Lice Symptoms And 18 Other Things You Need To Know | HuffPost

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Warning: You are about to feel super itchy.

Terri Coles — The Huffington Post Canada

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Chances are, when you were young, you were either sent home from school with a letter about a lice outbreak or had it yourself.

Lice are small wingless insects that look sort of like grey sesame seeds with legs. Lice infect human hair in order to suck blood from the scalp, and lay eggs (called nits) within it. Lice don’t carry or cause disease, but they can be itchy and uncomfortable — and nobody likes the idea of bugs laying eggs on their head.

But contrary to many of the stereotypes about the insect, it doesn’t say anything about a person’s cleanliness or personal hygiene. Lice can happen to anybody, child or adult, and once you’ve got it, it’s not always easy to get rid of.

"Most people who have lice do not realize it for four to six weeks after contraction,” says Shawnda Walker of Nitwits in Toronto.

And it can take a few weeks, with lots of evenings spent combing out nits, to really get rid of it. Some people outsource the job to the pros, while others take on the task themselves. But if you have memories of dealing with lice as a kid, some things have changed — one of them being that the use of lice-killing chemicals is not as common and not necessary to be rid of the pests.

"With recent studies proving 99.6 per cent of head lice have mutations in genes that could allow them to survive the insecticides permethrin and pyrethrin found in most over-the-counter remedies, it's time to change the way people treat head lice,” says Dawn Mucci, founder and CEO of Lice Squad. "We need to look at more socially responsible ways to deal this this common human condition that will have a positive impact on the health of children and our environment."

Here are 19 things you should know about lice, from why it seems more common at this time of year to how you avoid it.

What You Need To Know About Lice

Yes, It's Lice Season(01 of19)

You can get lice at any time of the year, but September and October are particularly high-risk months, experts say. "This is because kids are heading back to school after a long break visiting families, travelling, camps, sleepovers, etc. Often they head back to school and spread it to their friends before they even realize they have lice yet,” explains Barbara Pattinson of Lice911 in Maple Ridge, B.C. "January and after the Easter holidays are high risk times as well for the same reason." (credit:Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)

Anybody Can Get Lice(02 of19)

"Head lice simply doesn't care about what kind of hair you have or if you're putting anything on it: hairspray, gel, hair dye, clean, dirty, essential oils, etc.,” Pattinson says. "If you have hair, you can catch head lice, period." (credit:ATIC12 via Getty Images)

Hair-To-Hair Is The Highest Risk(03 of19)

"Lice are spread over 90 per cent of the time through direct hair-to-hair contact, and it can take as little as three seconds to catch lice,” Pattinson says. Avoiding hair-to-hair contact is the best way to prevent catching or spreading lice. (credit:JGI/Jamie Grill via Getty Images)

There Are Other Ways To Get It(04 of19)

Less commonly, you can get lice through hair-to-item contact — for example, using someone’s hairbrush or wearing their hat. "Secondary environmental sources include head rest, pools and other places you may place your head,” says Dawn Mucci, founder and CEO of Lice Squad. (credit:Serge Galacktionov via Getty Images)

Most Prevention Measures Aren't Legit(05 of19)

You can find all kinds of methods for preventing head lice with a search on Pinterest, but most of them aren’t going to help you. “There is nothing proven to prevent head lice, even though there are many common ‘remedies’ online,” Pattinson says. (credit:m-imagephotography via Getty Images)

Keep Your Hair Up(06 of19)

You can reduce the chances of lice transmission by keeping long hair up, particularly in buns or braids. "We call loose hairs lice bridges,” says Shawnda Walker of Nitwits in Toronto. "This is what lice attached to someone climb over to a new host." (credit:Ron Krisel via Getty Images)

If You Have It, You Will Find It(07 of19)

"The clearest sign is definitely finding either live lice or their eggs (nits),” Pattinson notes. Nits are most often found at the nape of the neck and behind the ears, according to Pest Control Canada, but they can be found anywhere on the head or in the eyelashes or eyebrows. (credit:wildpixel via Getty Images)

