Can Untreated Head Lice Affect Your Health
Not only will an untreated infestation become severe but the side effects of that are serious. Firstly, it will become very uncomfortable for the person who has it. They may itch uncontrollably. It will smell because of the build-up of bacteria on the lice, on their eggs and in and on their excretions, which will be deposited on the scalp. The persons sleep can be disrupted, sometimes severely. With the itching there is a risk of tearing the scalp and introducing infection. Blood disorders like anaemia are not unknown. The term feeling lousy comes from having head lice, where the lice feeding off someones blood can run that person down and give them low-level, flu like symptoms. Extreme infestations that have gone untreated for a long time can result in toxic-shock syndrome.
And beyond the health implications there will be social consequences where people will avoid someone with an untreated, severe infestation. They will be socially shunned which can have deep and lasting psychological consequences for them.
Leaving a head lice infestation untreated, or even treating it in a casual way is simply not a wise thing to do.
Do This If You Absolutely Must Sleep With Wet Hair
We dont always have the luxury of having access to a hair-dryer. Maybe your home is out of electricity for the night. Or perhaps your dryer just broke down.
Whatever the case, here are some ideas that will minimize the risks of sleeping with dry hair.
- Put your hair up in a bun or pigtails
This is the easiest way to keep wet strands out of your face and body while you sleep. You can use elastics that dont leave too many marks on your skin, such as silk ones, to tie back all of your damp locks. The downside of? this option is that youll have to sleep with your hair up every night since its not comfortable enough to wear down.
- Apply moisturizing lotion
Look for lotions that are specially made to moisturize your scalp, such as coconut oil or shea butter. These oils will help the skin absorb more water and stay hydrated throughout the night. The downside of this option is that it can make your hair look greasy if you dont wash it out in time before going to work.
- Cover Your Hair when You Go to Bed
This is a good option if you cant stand having your hair in a bun or pigtails. A silk or satin cap will make the strands feel softer and more comfortable on your head, while also preventing them from tangling with one another during sleep. Youll wake up to less frizziness and breakage.
- Use scented dry shampoo
- Use a Silk Pillowcase
Cotton pillows wont treat your hair well. They are also known for trapping dirt and dust mites, which can cause an itchy scalp.
Diet Deficiencies: Your Hair Is What You Eat
The essential vitamins and nutrients, like protein, that you get from a healthy, varied, and well-balanced diet ensure good health all throughout your body, making sure all your organs and internal systems are working just as they should. Poor nutrition or following a severely restrictive crash or fad diet can lead to all kinds of nutrient deficiencies, which in turn can result in hair loss, from thinning hair to patches of baldness.
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Reason #: Lifelong Dependancy On Minoxidil
Ok, so lets recap: You quality for Minoxidil, youre willing to take your chances, and you are able to delay gratification in exchange for long-term hair regrowth.
But are you ready to spend the rest of your life using Minoxidil 1-2 times per day in order to maintain a decent head of hair?
Youd better be but you already knew that if you carefully read the quotations from the sources we cited thus far.
If you missed it, no worries let us emphasize the point again:
Once you stop using the minoxidil, it will take a maximum of 6 months to lose all of the hair that was regrown in the first place. Likewise, your balding will speed up or resume if the minoxidil had slowed down or altogether stopped your balding.
And as an indefinite user of Minoxidil, your wallet should be fat enough to shell out $30-40/month for a constant supply of the hair loss medication.
Someones obviously making a lot of money from this drug, and it isnt you.
Another Strike For Burt’s
Then you have those people who get caught up in trying to attempt something different, like the Burt’s Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar, and well, it ends up being a total failure.
Any hairdresser will confirm with you off the bat that a shampoo bar is a big no no just don’t do it. Although this product looks refreshing and soothing, it has the opposite effect. As a user told Total Beauty,
“Not only did it not clean my hair, dried it to a Brillo pad. It’s an item to bring with you on a camping trip, I suppose, but not if you intend on combing out your hair afterward.
I had to re-enter the shower and use half a bottle of conditioner to get my hair somewhat approachable,”
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How Could A Class Action Lawsuit Help
A class action lawsuit, if successful, could help consumers get back some of the money they spent on the shampoos and hair products listed above. It could also force the companies who make the products to be more upfront about the possible side effects of using shampoo and hair products that contain DMDM hydantoin and sodium lauryl sulfate.
Bed Bugs Carry Disease
Unlike a mosquito, mattress bugs can not transfer blood-borne diseases from one host to another. While the bites are truly itchy and annoying, there is no chance you will settlement a disease from a bedded computer virus. However, a few people may be allergic to bed malicious program bites.
The bites could bring about large welts, or even hives. Excessively scratching the bites could reason different issues, too, like secondary infections or skin abrasions. If you begin to be aware of bites getting worse, or feel like they might be infected, name your doctor.
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Autoimmune Diseases That Affect Hair
Alopecia areata is often associated with an autoimmune disease, so it’s thought that some forms of hair loss can be caused by one of these medical conditions or is at least somehow related to it. Diabetes and lupus are two autoimmune diseases that can result in hair loss. This type of hair loss may not always be reversible it may sometimes be permanent. But medications and hair restoration surgeries may help compensate for any hair loss.
You Have An Underlying Illness
Periods of prolonged or severe illness can affect your hair. As with extreme stress and extreme diets, this also comes down to the body preserving its energy balance and shutting down non-essential functions in order to battle the illness more effectively, Berg says. In fact, physicians have used an inspection of the fingernails and hair quality as part of standard examinations of overall health for many years. Changes in these features provide some clues about the length and severity of illness. Other diseases, such as diabetes and lupus, also can cause hair loss. Covid-19 and hair loss are also linked. The temporary shedding, telogen effluvium, is due to high levels of stress and also occurs with other significant illnesses or surgery.
