Thursday September 11 / 2008

Thursday September 11/2008

12:10: The Health Roundup with Jay McQueen.

12:13: A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) today by a team of education researchers from McMaster University has found Internet instruction is generally effective.
Guest: Dr. Anthony Levinson, Director, e-Learning Innovation, Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, McMaster University.

12:20: Our favourite local chiropractors are back in the house.
Guests: Dr. Kathryn Wheatley and Dr. Jim Lamontagne, Regent Health and Chiropractic Centre over on Locke Street. (in-studio)

12:35: Expanding on the topic of diabetic foot care, we’ll move to a more wide ranging conversation about diabetes.
Guest: Dr. Perry Mayer, Mayer Institute for Advanced Diabetic Foot care.

12:45: Rexall Pharmacy segment.
Guest: Irene Hogan.


Head Lice
Head Lice are tiny insects that live on the scalp. They lay eggs, called nits which stick to their hair very close to the scalp. Head lice do not spread disease. Having lice does not mean you are unclean. Head lice are vey common among children, especially girls due to close contact. Daycares, schools are more likely to be infested, but Lice can affect persons of any age or socioeconomic group. Head lice affect‘s 1.5 million Canadian children per year. Cases of human louse infestations have steadily increased since the 1960’s affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Head lice are not a health hazard and do not contribute to the spread of disease. Head lice are spread through direct contact, or indirectly on items such as hats, combs, brushes or headphones. They can’t fly or hop, but can crawl very quickly. Head lice can’t live on pets such as cats or dogs. Head lice can live up to three days off the scalp. Although the eggs can survive for up to three days, they need a very warm environment to develop and very unlikely to hatch at room temperature. The head louse is about the size of a sesame seed, wingless, elongated and flat. It has short antennae and six legs that are capable of grasping hairs In order to crawl quickly. Narrow sucking mouthparts are hidden inside the head structure and are used to suck blood from the human scalp every 3-6 hours while injecting saliva. The life cycle of the head louse has three stages.
Stage 1/ eggs
• Oval, usually white in clour, may be mistaken for dandruff, are firmly attached to a hair shaft, close to the scalp
• Take about I week to hatch
Stage 2/ baby louse
• Lives on scalp and feed off human blood
• Matures in I week into an adult louse
• If a nymph falls off a person it usually survives only one day
Stage 3 / Adult Louse
• Size of a sesame seed, has 6 legs and is tan to grayish-white
• Females lay nits, they are usually larger than males
• Can live up to 30 days on a persons head
• Feeds on human blood
• If falls off a person, it may survive up to two days
What to look for
• One of the first signs is itching and scratching the head
• Lice are hard to see, good lighting is essential
• Nits are easier to see
• Nits are firmly attached to the hair close to the scalp, they may look like dandruff, but can’t be flicked off.

Treatment
There are very effective treatments for head lice, all treatment contain an insecticide. You must wash in hot soapy water, all hats, scarf’s, hairbrushes, combs, hair ribbons, pillowcases, towels, bed linens and machine wash all stuffed toys and coats. Wash all items after first and second treatments. Items that can not be machine washed should be dry cleaned or placed in an airtight bag for 10 days to two weeks. Excessive house cleaning is not necessary but vacuum surfaces where heads may have rested, sofas, seats of cars, ect.

Rexall #0202 Blog Reporter Nadine Janacek