Lice Myths

Since Korinna was telling Tom that we need to put all the kids' toys in plastic bags for two weeks, I thought I'd share some facts about lice. I've had a few other people share a bit of paranoia also, so maybe it will help to read it yourself. People are so afraid of getting them that myths abound!

Web md is linked in the subject line. That's a pretty generic source. This link wont let me copy/paste, so I'm including it separately. It specifically mentions the bag thing. (They die after 24-48 hours off a human head, so it's just ridiculous). FICTION: Nits in the hair mean a person has lice. FACT: Fewer than one in five children with nits go on to get lice infestations. Because of this myth, half of children sent home for head lice don't really have them. "Many health experts believe that 'no-nits' policies should be abandoned," the BMJ notes.
FICTION: Treat children if they have nits. FACT: Treatment should begin only when adult lice are found.
FICTION: If your kid gets head lice, you have to clean all sheets, clothing, earphones, and furniture with insecticide. FACT: There's no evidence this helps. Head lice soon die after leaving a person's head.
FICTION: Lice spread easily by sharing hats, pillows, or chairs. FACT: Lice on hats and furniture are sick, dead, elderly, or are just cast-off lice skins. They can't cause an infection. Lice are spread from person to person only by relatively prolonged head-to-head contact. But it's still a good idea for children to avoid sharing combs, brushes, and hats.
FICTION: Lice like long hair. FACT: Short hair makes it easier for lice to move off and on the scalp. Don't cut a lice-infested kids hair or tie it back. Girls are more likely than boys to get head lice. But it's because they have more close contact during play, not because their hair is longer.
Head Lice Facts:
Head lice are parasites. They lay five or six eggs every day at the base of scalp hair shafts.
Head lice are most often found behind the ears and at the back of the neck.
Head lice never leave the head unless forced to do so. Head lice detached from the scalp soon die.
Facts:
Head lice feed on blood every three to six hours. This feeding can cause itching, but most of the time there are no symptoms.
A person has an infestation of head lice only if adult lice are present.
Nits are head lice eggs. Most of the nits you see aren't living things. The eggshells left over from hatched head lice can be easily seen as white casings and can be confused with dandruff. Unhatched viable nits are "glued" to the hair by the adult louse and are camouflaged to match a person's hair color. Having nits in the hair does not necessarily mean a person has head lice. Only live lice cause infestations.
The problem may not be head lice at all. Often we think there are lice when there aren’t really any there. We all start to itch as soon as head lice are mentioned.
There are other causes for itching of the scalp. Using head louse lotion can make these worse.
Using lotion over and over again can cause dermatitis, which itself makes the head itch.
When living, moving lice are found, they can almost always be cleared by using the right lotion. This will only work if enough of it is used, if it is put on in the right way, and if any other family members who have lice are treated properly at the same time.
A day or two after using the lotion, you sometimes find little lice still there. These have hatched out of the eggs since you put the lotion on, and will be killed if you put the lotion on again after seven days.
When you have got rid of the lice, you might still itch for two or three weeks. This doesn’t mean you still have lice. Check the head carefully. Remember, you don’t have head lice if you can’t find a moving living louse.
When you have got rid of all the lice, the nits (empty egg cases stuck on the hairs) will still be there. This doesn’t mean you still have lice, and you shouldn’t treat again no matter how many nits there are if you can’t find a living louse.
People who think their children keep on getting head lice may have made the mistakes listed above, and may keep on "treating" lice which have long since been cleared, or were never even there in the first place.
If children do really keep on having living lice, this is most likely to be due to not doing the treatment properly and not treating all those close contacts who have also been found to have lice. Remember, if infection really does keep on happening, it is almost always from a member of the family, or a close friend. It is rarely from other children in the classroom except from a "best friend".