Parasites such as lice have a role in the conditioning of a 'natural' immune system and reducing the likelihood of immune dysfunctions, a study of mice from a Nottinghamshire forest indicates.
Lice for Building Immunity
Recent studies have shown the benefits of having lice. While it may sound ridiculous and unbelievable, there's scientific evidence that a certain kind of louse can be beneficial in reducing the chances of developing immune deficiencies.
The longer answer goes back over 800,000 years. Scientists believe head lice began to evolve on a different path than body lice about the time humans started to wear more clothing. Body lice evolved to attach to clothing fibers which are typically thicker and stronger than a human hair. Head lice stuck with the scalp.
Head lice are annoying, but they're not dangerous and they don't spread disease. They're not a sign of poor hygiene — head lice need blood and they don't care whether it's from someone who's clean or dirty. It's best to treat head lice right away to prevent them from spreading.
Over the years, the newer strain of lice has become more resistant to the different toxic chemicals that are used in these OTC treatments. So no matter how strong those treatments are, the lice have the power now to stay stubbornly alive.
Head-to-head contact with an already infested person is the most common way to get head lice. Head-to-head contact is common during play at school, at home, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp). Although uncommon, head lice can be spread by sharing clothing or belongings.
It's less common for head lice to spread without direct contact. But the insects may spread from one person to another through personal items, such as: Hats and scarves. Brushes and combs.
Adults are not immune to head lice. In fact, if you have any close contact with children or even parents of children you can be at risk of catching them if they have them. Lice transfer primarily through head to head contact, so you would have to get close to the other person.
Shaving Will Not Get Rid of Lice.
The reason shaving will not work is because lice live on the base of the hair, and on the scalp. The nits are laid right at the base of the hair oftentimes against the scalp. Shaving will not get close enough to make an impact on the lice and nits.
Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact.
You can find head lice on the scalp, neck, and ears.
Head lice survive less than one or two days if they fall off the scalp and cannot feed. Head lice eggs (nits) cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they do not remain under ideal conditions of heat and humidity similar to those found close to the human scalp.
Throughout ancient Egypt, people were tormented with lice. Remedies for the common person included eating a special meal mixture with warm water, and then vomiting it up. Others believed a recipe of spices mixed with vinegar rubbed on the scalp over a few days would suffocate them out.
Introduce natural predators (Ladybugs)
Ladybugs can eat 100 lice a day!
No one is immune, but frequent head checks help
Anyone can get lice, and personal hygiene has nothing to do with the likelihood of being infested, Rukke said.
Head lice are not known to transmit disease; however, secondary bacterial infection of the skin resulting from scratching can occur with any lice infestation. Getting head lice is not related to cleanliness of the person or his or her environment.
Lice can be killed by sufficient application of heat and by the drying conditions that result from certain heated devices. The hot dry air produced by standard hand-held hair dryers may suffice to kill lice and their eggs on a person's hair.
There are over-the-counter (OTC) lice treatments that are effective at getting rid of lice, including Rid and Nix. If lice return, a doctor may prescribe the shampoo Lindane, (which the American Academy of Pediatrics warns against using as a first treatment in children), or lotions such as Sklice, Ulesfia, or Ovide.
Besides pubic region, adult louse has also been reported from axillary hairs, eyelashes, moustache and beard. Here, we present an unusual case of concomitant ophthalmic and nasal myiasis along with pubic louse infestation of nasal cavity in a young individual.
There is no specific hair type that lice prefer. All lice need is a clean strand of hair to attach to. It doesn't matter the thickness, the length, if it's been colored, if it's straight, or if it's curly. It has been found that people with longer hair tend to report getting lice.
Typically, 10–15 head lice are found. The number of lice often depends on personal hygiene, for example, how often the person bathes, shampoos, or changes and washes his/her clothing.
Infestation timeline
So if you look on the scalp and see no visible adult lice and several small nits, it's likely that you've caught lice in the earlier stages and had them for less than 2 weeks. Nits and nymphs: 1.5 to 2 weeks. If you see nits and small, moving lice, you've likely had lice for 1.5 to 2 weeks.
Not everyone feels lice moving around on their scalp, but some people do. Dr. Garcia says that most of her patients say they “don't feel anything,” but others may get a creepy, tickling sensation as lice move around their head.
Lice are attracted to the blood they get through your scalp – short, long, clean or dirty. Doesn't matter! You have to clean every crevice of your house after a lice infestation.
Emerging from their third moult as adult lice, the female and slightly similar male begin to reproduce. Female lays first egg one or two days after mating. Female can lay approximately three to eight eggs per day for the next 16 days.