[Image source: iStockphoto]
or try the A-Z Library
Fact Buster
Q: Do head lice only like clean hair?
A: No, head lice like both clean and dirty hair.
Published 11/06/2008
[Image source: iStockphoto]
Have your say
Do nits bug you? Have your say on the messageboard below.
Conditions of Use
There are few things are more annoying and difficult to get rid of than head lice, they are universally reviled (ever heard anyone say a nice thing about head lice) despite the medical view that they are little more than a nuisance.
Despite the irritation and frustration that accompany a head lice infestation, many of us take some comfort in the knowledge that lice only like to nest in clean hair. But do they?
Professor Rick Speare has spent many years researching these pesky little critters and he says there's no evidence to support the theory that head lice prefer to live in clean hair, nor is there research to suggest lice prefer dirty hair.
"The underlying message, which is supported by evidence, is that head lice occur in hair clean or dirty," Speare says.
While this comes as no surprise, there are some other interesting facts about head lice that researchers have found:
- head lice are more common in long hair
- infestations are two to four times more common in girls
- head lice spread through head-head contact – explaining why they spread through childcare centres, schools and families
- head lice don't always make your head itchy – so you need to look closely to find them
- head lice can't survive for too long off the head – focus treatment on the hair not the house.
Speare says new research has found one of the biggest problems with head lice is that people either don't know how to treat them properly or aren't satisfied with the treatment options available.
"People want to move on from a treatment method that is more than 9,000 years old (nit comb and chemical applied to hair) to something that suits their modern lifestyle. The problem is what they want is possibly not widely available."
There are a number of reasons head lice are difficult to treat:
- lice can be resistant to many of the insecticides designed to kill them
- no single product kills the lice and their eggs at one time
- people don't like using toxic chemicals in their hair (especially their children's hair)
- you need to spend time combing hair with a fine tooth comb to remove the lice and eggs – this needs to be done on several occasions and can be time consuming.
There's no silver bullet for head lice whether it be keeping your hair clean, not washing your hair or zapping head lice with a product, but applying conditioner to stun the suckers while you comb them out is a good place to start.
For more information, read Professor Speare's fact sheet on how to treat head lice.
Rick Speare is a professor with the School of Public Health, Tropical Medicine and Rehabilitation Sciences at James Cook University in Townsville. He was interviewed by Claudine Ryan.
More Questions »
Comments (42)
-
RJ :
17 Nov 2008 10:42:21pm
Well my partner's daughter is almost 11 and for the last 5 years we have fought the no win battle against head lice. The school does not check the kids and does not send them home if they are scratching. We do the condition treatment every other night and a good organic treatment containing tea tree and lavender oil once a week. Her hair is very long and very thick and we cant get it cut because no hairdresser will touch it. I have even been told by hairdressers that they cant risk eggs 'contaminating their scissors'. Goes to show how much they know. We went through so many chemical treatments but they were damaging her skin so we stopped. I will certainly try some of the other ideas here but we dont feel that hopeful. Also it is very difficult when having shared custody as we dont know what is done at her other home.
-
miss state the obvious :
03 Nov 2008 12:54:26pm
do nits bug you? if nits don't bug you then there is obviously something seriously wrong with you.. or your just sick.
-
single dad :
03 Aug 2008 4:52:33pm
My 3 girls 17, 15 and 12 have very long, half way between butt and knee length hair. Their mother was Chinese but their hair is finer but very thick, ponytails an inch and one half across. I have always loved combing and brushing their hair as much as they like having it done. I especially like doing it outside in the bright sun as their hair shines like a mirror. Very health too, hardly a tangle, which makes it silky smooth. When I noticed the head scratching I thought maybe dry scalp but it was lice. Boy were we bummed. Well the way I got rid of them was I had each girls sit in front of me and bend forward. Then I combed all the hair into a ponytail at the top of their heads then with the brand new turbo clipper just buzz the hair up from the hair line to the ponytail and then into the ponytail and lifted all the hair it off. Simple, easy, quick. When I first started I was just sick about it but then watching the cut hair fall away, as they were bending way forward with the top of their heads pointing down, from the scalp I surprizingly really started to enjoy it. And the other two that weren't getting buzzed a the moment strater giggling and chanting off with her hair har har! And afterwards them all said how good the clippers felt vibrating up their necks and head. I dipped the ponytails in boiling water then washed and conditioned them. I tied them all together in in big fat ponytail, boy is it heavy, the every night comb and brush it while I wait for their hair to grow back out.
