Parents with children at home, or those who come in regular contact with them, such as in schools or parks, are not unaware of head lice. Head lice are the tiny, parasitic, and extremely annoying creatures inhabiting the hair and scalp of humans, especially small children. They draw their sustenance from human blood, which they suck off by boring miniscule holes in the scalp and driving tiny hollow pipe-like organs through them.

Head lice treatment infestation calls for some degree of understanding of their life cycle. From eggs to adult lice, the entire life cycle of head lice takes place on the human host. In fact, during any time of an active infection, it is not unusual to find the lice in many stages of its development simultaneously. It is therefore, critical to know when to attack the infestation, and who poses the major threat.

The Life Cycle Of The Head Lice

Once a human host has been found, the usual development cycle in which the egg becomes the adult louse takes about 3 to 4 weeks (21 to 27 days). An adult female louse, in the course of her lifetime, can lay 50 to 150 eggs or nits, as they are commonly referred to. Freshly laid eggs can be readily distinguished by their opaque color and appearance. Eggs that have already hatched are clearer in appearance. Live eggs that are close to hatching often pop when squeezed with a pair of tweezers. Once laid, the eggs hatch in about 5-9 days. The average is 8 days.

The eggs offer some degree of resistance when one tries to remove them. This is because the eggs remain cemented to within 1.5 cm of the scalp with a sticky substance called chitin. Studies have shown that the use of vinegar can prove to be helpful in the head lice removal of these affixed eggs as the active agent of the vinegar softens the adhesive nature of chitin and loosens the eggs from the hair shafts. Hatched eggs however, are usually found further away.

After the eggs hatch, the newly born lice nymphs molt and grow thrice before developing into sexually mature adults capable of further procreation. After birth, lice appear as gray to gray-brown in color. They are usually difficult to spot at first. However, as they grow larger, their visibility increases to the naked eye and hence, they get easier to spot and be removed with a fine-toothed comb. The adult head louse will usually go on to live for a little over one month (30-40 days) during which time it lays more eggs.

As mentioned earlier, both the young and the adult head lice draw their sustenance by feeding on blood from the host, multiple times a day. Thus, head lice treatment rely on their human host entirely for their growth and nourishment. The human host also provides them with the heat and warmth that they need to survive. In fact, head lice are unable to complete their life cycle if they are separated from their human host. Taken off the human host, adult lice and nymphs can live for only 2-3 days. The eggs or the nits, however, can survive for as long as 14 days before they perish.