Head Lice Treatment - Essay Example

'Head Lice Treatment' is an outstanding example of a paper on drug therapy. 
Head lice refer to very small insects that often feed on the human scalp’s blood. Head lice infestation, which can also be termed as pediculosis capitis, mostly affects children. It typically results from direct transmission of lice right from an individual’s to the other (GLASER, 2006). The infestation of head lice is not really an indicator of poor hygiene or a dirty living environment. This is in the sense that they do not transfer any form of infection.

Head lice treatment is usually recommended for individuals who have been entirely diagnosed with an active infestation. In such a case, all the members of the household, as well as the other close contacts, must be checked since head lice transfer is often as fast and vigorous as possible. Those who have been duly diagnosed with any evidence of active infestation have to receive the medication (VAN SCHIE, VAN SCHIE, 1993). Some professionals believe that the prophylactic form of treatment is more prudent for individuals who tend to share a bed with actively-infested persons. Such a scenario hence calls for equal treatment of both partners.

When treating the head lice, some of the supplemental measures have to be mixed with the medicine recommended by the pharmacologists. Such additional measures, however, are not generally required for complete elimination of head lice. For instance; hats, pillowcases, scarves, bedding, towels and clothing that are often used by the infested individuals within the 2-day time- period should be totally disinfected and soaked in hot water so as to kill any existing eggs (BURROUGHS WELLCOME COMPANY & NIX CREME RINSE, 1992). 

Generally, various head lice medicinal are obtainable "Over-the-counter" with or without any form of prescription from the local pharmacy or drug store. Each and every type of over-the-counter medication that has been under approval by the FDA for head lice treatment often contains either of the following ingredients that include; pyrethrins,  permethrin lotion, among others (ROYSTON, 2009). Here, the main role of pharmacists is to educate the patients and consumers on the ultimate use of the prescriptions as well as over-the-counter medicinal, and provision of advice for the health professionals with regards to drug decisions. The other major roles of pharmacists with regards to the over the counter medication are the aspect of ensuring the quality of those drugs in terms of content, as well as the aspect of inscribing the required dosage as per each and every sold drug or medication. In addition to this, the pharmacists also work towards categorizing the types of drugs that should be sold over the counter.

From a personal perspective, I have come across various resources with regard to the medication aspects. Some of these sources include the pharmacies, health centers, as well as over the counter, among others. The best resource so far, for simply solving petty problems such as the head lice infestation can be through the aspect of buying the recommended drugs over the counter. This is simply because head lice infestation and the likes have got no bacterial nor viral infections associated with them.