Doctors find 'large number of' lice, eggs on 3-year-old Chinese boy's eyelashes. See pics

When a three-year-old boy in China complained of eye irritation and itching, doctors were expecting to find an infection, what they did however find was a large number of head lice and its eggs stuck to the boy's eyelashes.

As per an "extremely rare" case in American Journal of Ophthalmology Case Reports, the boy had visited an ophthalmologist, complaining of intense itching, “abnormal” secretions around his eyes, and swelling and redness for more than a week, New York Post reported.

During the inspection, doctors found “a large number of nits,” or lice eggs and lice “tightly adhered” to the lashes on his right eye. "A careful examination revealed translucent parasites creeping slowly along the eyelashes," the report stated. The boy's parents revealed he often played with sand and rubbed his eyes with unwashed hands.

Abnormal secretions are visible on the right upper eyelashes. (Image credit: sciencedirect.com)

Despite the infestation, the boy's vision was not affected by the parasites, the publication reported. The doctors then trimmed his eyelashes and removed the lice and their eggs, and disinfected the eyelid margin with compound iodine disinfection cotton swabs. The child experienced immediate relief from the symptoms and was given ointment and eye drops to apply.

Lice usually appear on the scalp, skin, or pubic hair and feed on human blood. They are often spread from close contact, shared belongings, contact with contaminated furniture or sexual contact, the Mayo Clinic stated.

In a (slightly) related incident, a 3,700-year-old ivory comb was found last November inscribed with a 'spell' to eradicate beard lice.

“May this tusk root out the lice of the hair and the beard" was inscribed on the comb found at the Tel Lachish site in 2017, but the 17 letters in Canaanite language were not noticed until 2022 following further examination, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem said in a statement.  Researchers also believed that the sentence inscribed onto the comb was a "spell" to "root out lice".