An estimated 1 in 10 children in Canada will be affected by a lice infestation this year and it is more common worldwide than the common cold. Lice affect people of all ages and social classes. Stats show that at least 37% of all school children are infected with lice at any given time throughout the school year.

Lice are wingless, bloodsucking insects…but quite harmless. They are quite host-specific; human lice, for instance, will not feed upon other animals, and lice of other animals would rarely feed upon humans.

They are difficult to see because they are about the size of a sesame seed.
Here are some other facts on lice:

• Occur most commonly in school-aged children, especially girls between 3 and 11 year of age.
• Is often an epidemic.
• Personal hygiene and social class are not related to the likelihood of developing head lice. Lice prefer clean scalps contrary to popular belief that ‘unclean’ people get lice.
• Not known to transmit bloodborne diseases.
• Spread through close head-to-head contact or through inanimate objects that come into contact with the infested scalp and then are shared (i.e.., combs, brushes, hats, towels, earphones, stuffed toys, etc.).
• Most common places for outbreaks include schools, daycares, and playgrounds.

PREVENTION

Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to help prevent against a lice breakout in your home. You should always perform proper sanitation of all hair care articles when used by another person. Ensure that your children are not sharing brushes, combs, hair elastics, barrettes, hats or scarves. Another great lice deterrent is ensuring that your child’s hair is pulled back into a tight ponytail or braids (if possible) during peak lice seasons - September and December, or in the case of an outbreak in the school or daycare they may be attending.

Another way to protect you and your family against lice is to perform regular bedding changes, always wear clean clothing, frequent vacuuming of your premises, and using hot water when doing laundry. In water 125 degrees F or hotter an adult louse will be killed in 5 minutes and a nit in 10 minutes.

You should always perform regular lice checks on your family members; this will ensure that if they do contract lice it is caught at the early stages and treated as soon as possible. Finally, when at all possible, avoid close contact in unsanitary, crowded conditions.

The last and maybe most successful lice prevention method is to use tea tree oil. Lice hate the smell and taste of this produce and therefore it is a great natural lice prevention technique. You can use the concentrated tea tree oil and add a few drops to your family's shampoo or even place 8-15 drops in a small spray bottle (roughly 12 oz) and spray your family’ hair, coats, and any other articles that might come in contact with a human head. There are also lice-preventative shampoos that contain this oil that you could purchase for your family.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR – BIOLOGY OF HEAD LICE:

• Nits (the eggs of the head louse) are small yellowish-white, oval-shaped eggs that are ‘to the side of a hair shaft glued’ at an angle. Nits are ALWAYS the same shape; they are never irregular, fuzzy, or encircling the hair.
• The most common place to find nits are in the crown of the hair or behind the ears (the warm spots on the head).
• Nits must be laid by live lice. You cannot ‘catch' nits.
• Once laid, it takes 7 – 10 days for a nit to hatch, and another 7 – 10 days for the female to mature and begin laying her own eggs.
• Head lice have six legs equipped with claws to grasp the hair.
• Head lice are crawling insects. They cannot hop, jump, or fly.
• Head lice live for approximately 30 days on a host and a female louse may lay up to 100 nits (eggs).
• Head lice off of their human hosts will starve. It is suggested that, in most cases, a head louse will not survive for more than 24 hours off of its human host.

MYTHS AND FACTS

• The myths are:
• All children with lice scratch or itch. FACT: Initial infestation may produce no signs or symptoms for 4 – 6 weeks.
• Lice jump or fly from head to head. FACT: Lice can be dislodged from hair by air movements giving the appearance of flying.
• Lice live in carpets, beds, clothes, and sofas. FACT: Lice can only live for 24 hours away from a human host.
• Lice die immediately after treatment. FACT: Lice may take several hours to die following treatment.
• One treatment is enough. FACT: Due to loss of residual activity two treatments are recommended to kill newly hatched nymphs
• Permethrin based products are 100% ovicidal. FACT: Permethrin kills only 70% of eggs with one treatment.
• Everyone in the family should be treated. FACT: Only those with a proven infestation should be treated, although everyone else should be checked daily for 2 weeks.
• Head lice prefer long or dirty hair. FACT: Lice do not care about hair length and prefer clean heads.


• The Facts are:
  Head lice are annoying but not life-threatening
• Head lice are not know to transmit any diseases to people.
• The most common sign of head lice is persistent itching, especially around the ears. More damage may be done by scratching the scalp than from the lice themselves. A lice infestation can only be proven if live lice or nits (eggs) are found in the hair.
• To look for lice examine the head for lice or nits (eggs) by parting the hair in narrow, vertical sections with a cob or toothpick. Look carefully behind the ears and in the nape of the neck.

TREATMENTS

The most common treatment shampoo for lice is called Nix. This product is a pesticide and that is why you only want to use this product on infected persons as it is a very harsh chemical. Once the hair has been shampooed, the eggs that start off clear will turn to a white; this makes them easier to spot and remove. Along with the shampoo you will receive a very fine-toothed comb. This comb is ideal for removing nits. The nits are usually located about ½ to 1-½ inches away from the scalp. You want to comb through the hair in small, approximately ¼-inch sections to remove all nits and eliminate the lice infection.

It is important that you comb through the hair in this manner daily for 2 weeks until no live lice are discovered. The importance of this is because if one nit hatches it can re-infect the whole head once again. Although the hair may appear to be ‘peppered’ with eggs, there generally are fewer than a dozen active lice on the head at any time. Adult female lice usually cement each egg to the base of a hair shaft near the skin. As the hair grows from the base, these attached eggs are transported away from the scalp.

*If after 2 weeks of combing and picking through the hair, a live louse is found, the infected person must be re-shampoo and start again!

It is also highly recommended that you follow the household cleaning instructions on the pamphlet inside the box or get them off the internet. All bedding, pillows, coats, clothing, stuffed animals etc. must be washed in hot water (125 degrees F) with soap, or preferably dry-cleaned. If they are unable to be washed they should be placed in a garbage bag outside or some place cold. The next most important step is to wash all combs, brushes, hair accessories, etc., that have been in contact with the head in hot water (140 degrees F) for 20 minutes, saturated with disinfectant. You are also advised to thoroughly vacuum all carpets, rugs, mattresses, and furniture in the house. While all of these tasks might sound daunting, they are well worth it to stop this infestation right away and not have to continue dealing with it for an extended period of time.