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Trauma Causes Hair Loss
Partial Truth: Physical and emotional trauma can cause hair to fall out, but, if it was meant to grow back, it will. Stress and anxiety are two big culprits of hair loss and can cause large portions of hair to fall out. Dietary and medication changes attribute to this as well. Quick shifts in weight loss and gain can also contribute to loss or thinning.
Are There Any Lice Treatments That Wont Cause Damage
At My Hair Helpers, we do not recommend any over the counter lice products because they contain chemicals and acute pesticides. Their job is to eradicate head lice and lice eggs and they usually end up drying out the scalp in the process. Some people end up with dry flaky skin and dandruff following a store-bought head lice treatment.
Fortunately, you do have other options. My Hair Helpers carries a line of head lice removal and prevention products that are safe for all ages. We have a head lice shampoo and conditioner that hydrate and nourish the hair. When combined with wet combing and a fine tooth lice comb, you can remove lice from your hair without doing damage.
Shop our products online or through our , or schedule an appointment in our head lice salon if you live in southern California. My Hair Helpers is proud to deliver the safest, most effective head lice treatment services for all ages!
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Habit : Sleeping In A Dry Room
We know the havoc a dry environment can wreak on our skin, but we dont often consider that it can have very similar and equally negative effects on our hair. If your bedroom is typically dry, or if you have a heater on, your hair might suffer from the dry air. “Never go to bed with central heat on, that can dry your hair out,” says Chavez. Try investing in a humidifier to keep your locks from getting dried out .
Ranked: 25 Shampoos That Are Actually Damaging Our Hair More Than We Know
Before I used it, my hair was normally very soft, but now it almost feels like it’s going to break.”
If there is one thing in this world that is an absolute necessity and that we cannot live without, it’s our beloved shampoo. It’s the most important part of getting amazing tresses. But, although a shampoo can look or smell amazing, it doesn’t always mean it’s good for your hair. The same goes for shampoos that have many hair-boosting claims. You might just find that they do more damage to your locks than good. There are also many toxins that are hiding in lovely-smelling shampoos sold on the market – or those which your hairdresser recommends – which is why it’s so important to be aware of the shampoos to avoid.
Here are 25 shampoos that are best kept out of your bathroom, and why.
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Millions Of People Both Men And Women Experience Hair Loss
Truth: Hereditary hair loss is a medical condition that affects about 30 million women and 50 million men of all ages. Hair loss can be inherited from either the mothers or fathers side, and there is such a thing as female pattern baldness as well as male pattern baldness, though it affects men more often. The medical term for both is androgenic alopecia.
How To Spot Thinning Hair
There are common tell-tale signs of hair loss that we can identify before the problem escalates, says Dr Kayat. If your ponytail feels thinner or your parting appears wider, those could be signs that your hair is thinning. You might also notice that when you wash your hair in the shower or brush your hair before bed, theres more hair coming away.
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What Does The Research Say
The complaints about both sulfates and formaldehyde seem largely anecdotal.
At this time, there is no evidence that sulfates affect hair loss, says Amy Forman Taub, MD, FAAD, a board certified dermatologist in Illinois.
The same is true for formaldehyde.
Its not formaldehyde, but the formaldehyde donor used as a preservative that keeps getting cited as a problem, albeit incorrectly, explains Ranella Hirsch, MD, FAAD, a board certified dermatologist in Massachusetts. This has been used as a preservative for decades If these claims were accurate, we would have seen loads of .
Thats not to say these ingredients dont cause other problems.
When You Use Too Many Products
Why it happens: Product buildup
We all want perfect hair. But when we pile on several products at a time, we can block our follicles. This creates the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive, especially if you sweat, increasing the chances of inflammation, itchiness and pain.
Aggressive hair dyes and bleach can also cause major irritation and pain.
What you can do about it: Take a scalp detox.
Sometimes your scalp just needs a break! If you’re constantly applying haircare products, refrain for a few days to give the skin and follicles in this area a chance to breathe and regulate themselves.
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Intense Emotional Or Physical Stress
When you’re experiencing something stressful or traumaticnot your average day-to-day stress, but something big and life-altering like a divorce, a death in the family, a significant job change, or a big moveyou may experience a temporary halt in hair growth as your body puts its resources toward getting you through said big event.
“Hairs dont all grow at the same rate,” Dr. Schlosser explains. “Some are growing, some are resting, and some are actively being shed. When you have these conditions, your body halts hair growth, and then things get restarted and all these hairs that have been halted start to get pushed out at the same time.” The same thing can happen with physical stress and trauma, like having a big operation, being hospitalized, or even losing a significant amount of weight very quickly.
Usually this type of hair shedding is temporary. But if it bothers you, check in with a dermatologist to learn more about styling changes and products you can use to make your hair look and feel fuller.
When You Have A Bacterial Or Fungal Overgrowth
Why it happens: Infection
If you’re also dealing with bumps, scabs, and burning or stinging sensations, you might have an infection. The culmination of these factors tight hairstyles, tugging on your hair, product buildup can also be a sign of infections such as scalp folliculitis, aka a bacterial or fungal infection around the follicles on your scalp. According to Dr. Nichols, “Yeast, bacteria and mites may also cause folliculitis, which can cause pain or burning.”
What you can do about it: Seek professional help.
Thankfully, there are several ways to remedy folliculitis. Consult with your medical doctor, a dermatologist or a trichologist to find out the best way to treat it.
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