How Do Head Lice Spread?
WouterThere are some preventative measures you can take to prevent head lice infestations. First, it is important to wash your bed linens in hot water to kill the lice. Second, you should thoroughly vacuum your home, including furniture. Third, avoid spraying your home with pediculicide. Fourth, treat your child if you suspect he has an infestation immediately. Head lice are extremely common in children. However, you do not have to keep your child home from school if you suspect he or she has lice.
You should also use special combs to scrape off the nits from the hair shaft. This treatment is not necessary to completely eradicate an infestation, but it can reduce the effectiveness of some head lice medicines. In addition, you should inspect your child daily for two to three weeks following the treatment. You should also disinfect any objects that may have harbored head lice.
The most common way for head lice to spread is through contact with the infested person’s head. This can occur directly or indirectly by sharing personal items, such as hats, scarves, and coats. Similarly, parents can spread head lice by cuddling their children or sharing their towels.
Although head lice are not harmful, they can be extremely stressful. Lice are small insects that can only live for a few days away from the scalp. They reproduce by sucking blood from your scalp and injecting a substance into the scalp to make it easier to feed. This causes the itching that is commonly associated with head lice infestations. Children and adults of all socioeconomic levels are susceptible to infestations.
