Beating headlice: the facts and the fiction
Up to a quarter of UK schoolchildren may have headlice, and more than two-thirds have had nits at least once – so what can parents do to fight them off? We find out.
New research reveals that 68 percent of British families with children of school age have had to deal with a headlice infection. Of these, three quarters have had to cope with at least one re-infection and one in five families have had ‘nits' up to five times!
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Parents can become desperate in their attempts to get rid of headlice but extreme measures aren't necessary. Tackling nits and head lice is easy once you know how.
Headlice – the facts
- Headlice are tiny wingless insects, a bit bigger than a pin head. They live on the scalp and feed by sucking blood every two to three hours.
- Headlice cannot survive for more than a day or two away from a host.
- Each female lays 150-300 eggs in her lifetime. The eggs are firmly cemented to the hair shaft, and their distance from the scalp indicates how long ago the eggs were laid.
- Headlice are the most common parasites in children.
- 'Nits' are the empty shells of eggs after the louse has hatched – but the term is often used for headlice too.
- Lice can appear at any time – keep a treatment in your bathroom cabinet just in case!
- Headlice can't jump or fly – they can only be passed on by direct, head-to-head contact.
- Headlice are not seriously harmful but their bites can cause intense itching, and if children scratch their heads, they can break the skin, which can then become infected.
- Insecticide-resistance is common (in 50-70 percent of head lice cases). Ask your health visitor or GP for information on local patterns of resistance.
Headlice – the fiction
- It’s not true that lice always make your head itch. Only 14-19 percent of infected children complain of itching.
- You might be told you should treat every member in the family just in case – that’s not true. Only treat family members with evidence of live lice.
- Don’t buy into the fiction that you can get rid of headlice by using mayonnaise, beer, vinegar, butter, garlic (capsules), hair dye, detergent, lamp oil, dog shampoo, washing-up liquid, mouthwash or peanut butter. Use products that have been scientifically proved to work!
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