How does this infestation occur?



Head lice have no problem finding their way from child to child. This is so readily enabled because children offer such a smaller personal zone than adults. In other words, kids tend to get close and contact one another during moments of play. As a result, a child that is infested creates an easy path for the lice on their head to pass across. Subsequently as the children then return to the closeness of their family and as parents get close to hug or kiss the child, they become infested, and before long so to is the entire family.

The easiest (and most common) way for a head louse to move from person to person is from head to head contact or close contact. However, there is also the possibility of getting head lice from clothing and personal items like brushes. You can even get head lice from chairs and pillows where an infected individual has she hair. Although possible, these methods of initial infestation aren't as prevalent because without a human host the common head louse does not have long to live.

Are some people more prone to infestation?

Yes, statistically speaking girls generally get infested more so than boys. This may be due in part to the fact that females have longer hair than men in most cases, thus making it easier for hair to hair contact and for lice to gain a foothold and lay eggs.

What do head lice look like?

Well this depends on stage of development that the louse is in. There are three different stages of development for the louse. The first is the egg. The common head louse egg is about the size of a grain of sand. The eggs are actually laid quite close to the human scalp in order for the egg to survive.

The second stage is the nymph stage (new born louse). At this point the louse about half the size of a sesame seed, if not smaller.

The third and final stage in the development cycle of head louse is the adult. At this point it looks about an ant as it has a head, thorax and abdomen, the adult also has 6 legs.

What are the symptoms of infestation?

There are a few common symptoms that can give away the signs of head lice infestation.

Most commonly people feel a tickling sensation, or even the feeling that something is crawling on the head... which in fact, is actually quite accurate because the head lice are actually moving about in their hair.

Excessive chronic itching could be another symptom of head lice infestation all together. This can be a sign of an allergic reaction to head lice bites. That's right... head lice nymphs are parasitic and as such they feed on the blood in the skin so they bite the scalp in order to dine. A side affect of the itching and subsequent scratching can be sores actually developing on the head as a result of the itching/scratching cycle.

How can I get rid of an infestation?

There are many simple over the counter treatments available from a variety of places; these normally come in the form of shampoos or crèmes or even a fine louse comb to brush the lice out of the hair.