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Head lice are those nasty little parasites that can make every parents skin crawl, in fact, it is said that one in four Primary School (Elementary School) children will carry head lice at any one time! That is around twenty to forty per cent of children that could be infected.
Head lice are highly infectious but they are NOT DANGEROUS, they do not carry diseases and they are not a sign of poor hygiene. They are tiny little wingless insects that lay eggs and have a life cycle of about thirty days. The family consists of the louse, the nymph and the nits. The louse is an adult which has reached the maturity to lay eggs (nits). The nymph is more of an adolescent who, once hatches from the egg, grows to a louse in a few weeks.
You can only catch nits through direct human contact. This contact can come from hugs, sharing hair ties, brushes and caps. The lice crawl exceptionally fast and have a firm grip on the hair once in contact with an individual hair strand; the transfer can happen in an instant.
The head lice will adapt to their environment very quickly, feeding three to four times a day and begin to lay their eggs. The head lice eggs, the nits, are laid close to the human scalp and are attached firmly with a glue like substance that the female louse secretes from her reproductive organ. The female louse can lay between fifty and one hundred and fifty eggs in her life cycle.
Once someone has been infected it can be quite an irritating situation to deal with, especially if the infestation has been passed over for some time. A treatment must be applied to kill the head lice and the effort of combing with a fine tooth comb must be endured to ensure complete removal of the eggs. A fine tooth comb will assist to break the eggs from the hair shaft and remove them from the hair entirely. Separating the hair into four centimeter sections will help to ensure you can see the entire scalp and a magnifying glass can also be useful as the nits are about the size of a sesame seed (in length they measure between 0.5 millimeters and two millimeters long).
At this stage there is no treatment on the market that can kill the louse, nymphs and also penetrate the shell of the egg to kill the nit inside. Therefore the nits remain alive in the scalp and can continue the head lice life cycle.
Prevention is always going to be the best cure. Check your children's hair for nits and lice regularly, once a week is ideal, and be mindful to tie long hair into a braid especially when your child is off to school. There are head lice prevention practices and products that can help to defend against outbreaks such as an everyday defense spray which will help to keep those nasty nits and lice at bay.
About this Author
NitWits Natural is a 100% family owned Australian company that have developed a range of products, free from potentially harmful pesticides. Our products are made using natural ingredients to effectively tackle head lice and their eggs. Always read the label. Use only as directed. For more helpful information, please visit our NitWits head lice website.
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