Kwentong Kuto: Sanhi at Paano Maiiwasan Ito

Horror story in 3 words : Mama! Ang kati! (Mom, it's itchy!) 

Head lice. Photo not mine. Please. Hehe. CTTO

Awww... poor little ones. I remember when my kids were still small, we had a yaya with lice or kuto! Horrible.

Ang suyod. Kilala nyo ba siya?

And the only way I know to get rid of them (lice) was with the use of suyod (lice comb) but have not been proven to be fully effective in completely eradicating head lice.

Because my kids are clingy, there's really a big chance for them to get afflicted and me too. So, the nightmare happened. My kids experienced sleepless nights, they became restless because of itcy scalp and bugnutin every morning due to lack of sleep. Kung hindi lang namin kailangang -kailan ng Yaya noon coz MITD and I were both working, pinaalis na namin siya. Agad agad. Kasi kawawa ang mga anak ko. Ang iba pang ginawa namin, lahat ng gamit niya, pinakuluan para mamatay pati nits (itlog) . Nangangati na naman ako kapag naalala ko yun, feeling ko may gumagapang sa ulo ko! Pero hindi din siya nagtagal kasi kailangan nya umuwi sa kanila kasi namatay daw ang father-in-law niya (common excuse ng mga yaya namin na minsan iisipin mo kung double dead na ba ang mga FIL at gasgas na rason nila para lang makalipat sa iba - this is a different story. lol ) Ang sumunod na nag alaga sa mga bata namin salamat naman at malinis sa katawan at walang kuto! 

Recently I was invited to a bloggers' event where head louse is the topic. Bida na naman ang mga kuto, mga nanay! Pero ngayon mas marami akong nalaman na is-share ko sa inyo para puksain o maiwasan na mahawa ang ating mga anak at tayo mismo kasi wala siyang pinipiling age at gender. 

Ano nga ba ang head lice?

What are head lice? Lice is plural for louse. Head lice or kuto are parasites that are found on human heads. They are spread by personal contact of sharing of combs, brushes, caps, towels and other clothing. Head lice are a common problem with pre-school and school children. Ayan, ayan, iwasan ang hiraman ng mga gamit. Lagi nating ipaalala sa ating mga anak ito.

Sino ang pwedeng magkaroon nito?

Who is at risk for getting lice?

Anyone who comes in close contact with someone who already has head lice, or even their contaminated clothing and other belongings, is at risk for acquiring head lice. So it is easy to transmit head lice from one person to another. Preschool and elementary-school children (7-12 years of age) and their families are infected most often. Girls contract head lice more often than boys. Bakit common sa bata at mostly babae? Kasi sila ang mga clingy na kahit kakakilala pa lang na bagong classmate naka yakap agad at akala mo close na sila. Nakakatuwa na malambing ang ating mga anak pero nakakatakot na mahawa sa ibang bata na may kuto di ba? Kaya distancia amiga muna. Kasi hindi naman natin titignan isa-isa ang ulo ng mga kaklase nila kaya paalalahanan na lang natin ang ating mga anak.

I-share ko na lang din ang naikwento sa amin sa event. Meron isang batang babae ,nasa Grade 2 na siya nang kalbuhin siya ng nanay niya because of kuto. Kasi yun lang ang alam ng nanay niya na way para mawala ang kuto niya. Dahil nahihiya na siya pumasok kasi tampulan siya ng tukso na kalbo! Kalbo! Kalbo!, tumigil siya sa school at next school year na pumasok nung medyo mahaba haba na ang hair niya. Nung nasa Grade 5 siya, g-graduate na ang mga dapat ka-batch niya, nalungkot siya. Mas lalo nung College na siya, yung mga ka batch niya working na siya nag aaral pa. Malaki ang epekto sa kanya ng pagkakaroon ng kuto nung bata siya at isang taon na pag tigil sa pag-aaral. Tignan nyo mga nanay/tatay ang liit ng kuto pero ang laki ng pwedeng maging epekto sa ating mga anak. 

Paano nga ba mapupuksa at maiiwasan magkaroon ng kuto?

For effective elimination of head lice, the infested individual, family members that are also infested, and the home must all be treated. It is important to remember that treatment should only be started if there are clearly live lice identified. The ideal treatment of lice should be safe, free of toxic chemicals, readily available without a prescription, easy to use, effective and inexpensive. Good thing Aspen Philippines, a subsidiary of Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited, Africa's largest pharmaceutical manufacturer and the biggest listed pharmaceutical group in the healthcare sector of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange aims to make high-quality branded medicines available to Filipino patients at affordable cost. Permethrin (Kwell) for head lice is one of their products and "Kwella sa Es-Kwella at Komunidad" ang isa sa kanilang mga healthcare programs as a response to the Dept. of Education's (DepEd) need for information campaign on proper hygiene and treatment for pediculosis (head lice). Kwell is the number one head lice treatment certified by IMS Health. The said program was insitutionalized by Aspen Philippines as a result of the 2012 DepEd and University of the Philippines (UP) statistics which revealed that pediculosis (head lice) is ranked as the 2nd most common ailment among public school children aged 7-12 years old. Based on DepEd data, almost 9M or 84% of students are afflicted with head lice. Oh my gulay! Nakakatakot! At pwede na naman magkaroon ang anak ko kase grade school siya sa public school. Huhu. Pero huwag naman sana kasi malaki talaga ang magiging epekto ng pagkakatoon nito sa mga bata. While it seems like a small problem, pediculosis presents a negative impact on children's self-confidence. It is one of the causes of absenteeism, loss of concentration, attentiveness and poor academic performance. That is why it is imperative that we treat them right away and make our kids enjoy school without the worry of lice. 

Humanda ka Kuto! Dahil handa na kami 😂

Buti na lang naka ready na kami if ever! Mayroon na kaming Kwell shampoo for the treatment of head lice and their eggs (kuto at lisa) and prevention for those at risk.

Permethrin (Kwell) is more economical. Use it once to get rid of lice then repeat after 7 days to make sure that no nits have been left and that's it. Hindi kailangan araw-arawin. Kaya naman ang kanilang tagline ay , Sa Permethrin (Kwell), Isang Hugas. Kuto Todas! 😊

Malapit na naman ang pasukan... kailangan maging vigilant sa mga kuto na yan para sa mga anak natin at sa buong pamilya na rin. Kami handa na! Kayo ba? Ingat-ingat.

Have a happy and itchy-free day! 😘