Head lice lay eggs in the human scalp and can only survive on human hair. Of course, despite contrary belief, it doesn't even matter if your hair is silky clean or greasy dirty everyone is susceptible to head lice.

The reason why it doesn't matter the status of your hair is because each little lice has long front legs which grip into your scalp. Neither shampoo, water, nor hardly anything else can shake it of its home.

The head lice has adapted over millions of year to suit the environment of the human head. Even back in the times of mummies in Ancient Egypt, they showed evidence of retaining head lice.

They can not survive anywhere else besides your head and so if they do happen to fall out, the lice surely die within 48 hours.

Head lice can lay over two hundred eggs in their lifetime, easy enough to begin an entire colony on your head.

This head lice is frequently found in children, ages 4 ? 11, especially if they attend after school programs. Kids can easily contract head lice and share it with their peers, because really; kids ? what don't they share?

So the first thing that you might hear is a complaint of ?my head itches? or you might notice your child consistently scratching their head.

Once your children have a lice infestation it is very common and rather easy for them to pass it on to you and other family and friends.

If they do happen to pass these little critters on to you don't worry. Head lice, although annoying, are not dangerous or carry disease. They only are an irritant and create irritation and give your scalp rashes.

Another inaccurate head lice myth is that they can fly. Can head lice fly? No, head lice do not have wings and therefore do not fly around from head to head. Lice may only change hosts through human contact; a hair brush, clothes where hair has been left, etc.

Dead or empty louse eggs are called nits. Even when most of the living lice have been destroyed from the scalp, the nits may still remain. Generally in school districts today, any child with nits are not allowed to attend schooling until they are nit-free.

Lice live for so long in the human hair by feeding off human blood. To do this they must penetrate the scalp ? and you'd never even know it. In fact, nearly 5% of the United States population contracts head lice each year.

Do the math on that one; that's nearly 12 million people! Head lice may be small but they sure are getting attention all around the world.