Head lice
Lice are small, wingless insects. They have six legs with hook-like claws for grasping onto hairs. They feed on human blood. There are three types of lice.
- Head lice are common in children.
- Body lice are common in vagrants, live in clothing and only visit the skin to feed.
- Crab or pubic lice are found in the pubic hair area.
The short life of a head louse
- The louse begins as an egg, with a hard brown shell
- The egg hatches after 7–10 days, leaving behind the empty egg case, which appears white
- The baby louse takes10 days to grow into an adult, shedding its skin three times as it grows
- When the louse reaches adulthood, it is about the size of a sesame seed (about 3 mm long)
- The louse clings to hairs with its claws, and sucks blood from the scalp several times a day. If it is a female, it busies itself laying five eggs each night and attaching them to the base of hairs close to the scalp where they will be kept warm
- The louse keeps looking for any opportunity to get onto another head, by clambering across a ‘bridge’ of hair. It cannot jump
- After 30 days of being an adult, it dies
Dr Phil Hammond discusses head lice in rhyme in his Expert guide to Head lice
Written by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Edited by: Dr Margaret Stearn
Last updated:
Thursday, June 10th 2010
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Comments on this article
Posted by optional on 26/06/2010 at 07:23:52 am
Omg please help me i have had head lice since august nothing works the only option is for me to shave my hair and as a high school student and nearly a teen i dont want to do the "/ what shall i dooooo ?
Posted by Optional on 23/02/2010 at 06:27:52 am
thank you
Posted by Anonymous on 04/11/2009 at 09:05:00 pm
I nit combed my kids at the weekend and must have got some on my clothes. The little so and so's have taken up residence in my nether regions. I thought only crabs could do that??
Posted by LFC2009 on 07/08/2009 at 08:57:00 am
I thought I had lice, because I had an ant in my hair.but I checked out with my mom.And I didn't have nothing,it was jus dandruff.
Posted by Anonymous on 22/06/2009 at 06:29:00 pm
my mum bought like about 10 head lice treatments already but its still coming back, the treatment is not working. help!
Posted by hairdresser on 10/04/2009 at 01:17:00 am
First, spray live lice with neat vinegar poured into a clean water spray bottle. Comb vinegar thoroughly through the hair making sure it is well covered, leave for 10 minutes. To remove the eggs. Wash the hair, rub in loads of conditioner, part dry with a towel, then starting from underneath the hair at the neckline, (pin long hair up with butterfly clips) comb through with a nit comb (bought cheaply from any chemist)section by section. Very time consuming, but it does the trick!
Posted by Sophie on 04/02/2009 at 08:46:00 pm
My little sister had them at one point , you need to use pure vinegar it gets them out and since then she has never had them before but be carfull near the eyes
Posted by Mrs Tippett on 19/12/2008 at 07:37:00 pm
How do I get rid of the white eggs from my daughters hair.
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Head lice
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Fascinating facts
In the UK, each month 20% of hairdressing salons see head lice in a client's hair
In the UK, it is estimated that 5% of the population have head lice
Each year in the UK, the NHS and the general public together spend £29 million on head lice treatments
Lousy, nitwit, nit-picking, nitty-gritty, go through something with a fine-tooth comb - all these phrases come from lice
The average person with head lice has about 20 lice. During their 30-day life, 20 lice will lay 2652 eggs (Lancet 2003;361:99-100)
After mating, a female head louse keeps spare sperm in a special container in her body (spermatotheca), so that she does not have to bother with mating again, but can use the sperm she has kept (Lancet 2003;361:99-100)
Head lice are fairly speedy. They can move at 23 cm per minute (Lancet 2003;361:99-100)
Head lice have probably been annoying humans for at least 72 000 years (New Scientist 2003;23 Aug)
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