Table of contents:
- Overview of the life cycle of head lice
- Where are the most common head lice?
- Why can curse hair make it itchy?
- How are head lice spread?
- The difference between lice and dandruff in the hair
Curly hair not only makes your head itchy, it can also make you feel inferior to interacting with other people. The reason is that even though they are very small, head lice can still be seen with the naked eye. Not to mention the eggs that stick to the head look like dandruff.
Besides being able to make your head itch, do you already know other important and interesting things about head lice? Check here, let's!
Overview of the life cycle of head lice
Just like other living things, head lice also experience their own life cycle. Starting from the parent that lays eggs. Nits, or nits, often look like tiny yellow, brown, or brown dots before hatching.
Then, the nits hatch into colonies of baby fleas called nymphs. Nits hatch within one to two weeks. After hatching, the remaining shell appears white or transparent, and will remain firmly attached to the hair shaft. These lice babies will mature within seven days of hatching.
Adult lice can live for up to 30 days on a person's head. Adult fleas are the size of a sesame seed, have six legs, and are gray-gray in color. In people with dark hair, adult lice appear darker. To live, adult lice need to "drink" blood several times a day. Without blood or if they fall off the scalp, the lice will die within 1 to 2 days.
Where are the most common head lice?
Nits are found on the hair shaft close to the scalp. Meanwhile, lice most commonly travel on the scalp, especially behind the ears and near the neckline at the back of the neck. Lice are rarely found on the body, eyelashes, or eyebrows.
Why can curse hair make it itchy?
Curse hair is synonymous with itching on the scalp. Well, it's not actually the body of lice that makes your hair and scalp itch. Itching occurs as the body's reaction to flea saliva that bites your skin to drink your blood. However, how long the itching lasts depends on how sensitive your scalp is to lice.
How are head lice spread?
In contrast to what we have believed so far,Head lice cannot jump or fly from one person to another. So, why are curses "contagious"?
These tiny parasites have claws that are specially adapted so that they are able to crawl and cling to hair. Lice are usually spread by direct contact which allows them to cross from one person's hair to another's hair.
For example, the alternating use of personal items such as clothes, sheets, and combs. This habit can lead to the spread of head lice from one person to another. Children are particularly susceptible to head lice because they tend to have close physical contact with one another and borrow personal items more frequently.
The difference between lice and dandruff in the hair
Head lice are often confused with dandruff. In fact, both are different. Dandruff is a white or grayish patch of scalp that peels off and sticks to your hair or is visible on your shoulders. Dandruff is easy to fall off, while head lice stick tightly to the hair shaft.
However, both do make your scalp and hair itchy. So, if you really want to determine the cause of itchy hair, consult an expert.
