What lies on your head could be lice!

1.Your pet can give you lice. Lice are host-specific, so animal lice cannot survive on human blood, and are not the same as human head lice. If your child has lice, he got it from another human being.

2.Lice will jump from one human head to another. Head lice do not fly, hop or jump. They are crawling insects which can spread via head to head contact. You can also get them from using an infected person’s hair accessories, or lying on their beds. Remember though, these are rare because head lice cannot survive without feeding for a day or two.

3.If you wash your hair a lot and have good hygiene, you will not get lice. Whether your head or scalp is clean or not, they will attract lice. There critters are attracted to human blood, not your dirt.

4.Lice are harmful. You cannot get any infectious disease from human head lice. Because of the itching, you may be distracted during activities that require concentration, and you can lose sleep. But you will not get ill. In severe cases, excessive scratching can cause small cuts on the skin and these can get infected.

5.A special shampoo will take care of everything. You need to use both a special lice-removing shampoo (with Permethrin insecticide), and run a fine-toothed comb through your hair to capture lice and eggs. The shampoo must be applied twice, ten days apart. Use a fine-toothed comb daily for at least two weeks.

source: Philippine Dermatologist Society