Head Lice - Dealing With Them Naturally

Head lice are little parasites that are found on the head and in the hair. When you have lice you have a condition that is known as pediculosis. Head lice are a very common ailment and it is estimated that one in every ten school children will acquire it at some time.

Anyone who comes into close contact with anyone that already has head lice or pieces of clothing or other belongings is at risk at getting it. Children that are age's three to ten are especially likely to develop head lice. Girls often contract it more often than boys and women more than men.

Children can contract lice from the following situations:

* Coming into contact with a person who is already infected by lice. This can include coming into contact during school, play, sports activities, slumber parties, camp, home or school.

* Wearing or sharing the same articles of clothing like sport uniforms, hair accessories, hats, coats and scarves.

* Sharing or using the same brushes, combs or towels.

* Being in the same bed, lying on the same couch, sitting on the carpet or stuffed animals that are touched and shared between children.

There are three different kinds of lice that include the nit, nymph and adult louse. Nits are the lice eggs. They are hard to see and are very often confused with dandruff or drops of hair spray. They attach themselves firmly to the shaft of the hair and are oval in shape and yellow or white in color.

Nymphs are baby louses from the nits when hatched. They look like an adult head louse but are smaller in size. They mature into adults in about seven days after they hatch. They have to feed on blood in order to survive. The adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed and is tan or gray in color. They have six legs and can appear darker in people who have dark hair. Females lay the nits and are usually larger than the males. Adult head lice can live up to a month on a persons head and need to feed on blood to survive. Once the louse falls off of a person, they can die within two days.

Head lice are most often located on the scalp between the ears and are near the neckline and back of the neck. They hold onto hair with claws and are rarely found on any other area of the body.

The symptoms of lice include:

* Tickling sensation or something moving in the hair
* Itching
* Sores on the head
* Infected sores of the head
* Irritability

If you think that you or your child may have been in contact with someone who has head lice, it is best to check them right away and begin treating them. There is no reason to resort to exposing your children to harmful chemicals in order to rid them of these parasites. There are numerous natural options available to you that are safe and effective with no harmful side effects.