may find a pair in the first 10 hours of adult live, and begin mating from then on at any time of the night or day. The lice feed 4-5 days a day on human blood to survive. The lice take over the whole head however, popular areas to find them are above the neck or behind the ears. Lice move by climbing from hair to hair with their claw like legs. They invest in a new head by close contact with two people. The most common ways for the lice  to spread is shared hair brushes, towels, clothing or head to head contact. Symptoms of head lice include: itchy scalp- especially behind the ears and at the back of the head. Prev Page Diphtheria Diphtheria causes bad inflammation of the trachea, nose and throat. It is a serious contagious disease. There is many symptoms and signs included in this disease, some may include runny nose. Thankfully, because of the vaccine diphtheria is rare in most developing countries. The disease is caused by the bacterium (Corynebacterium diphtheria. It makes  toxins which causes an strange membrane to grow in the throat, which can lead to possible suffocation. Some other dangerous complications are heart failure and paralysis through the body. About 10 percent of the people diagnosed with the diease die from it. Some of the signs and symptoms are: fever, breathing problems, swallowing problems, swollen lymph nodes in the throat, runny nose, servere sore throat, abnormal cardiac rythums, fever, generally feeling unwell, breathing and swallowing problems and a furry grey/ black coating on the throat membranes,  which is made up of bacteria and dead cells. The symptoms normally begin within two to seven days after infection. Sometimes a skin infection may take place which is called cutaneous diphtheria however, it is rare. The skin infection occours when the wound is inflamed, sore and full of puss. It may be surrounded by grey skin patches. If diphtheria goes untreated, serious complications may occur. Some include: kidney damage, nerve damage, which health problems depending on which nerves are affected, heart damage, including heart failure or inflammation. Diagnosis of diphtheria may include: travel history, medical history including immunisation history, physical examination and swabs of the throat or wound. The treatment available for diphtheria is: hospitalisation, isolation to prevent the spread of infection, antibiotics (penicillin which destroys bacteria), diphtheria antitoxin given and other medicins to reduce the risk of adverse reactions to the vaccine which may include corticosteroids, adrenaline or antihistamines, surgery to remove the grey membrane in the throat if needed, treatment of  complications and bed rest for six weeks or longer depending on how severe the illness is The best and easiest way to prevent diphtheria is immunisation, if you are caring for someone with diphtheria, you must use strict hygiene (washing hands, and get a vaccination booster). The disease is spread by direct physical contact or breathing the aerosolized individuals. Diphtheria is a rare disease and there hasn’t been any cases Prev Page reported since 2003. After symptoms occur, the person is urged to seek immediate medical attention.