'' Generally, children are less protective of their personal space, more likely to come into physical contact with one another, and more likely to share personal items like clothing or hairbrushes, which make it easy for the bugs to travel from person to person.
Why Do Kids Get Head Lice More than Adults? The answer is pretty straightforward. It's not that the pesky critters prefer children's blood to adult's. It's the simple fact that kids are in closer contact with one another on a daily basis.
Adults are not immune to head lice. In fact, if you have any close contact with children or even parents of children you can be at risk of catching them if they have them. Lice transfer primarily through head to head contact, so you would have to get close to the other person.
Whether public transportation, concerts, or crowded areas, any situation in which there is hair to hair contact puts adults at risk of getting lice. Indeed, the only reason children more often have lice is because they spend more time in close quarters with each other.
In the United States, infestation with head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) is most common among preschool- and elementary school-age children and their household members and caretakers.
Head lice are common in children between the ages of 3 and 11 years old. These pests are more prevalent in Caucasian children. They are more frequently found in girls than boys. Head lice live in all types of hair, whether it's curly, straight, dyed or natural.
Head lice keep recurring when eggs are missed and left in the hair. Those missed eggs then hatch and you find head lice again. Removing all the eggs is key to stopping head lie recurring. The eggs are tiny and glued firmly onto the hair.
Although head lice can feed on different blood types, they cannot thrive on different Rh blood factors. Therefore, lice will only prefer to move to somebody else of the same rhesus factor irrespective of the blood type.
There is no specific hair type that lice prefer. All lice need is a clean strand of hair to attach to. It doesn't matter the thickness, the length, if it's been colored, if it's straight, or if it's curly. It has been found that people with longer hair tend to report getting lice.
No one is immune to head lice. However, in the U.S., head lice are less common among African American people.
Myth #2: Bad hygiene, poor grooming habits or a messy home can increase the likelihood of getting head lice. Head lice has absolutely nothing to do with personal hygiene or how clean someone's home is. In fact, washing a child's hair will not get rid of lice or nits (lice eggs), which cling to hair.
There are two reasons for a recurrent lice infestation: The lice treatment you used didn't work. You or someone in your family came in contact with lice again.
Head-to-head contact with an already infested person is the most common way to get head lice. Head-to-head contact is common during play at school, at home, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp). Although uncommon, head lice can be spread by sharing clothing or belongings.
A preventative shampoo and spray can break the life cycle. A shampoo that kills lice before they can lay eggs is critical for closing the “bridge” from one head to another.
Lice are attracted to the blood they get through your scalp – short, long, clean or dirty.
Hairspray makes it harder for the louse to grab hold. The smell of hairspray and the use of solvents (sad but true) in them can also deter creepy crawlies from finding their way in. Not to mention that if you're tying longer hair back, you've got a double whammy.
Untreated head lice may degrade the scalp and affects it health and that of the hair. If the follicles become blocked, then hair loss may occur. It is hard to have well-conditioned hair if it is covered in head lice eggs, lice and bacteria.
If lice from the head of an individual with a lice infestation with the blood type A positive (Rh +) transfers to the head of another individual whose type of blood is B negative or O negative (Rh -), they cannot survive.
Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense. At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes.
Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp). Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes. Do not share combs, brushes, or towels.
Permethrin lotion 1% is approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice. Permethrin is safe and effective when used as directed. Permethrin kills live lice but not unhatched eggs.
Head lice are a common problem, especially for kids. They spread easily from person to person, and sometimes are tough to get rid of. Their bites can make a child's scalp itchy and irritated, and scratching can lead to infection. Head lice are annoying, but they're not dangerous and they don't spread disease.