Glossary of Health Terms

Having you or your family diagnosed with lice usually comes as a shock. You may be wondering where you contracted it from or you may be afraid that others will think badly of you for having it. You may feel like most people do; disgusted with yourself for allowing this to happen and not noticing it sooner. But you must realize that lice are not contracted by unclean people. Actually, lice typically prefer clean well-kept scalps and are most common in middle to upper class schoolchildren.

After you have contracted lice the most important thing to do is to inform yourself. It is very beneficial to know exactly what lice are, how they live and, most importantly, how to get rid of them. Lice are tiny, wingless bugs that have six legs and tiny claws. Lice live only on human hosts. Head lice can range in color from light brown to gray. Nits are the tiny, whitish, oval eggs that can be found firmly attached to one side of the hair shaft at an angle. Nits cannot be blown or flicked off, nor can they crumble in your fingers. Head lice do not hop, jump or fly nor do they live in the dirt, trees, or the air. They transfer through direct contact with an infested person and their possessions. Pets do not transmit head lice and poor personal hygiene does not cause an infestation.

Head lice do not come "out of the air" or from the ground. They are human parasites and have probably been here since the beginning of time. Desiccated (dried up) head lice and their eggs have been found on the hair and scalps of Egyptian mummies.

Head lice can be spread whenever there is direct contact of the head or hair with an infested individual. Lice can also be spread through the sharing of personal articles like hats, towels, brushes, helmets, hair ties and so on. There is also a possibility that head lice can be spread via a pillow, head rest, or similar item. Head lice do not jump or fly and generally cannot survive longer than 24 hours off the host.

While many have thought head lice to be only a nuisance, recent scientific study refutes this notion. DNA technology shows head lice to be the same species as the notorious body louse. The body louse has long been associated with diseases such as typhus and relapsing fever. The potential for disease transmission via the head louse should never be underestimated.

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