When you hear the word lice you probably first think of head lice. And with that thought it seems to be that the itching just comes naturally, no matter if you have head lice or not. For some reason just thinking of those tiny bugs crawling on a scalp causes you to itch or at least shutter. While there are actually three different types of lice, head lice is the most common type of infestation that you will see in the United States. The other two types of lice are seen less often but are body lice and pubic lice (crabs). Body lice is something that is associated with poor hygiene, overcrowding and poverty. While pubic lice is only associated with sexually contact. So if you are going to be dealing with lice the chances are good that it is a head lice infestation that you will be battling.

Here is a closer look at head lice.

Head Lice:
This type of lice infestation is actually the most common type of infestation among people partly due to the fact that it does not favor any particular socioeconomic group, meaning that anybody can get it. According to the CDC there are reports that 6 to 12 million people in the United States alone are infested with head lice each year. According to these reports the people who are most likely to get an infestation of head lice are children between the ages of 3 and 10 that attend preschool, elementary school, and day care centers. Another interesting note is that girls are more commonly infested by head lice than boys are, but hair length and personal hygiene is not a factor on if you will get infested or not. But because of their unique hair characteristics, people who are African American are actually less likely to get an infestation of head lice.

The head louse, which is what the animal is referred to, is a grey and white color that is about 2 to 3 mm in length. Another way to think about the size of the louse is to think of a sesame seed. The female head louse is the one that causes the most problems because she is the one that lays the eggs, which are also called nits. The female head louse lives about 10 days and during those 10 days she will produce anywhere from seven to ten nits each day. She will attach the nits firmly to the hair shaft region as close to the scalp or body as possible. Upon first glance the nits look like dandruff but the biggest difference is that you can not brush away the nits. The reason for that is that the female head louse attaches the nits with a glue like, water-insoluble substance that makes them almost impossible to remove. After an incubation period of six to ten days the nits hatch into nymphs, which will become louses in 10 days.

 The most common way that head lice is transmitted is through direct head to head contact. The most common ways that this happens is through sharing hairbrushes, pillows, caps, and headphones with somebody who is suffering from a lice infestation. Many people tend to think that couches, chairs and carpet are another common way to spread lice, but this method is far less likely to spread lice because of the louse dying of dehydration. The head louse will die within two days if they are not feeding on their human host.

For the most part head lice infestations actually produce no symptoms, but in some cases symptoms are present. The most common symptoms of a head lice infestation are itching of the scalp, neck, and behind the ears. If the itching is intense enough it can lead to secondary skin infections or even enlargement of the lymph nodes of the neck and scalp regions. The best way to tell if you have a lice infestation is by running affine toothed comb through your hair to show you the presence of adult lice and nits. You can also use a black light to find the nits; in fact nits are more easily seen with a black light. The reason for this is that the black light causes them to fluoresce as pale blue objects that are attached to the hair shafts near the scalp.

If head lice are found here is what you need to do to treat the infestation:

1. Use over-the-counter treatments, such as Nix or Rid first. If after two treatments lice are still present you will then need to call your doctor for a prescription. Follow the directions on the box to complete the treatment and remember a second treatment needs to be done for best results.
2. Check all other household members for head lice, if none is found do not treat them. If you find an infestation then treat only those people. When it comes to the over-the-counter products keep in mind that pyrethrin kills only lice, not nits or nymphs. But permethrin kills nits and nymphs as well as the adult lice.
3. If the child is under the age of 2 simply comb out their hair to remove the lice and nits. Do not use an over-the-counter product! If needed call your doctor for a prescription product.
4. Do not use hair conditioner before applying anti-lice agents because they can coat or cover the lice which makes it nearly impossible for you to kill them.
5. Wash all bed linens and clothing that have been in contact with the infested person in the last two days, if it has been longer you have no need to worry because the lice die from dehydration. When washing the linens and clothing make sure that you use hot water and the hot cycle in the dryer.
6. Many people recommend that the water temperature be at least 140 degrees Fahrenheit to effectively kill the lice and nits. This can be an issue because most water heaters are set at 120 degrees for child safety. You can either turn up your water heater or you can use the 120 degree water, it has been used effectively in the past.
7. Disinfect combs and brushes in hot water or rubbing alcohol. To disinfect them you want to soak them for at least five minutes, but preferably longer. If using water you want to use very hot water, greater than 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

8. Any items that the person has come into contact with that are considered non-washable, such as stuffed animals, should be placed in a plastic bag for at least two weeks. After the two weeks is up you can open the plastic bags but it should be done outside. You can also consider getting things dry cleaned if it is something that will be missed if it is in a bag for two weeks.

9. Thoroughly vacuum all floors and furniture, you want to pay close attention to couches and chairs that were used by the children. Once you are done vacuuming you want to throw away the vacuum bag immediately or if you have a bag less vacuum empty the container into a plastic bag outside and throw it away immediately

10. You can also try home remedies, but herbal therapy and oil treatments that have been used in the attempt to suffocate lice have not been found to work properly. In fact a study was done in 2004 and it did not show any benefits from using this type of treatment compared to over-the-counter treatments.

11. Never use gasoline, kerosene, or oils because of the fact that burns have occurred.

12. You can use a comb that uses an electric current that is generated by a AA battery. But this method has not been scientifically proven and its reported success has been anecdotal.

13. Do not shave the person's head. This is a drastic measure that is not needed and can only add to the embarrassment of having lice.

14. If your child is in school or day care notify the school nurse or teacher so that you can help limit the spread of lice.

Something that you need to keep in mind is that treatment failures are usually for two reasons. The first reason that it might fail is that you did not follow the directions on the packages when treating the first infestation. Or it can mean that you are coming into repeated contact with people who have not been treated and are currently infected. The failure has little to do with the lice becoming resistant to the treatments, in fact resistant infestation will often respond when an alternative product is used.

Just remember that lice infestations are a unique human experience. What this means is that they do not fly or jump from host to host they are actually transferred by person to person through direct contact or through contact with certain inanimate objects. Lice can not be transmitted from animals to humans because lice do not use animals as a host.