FACT ONE. Head lice are common year round and right round the world. They are not dangerous, do not carry diseases and are not a sign of poor hygiene. In fact, head lice don’t much care whether the hair is clean or dirty.
FACT TWO. The head lice family consists of
nits and lice: the nit (head lice egg), the nymph (adolescent louse) and
the adult louse. There are female and male lice and head lice do
reproduce sexually.
FACT THREE. Head lice cannot fly or jump but
they do crawl at exceptional speeds. The
lifespan of an individual louse is just thirty five days. However,
within this time the louse can reproduce and create a large family of
lice that continue
the head lice life cycle.
FACT FOUR. The female louse can lay between
50 and 150 eggs in her lifetime, we refer to
these as nits. The nits are an oval shape and are between 0.5
millimeters and 1 millimeters in length. When laid
they are a yellow / white colour but can turn to a tan or coffee like
colour as the embryo grows, once hatched the shell appears white.
FACT FIVE. A nymph, an adolescent louse, is between 1 and 2 millimeters in length and
grows to around 2 to 3 millimeters as it develops into an adult louse.
FACT SIX. Head lice can only survive on
human blood, the lice feed from the scalp 3 to 4
times a day. The lice bite into the scalp and extract the blood directly
from the bite. The bite is what can cause irritation to the infested
person but not
everyone will have “the itch” as irritation levels differ between
individuals.
FACT SEVEN. Lice cannot survive away from
the scalp. Head lice removed from the scalp
will immediately begin to dehydrate, however can live for up to 3 days away from the scalp.
FACT EIGHT. It’s not just fancy marketing
when it is recommended to repeat the
treatment process. As combing requires time and the nits are very small
it is very possible some may be missed during the initial treatment.
These
nits will hatch in 7-10 days and be vulnerable to a treatment – stopping
the life
cycle.
FACT NINE. Re-infestation can occur in the case that the initial treatment has not removed or
eradicated all the head lice eggs (nits) or a new infestation of head lice has been picked up from another host. Be
vigilant and check for head lice regularly as early detection
makes light work of any treatment and reduces the chance of multiple cases in the school yard.
FACT TEN. There are no treatments on the Australian market today that kill the lice and
eggs, without the need for combing.