-
Kerryn :
08 Jul 2008 8:22:53pm
My daighter had a great idea re the treatment of head lice.
She wrote to John Howard & Stephen Bracks (yep a lil while ago now)suggesting a National Head Lice Day. Explaining that if everyone in Autralia were treated at the same time, then did the follow up comb with conditioner every 2nd day for a week after, head lice would surely disappear.
Im sure Australians that have experienced headlice would applaud such a simple solution.
She did receive replies from the relevant departments. But as I explained to my Grade 4 girl, at the time, sometimes all it needs is a seed to be planted, it may take some time to grow but at least you planted the seed. :) -
Kate :
08 Jul 2008 8:33:23am
The best and cheapest treatment is homebrand conditioner. Put as much on as you can. Leave it there for half an hour then comb the scoundrals out with a lice comb from the supermarket. Then to prevent another infestation. Put aeroguard on your childrens necks. Safe applications are now available at the supermarket
-
Sarahbb :
30 Jun 2008 7:32:18pm
I've found that nit combs never work on my children's fine hair. I use an electronic zapper or nit shampoo to kill the live ones and then I go after the eggs.
Go through the child's dry hair armed with a pair of nail scissors and cut off each hair that has a nit attached to it, below the attachment point, obviously. After you're finished snipping, brush or comb the child's hair to remove the loose hairs and then clean the brush or comb. This method is far less painful than trying to pull the nits off the hair and it works on long, curly and fine hair.
Like a lot of methods it is time-consuming and needs to be done daily to get all the little monsters before they hatch out. And it's best done outside or on a hard floor that can be swept afterwards.
My kids don't like it much but I've found that the electric zapper is great for when you catch nits off your own children and hubby's eyesight isn't up to the job! It is also good if you just want to check your child's hair to find out if they have them when the next notice comes home from school or kindergarten. Oh No. My scalp's itching at the very thought..... -
lizziB :
22 Jun 2008 7:03:14pm
I have been lucky to never have experienced nits in either of my kids hair. When they were little my hairdresser told me to always condition their hair and this will keep the nits away. This has held us in good stead. I have always used chemical free shampoo/cond's from a health foodshop. This way you can really massage it in well to their scalp without irritating their scalp with chemicals. 15 years later - still not one episode of nits!
-
Nit Wit :
21 Jun 2008 1:17:39am
My friend told me her children never had head lice when they were using a certain brand of shampoo. I told a couple of hairdressers and they could see how it would work as that brand coats the hair and the lice probably can't get a foothold.
-
Frangi :
20 Jun 2008 4:22:20pm
The thing I find particularly stressful about the whole thing, which we have lived with now for 5 years, is trying to have fairly nit free hair when it comes to a kids haircut, after being asked to leave a hairdressers when my daughter was 4. If the hairdresser had had a bell I'm sure she would have rung it as we left and shouted "unclean, unclean". We have even taken to having the kids hair cut when we are on holidays just in case we get sprung by the local one. Huge market out there for people like me who hold their breath the whole time their child is in the hairdressers just in case..scratch, scratch
-
Relieved :
17 Jun 2008 12:59:30pm
My youngest daughter has very thick hair.After years of paying ridiculous amounts of money for solutions and plastic and metal nit combs, my local pharmicist put me onto an electric nit comb. The best $70 I ever spent. I go through my daughter's hair every few days. For the first time in years she is nit free.
