Chances are, you’ve either had head lice or know someone who
has. But what are they, and how do people get them?

“Head lice are one of three types of lice that feed on
human blood,” said Miranda Brooks, a Pickens County senior
4-H’er. “The insect lives its entire life cycle on the heads
of humans.”

Brooks was a state 4-H winner this year for her project on
head lice. She studied the insect pest and worked to educate her
community on ways to control them.

Her efforts included volunteering to help with head checks
in her local primary school, writing an article for her local
newspaper, presenting a program to the PTA and creating displays
for use in schools and the public library.

What They Look Like

Head lice are flat, have no wings and are about an eighth of
an inch long.

“They’re about the size of a sesame seed,” Brooks
said. “They’re almost clear when they hatch and dirty-white
to brownish-black when they mature. Their color changes as they
feed on blood.”

How They Travel

If they have no wings and don’t jump, how do head lice travel
from head to head?

“Many times lice are spread by head-to-head
contact,”
Brooks said. “That’s why outbreaks are more common in lower
elementary grades where children are more likely to hug a friend,
touch his hair or wrestle on the floor.”

Lice also travel from person to person on brushes, combs, hair
clips, caps, hats, scarves and jackets. Sports helmets and
headsets
used for computers and music equipment are also a means of
transferring
lice.

“Cold weather brings on the spread of lice due to caps,
hats and scarves being piled together in school coat
closets,”
Brooks said. “The lice can crawl from garment to garment
and eventually up onto the neck and into the hair of a new
host.”

Who Gets Them and Who
Doesn’t

Lice are rarely found on the heads of African-American
children
and adults. “Researchers have always known that for some
reason, black children were not infested with the type of head
lice most commonly found in America,” Brooks said. “But
head lice do infest blacks in Africa.”

The American head louse has a claw adapted to clinging to the
round hair shafts of Caucasians.

Itching and scratching are the first signs of lice
infestation.

“If you suspect you have head lice, have someone check
your head for signs,” Brooks said. “The lice are tiny,
shy away from light and move quickly. So it’s much easier to
check
for nits, which are lice eggs. Nits are normally found around
the nape of the neck, behind the ears and at the crown of the
head.”

What Do Nits Look Like?

Nits appear as tiny, silvery specks attached to the hair
shaft.
They may appear to be flakes of dandruff, but they don’t flake
off easily. Sometimes debris or hair oil is mistaken for a nit.
If the spot moves easily up and down the hair shaft, it’s not
a nit.

Once you have determined you have head lice, treat your hair
with lice removal treatment. Follow label instructions.