Can You Catch Head Lice From Swimming Pools?

A swimming pool is a great place to cool off, but swimming pools are also common places for head lice to spread. The most common way to get head lice from a swimming pool is through direct head-to-head contact. The good news is that you don’t have to swim in a public swimming pool to catch it.

While lice can’t swim, they do stay alive for several hours under water. So, even if your child gets a bath, the lice will still be alive and crawling when you wash them. The good news is that swimming pools won’t kill them, and there are a number of ways to get rid of them.

The first step to preventing head lice from spreading is educating your children about proper hygiene. While head lice can’t swim, they can still crawl on your hair, and so you must teach them not to share things with others. It is also important to keep hair accessories separate from other items.

Another way to prevent head lice is to keep kids away from swimming pools and other public swimming areas. Swimming pools have chlorine in them, but it’s not enough to kill lice. Unlike the water that chlorine kills bacteria, the chemical in a swimming pool doesn’t affect the lice or their nits. In fact, lice can survive in pools for 24 hours or more.