-
chandra :
17 Jun 2008 11:46:21am
Add one table spoon full of dettol to cupfull of warm water and rub it to scalp.Cover the head with shower cap for 10 minutes,followed by good shampoo and wash.Blow drying is important.(Some people might react to the dettol,so be careful.)
-
Experienced Mother :
16 Jun 2008 9:28:25pm
A recommended chemical treatment from the chemist will get most of them. But total waste of time/money unless followed up by a week of daily conditioner/combing.
-
itchy :
16 Jun 2008 8:39:21pm
Have you ever noticed when people start talking about nits, you get an itchy head?
Just as a note of interest. If you use half/half of CIDER vinegar and any shampoo, later follwed by copious amouts of conditioner ( with the usual combing), it gets rid of EVERYTHING. It also is good for the hair! I've had my little one come home with the little nasties, and as he's a boy, I just gave him a buzz cut. As for me, I used the treament I have just suggested, and blasted the little buggers off. -
Iorek :
16 Jun 2008 3:17:27pm
We're conditioner and comb people, though thankfully my daughter hasn't had nits since primary school.
Another tip-coat the clean dry hair with mousse (good and tacky, super-hold is ideal) before pulling it back and making a plait/pony tail. The hairdo will set like a rock, but it does seem to stop the new ones coming in, and I like to think of it choking off any existing strays.
Hold onto the thought that you will come through this! -
KT :
16 Jun 2008 9:17:11am
For those with girls (or long haired boys) I have used a concoction of Lavender oil, tea tree oil and water in a spreay bottle. Use this on the hair daily to prevent infection and keep hair tied back when possible especially at school!
-
Nancy :
15 Jun 2008 1:35:04pm
I heard from one delighted mother who had tried every recommended treatment - to no avail - that she rubbed refined macadamia oil into her daughter's head and left it up for a few hours and then washed her daughter's hair. Upon combing the hair with a nit comb she found hundreds of dead nits and eggs. Since then she has had no trouble at all. Refined macadamia oil has all colour and natural perfumes removed. One can add a perfume to make it smell more attractive but that is not at all necessary.
-
Cathy :
14 Jun 2008 7:16:24pm
My daughter (6) has suggested we get a monkey. I enjoy the time in the sun together. Chemist treatments don't work and the comb and conditioner treatment is the best.
-
Mick Hayes :
14 Jun 2008 2:32:31pm
My kids brought headlice home from school years ago and infected the whole family. I killed them off instantly by using fly spray on hair followed by a shampoo
-
ABC (Moderator):
16 Jun 2008 10:04:00am
It is not recommended to use products that are not approved for human use, especially on children.
Always only use products that are marked AUST R or AUST L - see comments below - that are specifically developed to treat head lice and follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Do not use fly sprays or insecticidal house sprays to treat head lice. -
possum :
17 Jun 2008 8:21:48am
Sure, youre not supposed to use fly spray on kids (or big people), but as a kid I never had nits, and my mum was a demon with the fly spray: we lived in a permanent cloud of the stuff. I am totally the opposite, one tin lasts us for years, but my kids have nits frequently, bringing them home from school like new friends. I put this increase down to decreased flyspray use universally - thats a good thing, but nits are a side effect. INcidentally we've tried everything and the only thing that works is vigilance. Hit em hard the first day, then daily conditioning and combing. I'm going to try the macadamia oil though.
-
-
Amanda :
13 Jun 2008 11:23:08pm
Mother of 5, 3 boys & 2 girls another alternate to the fly spray one and recommended by my GP is 10mls of kerosene to 100mls of water in a spray bottle, smells a bit but works wonders. To get rid of the smell add Lavender oil with tea tree oil & eucalyptus oil & water in spray bottles works well. The best has always been cheap thick conditioner used regularly with a fine plastic nit comb. Thanks for tackling a long term problem been having infestation off and on for 7 years.
-
Jenny W :
13 Jun 2008 2:21:31pm
Speaking from experience, a louse can survive four days without sucking blood. My son put one on a microscope slide and it was still obviously alive four days later.
