Being infested by head lice is one of the most common problems of people around the world.
The common victims of head lice infestation are children.
But, that does not mean adults are already free from being infested.
There are many ways that a person may be infested with lice, and getting rid of them may be quite difficult.
That is why a lot of people are searching for head lice information in order to have adequate knowledge and to be able to know how they can avoid or get rid of them.
The following are just a few details and information about them.
They are tiny, little, wingless, parasitic insects that thrives in the human hair and scalp.
The scientific name of a head louse is pediculus humanus capitis.
The process of being infested by them is called as pediculosis.
These parasitic insects only infest humans.
But, there are also instances where they can infest monkeys.
They commonly affect hairy parts of the human body, and so there are instances where they are found on other hairy parts of the body aside from the head.
Head louse is different from human body louse.
While human body louse has the capacity to be carriers of other infectious diseases, head louse is not.
Other head lice information that you have to know about is how they survive and reproduce.
In order to survive, the parasitic insects need to feed on human blood.
That is that reason why one of the very obvious symptoms of being infested with these parasites is the scratching of the head.
The itchiness that an infested person feels is due to the bites of these parasites.
In order to suck the human blood, the head louse pierces a needle like part of their mouth into the skin.
This is in contrast to what other people believe that head louse burrows on the skin.
Since this type of infestation is known as widely endemic, knowing about how they re-populate is very important.
There are three stages in the life of a head louse.
The first stage is the nits or also known as the egg.
To physically determine a nit, it is oblong or oval in shape and is attached to the base of the hair shafts.
These nits do not suck human blood yet.
The nits then hatch after 7 to 10 days.
The newly hatched lice then need to feed on human blood in order to develop into adult head lice.
The cycle then continues if a person who is infested with small and parasitic insects can not get rid of them.
There are still many head lice information that a person needs to know.
Information such as how it can infest other people, how to get rid of them, what are the possible cures for these parasites, and many more.