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'Uku Season
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Adult 'uku, picture courtesy of the CDC
A recent letter from my children's school indicated to me that 'uku season is upon us.
'Ukus are more commonly known outside of the islands as head lice or nits, and are small, stout creatures with crab-like claws and a voracious appetite for blood.
These pararasitic insects tend to grasp on to certain types of hair, actually preferring straight and wavy locks, which tend to be flat and oval, over other textures because of its build and claw shape.
The typical life span of these creatures are 30 days, and in this time frame a single female adult is known to lay anywhere from 150-300 eggs.
According to the U.S Center of Disease Control, these anthropods are only spread through human-to-human contact, and can be avoided by not sharing personal effects i.e, hairbrushes, hats, scarfs, etc. by keeping away from activities that require head-to-head contact, and by staying away from beds, couches, pilows, rugs, carpets or stuffed toys that have been recently played with by an infected person.
If you or your loved on comes in contact with 'ukus, make sure that all clothing, bed linens, etc. are washed thoroughly in hot water, and dried on the higest heat of your dryer. Vacuum areas that nits are suspect to hide, paying close attention to places that a carrier spent time in. And finally, use special medicated shampoos in the hair to kill the lice, and an ultra-fine toothed comb to remove the carcasses after washing. Parents should also keep children home until all of the 'ukus are completely dead and removed from the hair.
Because it is possible for one to get a bacterial infection from 'uku bites, see a doctor immediately if you or your child are experiencing any pain, burning or other abnormal sensations. This could be a signal that additional antibiotics are required.
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