Differentiate between fleas and lice on pets. Fleas and lice are different pests, but share some similarities. Both fleas and lice: Are small, wingless insects that bite and chew the skin.
Doctors diagnose a lice infestation by observing the skin directly and identifying the lice or their eggs. They diagnose fleabites typically by looking at the affected skin. Fleabites may sometimes be confused with bedbug bites, but bedbug bites may form blisters, while fleabites typically do not.
The most common bug mistaken for lice is fleas. Fleas look similar in the sense that they are both small, wingless, cause discomfort, bite the skin, and are similar in size and color. Fleas tend to be a little smaller and rounder than lice, while lice are longer and more slender.
A heavy flea infestation can be recognized by marks on clothing and beds. This is the undigested blood ejaculated by the fleas. Pubic lice can cause bluish discoloration of skin in humans while head lice bites are pustular and may cause blisters on head, scalp and neck.
Body lice bites can cause intense itching, and you may notice small areas of blood and crust on your skin at the site of the bite marks. See your doctor if improved hygiene doesn't remove the infestation, or if you develop a skin infection from scratching the bites.
Dog lice prefer to eat dead skin cells and skin secretions, while fleas feed off of an animal's blood exclusively. While both pests leave you and your pets feeling itchy, this is a clear and present distinction to be made between these two bugs. Lice are much slower and less capable of jumping when compared to fleas.
The eggs are firmly attached to the hair fibres, within 1.5 cm of the scalp, and rely on warmth from the head to hatch. Head lice do not have wings or jumping legs, so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They can only crawl.
You Have to Treat Them
Head lice will not go away on their own. If you think your child has an infestation, there are several steps you should take right away. Call your doctor to confirm the diagnosis. Notify your child's day care or school so other students can be checked.
Head lice are most active at night. They can cause such intense itching that your child could lose sleep over it.
Lice won't go away without treatment. You can treat lice and their eggs with prescription or over-the-counter medicines. After treatment, your skin may still itch for a week or more. This is because of your body's reaction to the lice.
Not everyone feels lice moving around on their scalp, but some people do. Dr. Garcia says that most of her patients say they “don't feel anything,” but others may get a creepy, tickling sensation as lice move around their head.
Fleas generally cannot live in human hair. While most species prefer to live on the furs of animals, they can use humans as temporary vectors. In such cases, fleas can infest and bite humans. You may get infected if there is a serious case of flea infestation in your environment.
Can head lice live on pillows or sheets? Head lice cannot live for long on pillows or sheets. It is possible for a live louse that has come off a person's head to crawl onto another human host who also puts their head on the same pillows or sheets.
Lice and nits can't survive the high heat. It's true that lice and nits can't survive temperatures above 113°F (45°C). This makes them susceptible to any heat source, such as a hairdryer or the plates of a hair straightener.
Washing, soaking, or drying items at a temperature greater than 130°F can kill both head lice and nits. Dry cleaning also kills head lice and nits. Only items that have been in contact with the head of the infested person in the 48 hours before treatment should be considered for cleaning.
Lice are spread by head-to-head contact, primarily among children. This happens through hugs, sharing hats, combs, brushes, hair accessories, and, increasingly, through selfies and headphones. Kids push their heads together to fit in a phone's viewing field and create a situation ripe for head lice to spread.
Head lice can't spread disease, but they can make your scalp itchy. Frequent itching could break the skin on your scalp, which could lead to infections.
Itching. The most common symptom of head lice is itching on the scalp, neck and ears. This is an allergic reaction to louse bites. When a person has head lice for the first time, itching may not occur for 4 to 6 weeks.
Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person's head. To live, adult lice need to feed on blood several times daily. Without blood meals, the louse will die within 1 to 2 days off the host. Life cycle image and information courtesy of DPDx.
Head lice are most active at night. Itching is the first and most common symptom but may not appear for weeks after contracting lice.