Head Lice – Where Do Head Lice Lay Their Eggs?
WouterHead lice lay their eggs at the base of your hair strands. Since they can’t survive outside of the human scalp, they can easily spread through casual contact. But fortunately, there are treatments available to prevent infestations. Here’s what you need to know about these bugs and their life cycle.
Head lice are most common among children, but adults can get them, too. The good news is that lice do not transmit disease and are relatively easy to treat. These tiny creatures feed off of blood from the scalp, so they don’t even care how dirty your hair is. Girls tend to have more infestations than boys, probably because they spend a lot of time playing sports and doing other activities with their heads close together. Longer hair does not protect you from lice, but long hair makes them harder to find.
While you should check everyone’s head, it is not necessary to remove your child from school. If you find lice, you should treat it the same day. Often, the first treatment is enough to remove the insects, and most kids will be able to return to normal activities. If you’re concerned, you can check your child with the school nurse. However, you shouldn’t keep your child home with lice for a long time – you don’t want them to be exposed to the disease all the time.
Head lice are small grayish-white insects that live in the hair and scalp. Their body is flat and they feed by crawling on your scalp. They lay around four eggs a day and will lay up to 88 over their lifetime. They can spread through close contact with an infected person and by sharing personal items.