But There Can Be Symptoms(08 of19)

"Scratching is usually the first sign but some people do not get itchy,” Mucci says of the physical symptoms. Lice could also be behind a cranky mood, surprisingly. "Unexplained tiredness and being easy to irate are other symptom of lice,” Walker says. "Lice are nocturnal and very active at night, and your need to scratch takes you out of your REM sleep. Therefore, you wake up feeling unrested and unhappy." (credit:Rob Lewine via Getty Images)

What Does It Look Like?(09 of19)

"If you see something suspicious on the hair shaft, try to pull it off,” advises Darlene Miller of the Greater Vancouver Lice Clinic. “If it moves easily, it is not a egg.” If the suspected egg doesn’t pull off easily, look for more like it in the general area. Female lice lay eggs in grouping of eight to 10 per day. And once a female lice is pregnant, she is pregnant for life, Walker adds. (credit:Stockbyte via Getty Images)

Your Pets Are Safe(10 of19)

Lice is strictly a human parasite, so your pets aren’t in danger of catching it. "Dogs and cats have their own issues, fleas and ticks — but never lice,” Miller notes. (credit:Jose Luis Pelaez Inc via Getty Images)

It May Take Multiple Treatments(11 of19)

You aren’t necessarily going to get rid of lice on your first try. "Lice are now resistant to all the over-the-counter treatments,” Pattinson explains. "That's why you need to follow any treatment plan with the conditioner comb out method." (credit:Peter Dazeley via Getty Images)

The Old-Fashioned Method Is Still The Best(12 of19)

"The only sure way to get rid of lice is to ensure removal of all of the nits and bugs,” Walker notes. "Relying on any product to kill lice and eggs will most likely leave you dealing with lice again in the very near future." (credit:DeVil79 via Getty Images)

You Might Not Need Chemicals(13 of19)

You can get rid of lice using the conditioner comb-out method alone, Pattinson says. You can also try other agents to kill the lice themselves. "Smothering agents such as olive and coconut oil will suffocate lice,” Mucci adds. "Once smothered, you must get in again with a good lice comb to remove viable eggs." (credit:Tooga via Getty Images)

Comb It Out(14 of19)

"Lice will never be resistant to good old fashioned combing,” Mucci says. "The trick is to have a quality comb that has good tolerances between the tines and preferably micro grooved tines. You must systematically interrupt the life cycle of the louse and reduce the population over time to be successful.” Miller recommends the Licemister comb. (credit:JosT Elias via Getty Images)

Look Into Enzyme Shampoos(15 of19)

"Enzyme shampoos help cleanse lice and eggs from the hair, and in combination with a thorough combing provides a great outcome,” Mucci says. Lice R Gone is one option. (credit:Jringjai via Getty Images)

Cleaning Non-Hair Items(16 of19)

"Lice zapping combs and applying medical device heat will kill lice,” Mucci says. "Removing the lice eggs afterwards must always be done.” Wash and dry bed linens and other household fabrics that come into contact with hair on high heat to try to kill any lice. (credit:shutterstock)

Check For Lice Regularly(17 of19)

The experts advise doing weekly checks for lice or nits, in order to catch an infestation early. "The sooner you find head lice, the easier treatment is,” Miller says. (credit:LarsZahnerPhotography via Getty Images)

Try Bringing In The Pros(18 of19)

Don’t have the time or patience to remove lice strand by strand? You can bring in a professional to do it for you, often with a guarantee of success. "Manual removal is tedious but very effective,” Walker says. "Many turn to lice professionals to ensure it is done correctly." (credit:KatarzynaBialasiewicz via Getty Images)

Lice And Bedbugs Are Two Different Things(19 of19)

Bedbugs can live in things in your home, but the same isn’t true of lice. "Head lice are human parasites and die within 48 hours off the human host,” Miller explains. (credit:smuay via Getty Images)

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