Another point, once the eggs are easy to find on hair, that is they look white and opaque, the lice have already hatched, so there's no need to remove them. If the louse has not hatched, the egg is very hard to find even on dark hair, and looks almost clear. My sons were sent home from school time after time when the teachers found the white opaque eggs, not realising they had already hatched. Also the eggs are laid right next to the skin, so if an egg is found further down the hair shaft, say 1 cm or more, then it will have hatched. -
Peter Hughes :
13 Jun 2008 11:57:21am
(ever heard anyone say a nice thing about head lice) Well, I do remember a cross-cultural item from a 70s Sociology lecture - Maltese Grandmothers put a louse in their Grand-daughter's hair. Why? Ah! That I have forgotten.
By the way, a recent method to kill the louse is to asphyxiate it by coating its exo-skeleton with "dimethicone" -
Janette :
13 Jun 2008 11:51:30am
I worked in a chemist and found that after an outbreak many of the Lice treatments became ineffective. My cousin found after many outbreaks on her children that conditioner was the most effective and she used it in a spray bottle as a preventatative - said it worked for her
-
Ken Fergusson :
13 Jun 2008 10:25:36am
I have rid myself of lice on two occasions. The first time with one application of Mortien "avagoodwegend" insect repelant spray (cant remember the name) and the second several years later with cheap dog flea powder.
-
ABC (Moderator):
13 Jun 2008 12:27:04pm
It is not recommended to use products that are not approved for human use, especially on children.
Always only use products that are marked AUST R or AUST L - see comments below - that are specifically developed to treat head lice and follow the manufacturer's instructions.
Do not use fly sprays or insecticidal house sprays to treat head lice.
-
-
Megs :
13 Jun 2008 9:53:45am
HAIR DRYERS!!!!
Blow drying your hair will kill the lice, the eggs the whole thing. I have incredibly thick waist length hair, and as a child my mother resorted to cutting it all off after countless lice infections. Now I am an adult and my little sister has reinfected me countless times, but no more shearing... a couple of blow drys and it is all over.
Your scalp may be a little uncomfortable from the heat, but it is a gem!
Try it and when it works, tell everyone. No more chemicals no more hours of combing, BLOW DRYING! -
Bill Bass :
12 Jun 2008 11:05:41pm
Use rosemary oil after wetting hair, twice a day... fine comb morning and night... rosemary is all-natural, good for your hair and smells like a wonderful baked, stuffed chicken. Persist. But what's the big deal with a shaved head for a while? Better than chemicals and infestation.
-
Mother of Three :
12 Jun 2008 10:41:10pm
My friend suggested using frontline or similar brand for the prevention of headlice. At the time it sounded completely outrageous. She sussed it out at her local vet surgery and queried the person behind the counter and they said it works and they've used it on their own children and it has a protection barrier for at least a month. I know this is good for dogs & cats, but humans???????
-
ABC (Moderator):
13 Jun 2008 10:30:31am
Products approved for human use in Australia carry a AUST R or AUST L number.
Frontline is designed for animals and has not been approved for human use in Australia.
It should not be used to control nits as it may cause toxicity, especially in children.-
Emmjay :
16 Jun 2008 2:16:47pm
I feel a bit sorry for you, Mod. Having to repeatedly tell these turkeys the difference between their arses and their elbows.
On the other hand, isn't it amazing that people so stupid can type ?
And on the third hand, you're not doing the gene pool any favours by attempting to save them - I know, political (legal) correctness demands this. :-)-
JP :
17 Jun 2008 12:46:41am
I totally agree, some people do things with total disregard to their own (or worse, their child’s) health. ONLY use products intended for human use, those intended for animal use can easily cause toxicity even at low exposures as humans have different tolerances to insecticides than, say, dogs.
The usual treatment for lice are medicated shampoos or cream rinses. Combs can be used to remove lice and nits from the hair. Laundering clothes using high heat can eliminate body lice in lieu of washing with insecticides. Efforts to treat should focus on the hair or body (especially clothes, and hats), and not on the home environment: It is important that infected persons hair not come into contact with shared surfaces in order to slow the spread.
