Head lice are very common. There are more than 12 million (reported) cases of infestation in USA alone.
Getting head lice does not mean that your house is dirty or that your family has a problem with personal hygiene. It simply means that you or your child have been in close contact with people that have head lice.
What Is Head Lice?
Head lice are tiny insects that don't have wings and live in human hair. They feed from human blood and attach their eggs (nits) to the base of the hair because it's humid and warm there. Lice cannot survive 24-36 hours without human blood. They are human parasites only and pets cannot carry them (don't confuse lice and fleas).
Despite popular belief head lice don't fly or jump. They crawl fast. Head to head contact and sharing things (such as a hat or a hair brush) are the most common ways parasites are spread.
There are about 12 million cases of infestation with lice every year in US alone. It is not a sign of uncleanliness, personal hygiene, or social status. They are not a health hazard and don't spread disease.
Head Lice Life Cycle.
There are 3 stages in the head lice life cycle: egg/nit, nymph, and adult louse.
- What is an egg/nit?
Eggs are laid usually near the scalp and are stuck to the hair with a very strong "glue." They are usually 1/2 – 1/4 inches (0.6 – 1.2 cm) from the root and attached to individual hair shaft at a certain angle. A female louse can lay 3 to 5 eggs daily and it takes about 7 to 10 days for them to hatch (they become what's called nits). Eggs are almost transparent and hard to see. They become more visible after 7-10 days.
A nit is a shell of the lice egg. Nits start out from being white-yellow and become more brown as they grow.
Eggs/nits are tiny and extremely hard to remove because of the "glue."
That's the reason we recommend using very fine Terminator comb together with Lice Good-Bye™ shampoo in our Head Lice Treatments section.
- What is a nymph?
Nymph is a fully hatched egg – newborn louse, in other words. Nymphs start sucking human blood almost instantly. They are smaller than adult head lice, can't mate or lay eggs but develop into adult louse in about 9-10 days.
- What is a louse?
Adult louse can live on human head for about 30 days. Females can lay up to 100 eggs in their lifetime. Full grown head lice are usually grey-brown to reddish color.
This is a full head lice life cycle. Please "Like" this page is this information was helpful.
Got Head Lice?
Head lice are parasites that are found worldwide. An estimated 6 to 12 million children 3 to 11 years of age are infested with head lice each year in the United States alone. Pre-school children attending childcare and elementary school kids are most affected categories.
Taboo
However, as with any other problem of this sort, there is not much going on about preventing head lice because this topic is kept quiet. The reason is – people think that if their kids get head lice there is something wrong with their home. They start to think it's dirty. People are ashamed to admit that their child or they have lice.
Parents need to understand that it's not their fault. Their children have lice just because they were in close contact with someone who had head lice. Unlike fleas, lice don't jump – they crawl very quickly – and can only be transmitted via direct or head-to-head contact.
It's completely fine to admit and talk about the subject of having and especially preventing head lice with other parents and school personnel.
How To Prevent Lice
There are a number of suggestions about how to prevent head lice and not go through the physical and emotional pain of having them:
- Education is the key: parents and schools need to talk and have some education about head lice. Parents should know that outbreaks of head lice have nothing to do with a social status, family's income, or level of personal hygiene.
- Watch for signs of lice – for example – frequent head scratching. Encourage parents to check regularly to prevent head lice. Examine family members and close contacts of a person with lice, and treat if infested.
- Avoid direct contact with a person who has lice, or with their clothing or personal belongings.
- Teach children not to share brushes, combs, hair ornaments, hats, caps, scarves, headsets or any other personal headgear.
- Do not try on other people’s hats (even in stores).
- Teach kids to hang coats separately and place hats and scarves inside coat/jacket sleeve.
- Make sure that schools, camps, or child care centers provide separate bedding and storage areas.
- Exclude children with head lice from going to school or day care to prevent head lice spread.
- Important fact: dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the spread of head lice. Fleas – possible, but not lice.
How to prevent head lice in schools:
- Regularly vacuum all rugs, floors, pillows, carpet squares, and furniture.
- Brushes or combs used on an infested individual should be immersed in water hotter than 130°F, Lysol®, rubbing alcohol or a pediculicide for one hour.
- Play clothing, linens, smocks and cloth toys worn or handled by an infested individual within 2 days before diagnosis should be washed in water hotter than 130°F, or machine dried at the highest heat setting for at least 30 minutes.
- Other articles may be dry-cleaned or sealed in a plastic bag for at least 14 days at room temperature or 24 hours in below freezing temperatures.
- It is not necessary to hire an exterminator: spraying or fogging schools with insecticides or pediculicides is NOT RECOMMENDED, and may be harmful if used in a poorly ventilated area.
Too Late?
The first possible sign that person is infested with head lice is if they developed itching on the scalp. The itching is caused by an allergic reaction to saliva of the head louse. These reactions may not be immediate and can take weeks to appear. However, don't automatically assume that your kid or someone else needs treatments for head lice just because they scratch their head. First thing you need to know is how to check for lice.
When checking for lice or nits, part the hair in several spots and use magnifying glass and bright light to spot them. Head lice and nits are most often can be found above and behind the ears and at the back of the neck. Work with very thin sections of hair.
How to check for lice? In the early stages signs of lice or nits are hard to find so please check carefully. Live head lice are tan to grayish-white color insects, move fast through hair and can be difficult to spot. So it might be easier to find nits. Nits look like dandruff but you can find the difference by pulling your fingernail across the area of the hair where you suspect a nit: dandruff will flake away but nit will not come off easily – they are firmly attached to individual hairs. The colors of nits vary and they can be white, somewhat translucent, dark brown, or grey.
We hope that you would not find any. But if, to your disappointment, you spotted signs of lice please don't be too discouraged. Please check our treatments for head lice on our "How To Get Rid Of Head Lice" blog or "Head Lice Treatments" products page for available products, reviews and info about getting rid of head lice. In addition, please check our Symptoms of Lice -> It's Not Your Fault category to not get discouraged and think that you or your house are dirty. Getting lice just means you've been around people that have lice which is very common.
Got Head Lice?
