Do Head Lice Eat Blood?

The main way to contract head lice is through contact with another person’s hair. However, they can also be transferred through the clothing and bedding of infected people. They are attracted to both human blood and warmth, which means that head lice are not necessarily a sign of poor hygiene. However, head lice are highly contagious, so the best way to protect yourself is to avoid contact with infected people and use a good disinfectant on your head. You should also wear protective headgear when playing sports or riding bikes.

When looking for food, a head louse will move close to the skin to pierce it. It will then add saliva to the puncture so the blood doesn’t coagulate. The blood will then be absorbed through two small pumps in the head. The blood can be seen in the head louse’s mouth and is partly transparent, which makes it easier to identify if it has recently eaten.

Adult head lice are around the size of a sesame seed and have six legs. They feed several times a day. They live about 30 days on the scalp of an infected person. If not killed, the lice will die from hunger in one to two days. The eggs can survive in water and can also crawl into clothing. It is also possible to transmit head lice from one person to another, but this is rare.