What Every Parent Should Know About Head Lice Infestations

The first thing every parent should know about a head lice infestation is that they are extremely common. While stuck in a state of panic after finding head lice, somehow it’s comforting to know that there are many parents out there dealing with the same exact thing and panicking also. No one has to panic though. It actually makes the whole situation better if you just stay calm and think rationally. Sometimes irrational panic leads to pouring gasoline on your child’s head or shaving their beautiful hair off. Yes, both of those have actually happened. Let’s please also never resort to smothering mayonnaise on your child’s head or using a home remedy that requires wrapping plastic wrap around your child’s head. That is extremely dangerous and has led to suffocation and even death. When treating head lice, your child’s safety should be your number one priority; it’s definitely ours.

How Do People Get Head Lice Infestations?

Children are most likely to get head lice, so unless you are a child, parent, or work directly with children, you probably don’t need to worry about head lice. Lice are almost always spread through direct, head-to-head contact. Sometimes they are spread by sharing brushes, combs, hats, scarves, and hoodies. Only adult head lice can spread from head to head. Lice eggs cannot be transmitted, but they are definitely a pain to get rid of.

Can Lice Live In The Home?

Head lice are human parasites, they can only survive on a human host. They cannot live in your home for more than 24-48 hours. So, we recommend being more focused on treating the actual head first.

How To Tell If Your Child Has A Lice Infestation

If your child’s head is itching and they feel a moving sensation in their hair, they may have a head lice infestation! In this case, we recommend giving your child a head check to be sure. You may be able to spot lice or nits by parting your child’s hair into small sections. Check behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. Lice dislike light and they move very fast so the eggs are usually easier to spot. Nits (lice eggs) are yellow, tan or brown in color and feel similar to grains of sand. Adults lay about 5-10 eggs a day and they can be found within ¼ inch of the scalp, on the hair shaft. They secrete a glue-like substance which glues them to the hair. They will not move if you shake your hair.

The darker your hair is, the lighter the nits will appear in your hair. The lighter the hair, the harder they will be to spot. Lice eggs may be confused with dandruff but dandruff will move if you brush or shake your head and lice eggs will not.

Do Pets Get Lice?

Pets cannot get the same kind of head lice as humans. Therefore, you cannot transfer head lice to your pet and your pet cannot transfer lice to you.

How Can I Prevent My Child From Getting Head Lice?

Your child may get head lice and it is not the end of the world. But some preventative practices include teaching your children to avoid head-to-head contact during play, sleepovers and other activities at school or at their friend’s house. For your kids who have phones, warn them of getting too close when taking selfies.

For girls, wearing their hair in a tight bun or braid can help. Spritzing the hair every morning with our mint preventative spray can be very helpful as it acts as a lice repellent.

We also recommend that parents designate one night a week after bath time to do head checks. This helps identify a case of lice early on and prevent it from spreading further.

What Is The Best Way To Treat Head Lice?

The best lice removal treatments don’t contain any harmful chemicals and they get rid of regular lice as well as super lice so you don’t take the risk of using a lice removal treatment that is not going to work. We recommend our AirAllé® lice treatment because it’s a simple, easy and effective way to get rid of any severity of lice infestations.

So, give us a call and we’ll make you an appointment for our #1 recommended lice removal treatment, which is medically proven and FDA-approved.