What are Head Lice?

When my daughter was in primary school I received a call from the school asking me to pick up my daughter because she have head lice, I feel bad, I make sure I always checked her hair.

But unfortunately when children are at school it is very likely that they will come into contact with head lice at one time or another.

This does not mean your child’s hair is dirty or unclean. Anyone can get head lice and given the chance head lice move from head to head without discrimination, whether your child’s hair is blonde, black red or brown.

Head lice are small wingless blood sucking insects that are only found on the human head. They vary in colour from whitish-brown to reddish brown and are transferred by direct hair to hair contact.

Contrary to popular belief, head lice do not have wings or jumping legs, so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They are not found on any part of the body and they do not live on furniture, or anywhere else in the environment. When isolated from human head they die very quickly , usually within 24 hours.

Nits are louse eggs. They are smooth oval shaped structures which are attached to the side of the hair shaft. They range in colour from off-white to brown and are slightly smaller than a sesame seed.

Many lice do not cause the head to itch so parents have to look carefully to find them.

Head lice breathe through small openings along their abdomen called spiracles. By coating the hair and therefore the louse in something think and slimy like conditioner, these openings close over shutting down the louse’s breathing for about 20 minutes.

Head lice can move very fast across the scalp. Using a head lice comb on a dry scalp will often miss many lice as they are very clever at avoiding being caught.

While unfortunately lice do not die with the comb and conditioner method, it does slow them down so you can comb them out. This method will not kill or remove eggs and if lice are found it is recommended that you begin treatment for head lice.

• How to treat head lice without chemicals: natural treatments for nits!

  This article shows you how to treat the whole family for head lice without worrying about the effect of insecticides and pesticides contained in many over-the-counter creams, lotions, shampoos and treatments.

• Natural Head Lice Treatment

  If you want to use natural headlice treatment this is what you have to do.

• Natural Remedies & Aromatherapy for Headlice

  Try these natural remedies to rid yourself of the lice themselves, as well as the eggs, without the harsh chemicals or added fillers of over-the-counter products.

• Head Lice and Lice

  When you hear the word lice you probably first think of head lice. And with that thought it seems to be that the itching just comes naturally, no matter if you have head lice or not.