How You Can And Can't Catch Head Lice

Head lice can spread quickly and cause a bunch of stress, as well as an incessant case of itching. In this article, we'll discuss some of the ways that you can contract a case of head lice and we'll dispel some of the rumors regarding ways that you cannot get head lice.

How You Can Get Head Lice

Head lice can be transferred to you any time that you have any personal contact with a person's head when they have the insects present in their hair. For the most part, this is how cases of head lice are contracted. You can, however, catch head lice from a person by sharing personal items with an infected person. For instance, wearing someone's hat who has head lice is a surefire way of transferring the insects to your head. You also need to be wary when it comes to sharing anything that touches the head, including towels, hair brushes and combs, hair ties, or helmets. You may also contract a case of head lice by sleeping on a pillow where someone had previously slept who has lice. Head rests of furniture including love-seats and couches can also play host to the bugs.

How You Can't Get Head Lice

A lot of people think that you can get head lice by swimming in a pool with someone with head lice. This is often not the case, however, since the insects go into a state of suspended animation when they get wet. They attach themselves to the hair follicles on your head and don't move until you are dry. Through this survival technique, they manage to persist on your head after you shampoo your hair and take showers. If you avoid close head-to-head contact with the infected person while in a pool, and you use your own towels, your risk of catching head lice is quite low.

Pets are not very susceptible when it comes to catching head lice. Many people think that cases of head lice may be brought on from the presence of outdoor pets, but more often than not, this is not the case.

The head louse is a type of insect that cannot fly or jump like a flea. All that it can do is crawl, so you have to be relatively close to someone in order to have the illness transferred.

When a louse isn't on a person's head, its lifespan is drastically shortened. The average louse can survive no longer than 24 hours when not feeding on a human head, so the transmission of the insects usually happens relatively quickly.

Another important thing to note is that the 'nits' (the eggs that the head louse lays) can not magically appear on one's head. It requires the presence of a live head louse in order to be found on the head.

Now that you know much of how the louse attaches itself to a human host, you can be more wary when it comes to taking preventative measures in order to protect you and your family from the bugs.

About the Author:
Mike Serovey is the owner and webmaster for http://www.mikeserovey.net where you can submit your articles for free.