A physician or pharmacist can prescribe or suggest treatments. Because empty eggs of head lice may remain glued on the hair long after the lice have been eliminated, treatment should be considered only when live (crawling) lice are discovered.
Examination of the head at regular intervals using a louse comb allows the diagnosis of louse infestation at an early stage.
-
-
-
-
Sandra :
12 Jun 2008 10:20:07pm
With three daughters I feel like I've been dealing with lice for years! I've found that chemical treatments are a complete waste of time and money (and who on earth would want to put organophosphates on their child's head!! Pyrethrins perhaps not quite as bad but not very effective when I've used them in the past.) I now deal with infestations by the 'comb and conditioner' method which has been far more successful than any insecticidal rinse or mousse. However there always seems to be one or two parents per grade who just don't get how to deal with hair lice so you need to keep checking weekly as your children invariably get re-infested. We too, like Kate, have found the time checking for lice to be an opportunity to chat, listen to music, or listen to Dad read a book.
Lots of people swear by a dab of Tea-tree oil in the school hats, but be warned that some people (like us) get amazing contact allergies from it, even when diluted.
Baldness, while effective, is not a desirable option for primary school age girls, though many of my friends with boys have resorted to the shortest of short back and sides. -
Rus :
12 Jun 2008 8:32:59pm
Those with nit problems - just go bald.
-
Kate :
12 Jun 2008 6:13:57pm
The age old way to treat nits is to "nit-pick", slowly and methodically combing through the hair, almost strand by strand in bright sunlight and squashing the nits between the fingernails! It is at first a rather gruesome activity - but one I eventually found surprisingly relaxing ...as my daughters and I spend hours over many years when they were primary school age chatting and musing, planning and wondering...in a way putting the world to rights! I wonder that lice interfer with our busy lives just when our lives need to slow right down and we need to take a close look at what is really important - each other! I never found the rapid treatments, electronic nit combs and pesticides were any anyway near as effective - although the electronic comb gave the whole process (and the nits in particular) a rather satisfying and savage buzz!
-
Master of the Nits :
12 Jun 2008 5:37:32pm
The most effective, non-toxic, cheap and easy way to get rid of lice is to buy a couple of plastic nit combs (very few prefer the metal, but whatever works) plus a bottle of cheap conditioner. Pre-brush to get rid of knots, wet the hair, put in a decent coating of the conditioner, and comb away. The comb will pick up the nits and eggs at the same time which stops the life-cycle, and you can see exactly what you are picking up in the white conditioner on the comb. Repeat this for 2 or 3 days (depending on how bad they are), then once a week for 2 more weeks. You cannot PREVENT lice, but when you wash your child's hair, do a quick nit check when the normal amount of conditioner is applied whenever you feel it is necessary. Remember if they sit next to someone else who has nits, chances are they will share them, and will regularly get them back.
Chemicals are useless, stinky, and very nasty (why would you voluntarily put anything on your child's hair that is poison and is no more effective than a bottle of cheap conditioner?).-
Nikita :
16 Jun 2008 9:18:42am
When i had nits when i was little mum used to just wash my hair with a mixture of vinegar and water (then a normal wash to rid of the smell). It works! and it doesn't sting. She would also comb my hair with a nit comb and dip it in pure vinegar to kill them off the comb.
please.. dont treat your kid like animals!-
Emmjay :
16 Jun 2008 2:21:43pm
The best thing about this simple, non-toxic and cheap approach is that it has some common sense science behind it. The vinegar helps dissolve the "cement" holding the nits (the eggs) to the strands of hair.
Lucky to have such a wise mum.
-
-
AnneBK :
18 Jun 2008 5:15:46am
My children are past the nit stage now. But I found the conditioner and nit comb always worked and used regularly prevented an infestation as you can get them before they lay any eggs. My daughter (when old enough)used to check her own hair and let me know if she found any. It's a few years ago now but the only commercial treatment I found that worked was a non chemical mousse containing several essential oils.
-