There is no need at all to get panic if you see your child come home and scratch his/her head time and again. Most probably it is due to head lice infestation he/she has carried from some school friends. Be sure, head lice are not your worst enemies, though not the friends. They never cause any serious illness. You can even easily learn many ways how to get rid of lice at home. Before you attempt a cure in this regard, read the following sound information about head lice and their whereabouts.
How they look like and what they feed on
Lice are wingless parasites with the biological name of pediculus humanus capitis and the size of a sesame seed. These are tan or dark grayish brown in color and live only on human blood. They lead their life on human head and feast on their blood by sucking it from their scalp. They have a life span of around 30 days and can survive only 24 to 48 hours if they are away from their host’s blood supply.
What they cause to their host
Lice are not very dangerous and pose no medical or health hazard to their victims. However, they always cause nuisance to the carriers by creating a strong urge to scratch their scalp. Their scalp gets reddish with the rashes caused by frequent scratching with their finger nails. Sometimes, there also results a skin infection called pediculosis that can easily be treated with shampoos or conditioners containing reputed pediculicides. Lice may also cause irritability to their victims by keeping them sleepless for long hours.
Life cycle of head lice
Head lice have three forms: lice eggs or nits, immature lice or nymphs and adult lice. An adult female louse mates with her male counterpart and lays 6 to 10 eggs daily. These nits are 2 to 3 mm in size and white to yellow in color. They resemble with dandruff dry flakes so much so that people often confuse the two for each other. These eggs hatch within 8 to 10 days and develop into immature lice called nymphs. These are smaller than adult lice and live on the consistent supply of human blood. Devoid of their meal, they cannot survive even more than 2 hours. After 10 to 12 days, nymphs develop into mature adult lice that start mating with their partners.
Why lice are hard to kill
All the three forms must be treated strongly if you want to completely get rid of them. That is why it is always hard to eradicate lice from one’s head. Even a single lice, nymph or nit can develop into an infestation within a few days. Besides, adult lice are quick at crawling or running through the hair of their host and hide into the thick hair. It is very difficult to spot a live louse to kill with the finger nails. So, experts suggest getting your child’s hair wet to slow down the speed of lice. You can then capture them with the help of a fine toothed lice comb. Moreover, nits remain attached to the hair shafts ¼ inch from the scalp with the help of a glue type substance secreted by female lice. It requires a real hard work to pull them from there with a quality nit comb.
