Head lice are not automatically born in your hair. They are your unwanted guests who arrive from the hair of other people whom you have close interaction with.

They are mostly found among children between 4 and 11 and they are rare in adults. So, if you have no head lice in your hair, but a person in your house has head lice, then the chances are that you will get them too.

Remember, you can’t start any head lice treatment before you actually get some head lice in your hair.

How are Head Lice Transferred?

Head lice can’t jump or fly. They don’t have any wings. However, they can move really fast through hair.

Children in school touch each other with their heads when they play. This allows the head lice to make a move from one place to another, i.e. one head to another.

However, we don’t see any adults doing the same thing in office. How do adults get head lice then?

The thing is that the head lice can be transferred to different objects through the head or hair of an infested person and they can survive for as long as 2 days without feeding. Therefore, when you come in contact with those objects, you can catch head lice too.

Other than direct head contact, some of the common objects through which the head lice are transferred are:

• Hair care items like brushes, combs, towels, hair bands etc.
• Shared clothing like hats, scarves, coats, etc.
• Other objects like pillows, beds, carpets, car seats, etc.
• One place that people don’t pay much attention to and that can easily transfer head lice is coat hanging hooks. When people hang coats in offices, they, at times, touch the coats and clothing of others too. If there are head lice in their clothing, then they can be transferred to yours…and from there to your head.

You begin head lice treatment only after you get head lice in your hair. If there isn’t any in your hair, then the head lice treatment is not for you. However, if someone in your family has head lice, then you must ensure that you use all the common items carefully, i.e. brushes, combs, towels, hats, etc.  Prevention is better than head lice treatment… when you don’t have any head lice.

So, the person who has been infested should start head lice treatment and those who haven’t been affected should exercise precaution when it comes to using common commodities.

Let me share a famous quote first:

“Know Your Enemies… Before You Eradicate Them”

Ok it’s not so famous because I just wrote it.

However, the point is… You must know what problem you are facing before you look for a solution.

Here it’s obvious that either you have head lice or someone close to you has got some in their hair. So, before we move on to discuss how you can get rid of them with proper head lice treatment, let me briefly tell you about them as well as their life cycle.

About Head Lice and their Residence

Head lice are parasitic insects and to discover whether they reside in someone’s hair or not, look for them behind the ears or near the neckline.

Who May Not Need Head Lice Treatment

It’s been observed that head lice prefer a specific hair shape for infestation. They are very, very uncommon in African Americans probably due to their specific hair shape.

Are Head Lice Dangerous? Should You Go for Head Lice Treatment Immediately?

Head lice are not hazardous and you can’t get any disease from them. So, there is no need to feel worried or rush for head lice treatment. Yes, they can disturb you psychologically and make you itch, but they are not dangerous.

Life Cycle of the Louse

Let’s now talk about their life cycle. Head Louse has three stages:

1. Nit
2. Nymph
3. Adult

From ‘egg’ to ‘death’ the life cycle of a head louse is about 30 days.

1. Nits

Nits are the eggs of head lice. They are firmly attached to human hair after they are laid by an adult female louse. You can find them near the scalp (within 6 mm to be precise) because they require body heat to survive. The shape of nits is oval and the size is 0.8mm by 0.3mm. They take around 6 to 9 days to hatch. One important point to note is that after head lice treatment, you may get rid of head lice, but dead eggs may remain attached. So, once the head lice treatment is done you have to get rid of nits as well. We will talk about getting rid of nits after head lice treatment in detail later.

2. Nymphs

After an egg hatches, a nymph is released. However, the nit remains attached to the hair. They nymph actually looks like an adult louse, but it is a bit smaller in size. All nymphs have different sizes. However, they are almost as big as a pinhead. You can find them near the scalp and behind the ears or near the neckline. It takes nymphs about 7 days or more to become adults.

3. Adult

Adult lice suck human blood to live and survive. They feed about 5 times a day. They can travel quickly and are really active. They are about as big as a pin head. However, the female lice are larger in size than the male lice. When it comes to reproduction, a female louse can lay up to 8 eggs or nits per day. You can find them near the scalp and behind the ears or near the neckline. They live for 30 days on a person’s head.

Now you know about the life cycle of head louse. When you start head lice treatment now, you will know what you are dealing with.