Assignment: NUR 117 Pediculosis Guide
Assignment: NUR 117 Pediculosis Guide
9. A nurse is teaching a parent of a child who has Pediculosis. Which of the following statements from the parent indicates an understanding of the teaching?
ORDER NOW FOR AN ORIGINAL NURSING ESSAY ASSIGNMENT ON: Assignment: NUR 117 Pediculosis Guide
Assignment: NUR 117 Pediculosis Guide5.6 Period of Communicability
As long as lice or eggs remain viable on the infested
person or on fomites (5). The adult’s life span on
the host is about one month (5). Away from the
scalp, head lice survive less than two days at room
temperature, and their eggs generally become
nonviable within a week and cannot hatch at a
lower ambient temperature than that near the scalp
(2).
Assignment: NUR 117 Pediculosis Guide
6. Diagnosis
The definitive diagnosis of head lice requires the
detection of a living louse (1, 3, 8). Good light,
preferably daylight, is required for detection (8).
Lice can be identified with the naked eye; the
diagnosis can be confirmed by using a hand lens or
microscope (3). Young lice (nymphs) are 1 to 2
mm in length and are difficult to see without a
magnifying glass (9). Because head lice avoid light
and can move quickly (3), their detection requires
expertise and experience (1). Wetting hair with
water, oil or a conditioner and using a fine-tooth
comb may improve the ability to diagnose (2, 3).
One study indicated that combing with a finetoothed lice comb was four times more effective
and twice as fast as direct visual examination for the
detection of live head lice (10). Louse detection and
removal combs that have flat-faced, parallel-sided
teeth are preferred (8).
There is a small probability that individuals with
eggs but without lice will develop an infestation
(9). It is very difficult to distinguish viable from
nonviable eggs with the naked eye (9). A viable egg
is more likely to be found close to the scalp (less
than 0.6 cm away) (1). On microscopy, a viable egg
is intact, containing a well hydrated mass or a
discernibly developing embryo (1). The nit is the
empty eggshell (egg casing) that remains after the
nymph has hatched