About Lice

The most common way to get head lice is through direct head-to-head contact with someone who's already infested. That contact doesn't guarantee lice will transfer, but it gives them the easiest path from one head of hair to another.

Head lice can't jump, fly, or swim — they rely entirely on crawling, using the claws on their legs to grip individual strands of hair. That makes it hard for them to move without hair to hold onto, but they're surprisingly fast crawlers. So when two heads of hair touch, even briefly, a louse can quickly grab onto a strand and make its way to a new scalp.

Lice cannot typically survive off of a human host longer than 24 hours and they are uniquely adapted to live in the hair on a human head. They generally do not like to leave the protected environment created within head hair and can't survive long if they do leave the head.

Head lice are most commonly found on the scalp, behind the ears and near the neckline at the base of the head. Symptoms include a tickling sensation or feeling something moving through the hair. An allergic reaction to the bites causes itching. Viable eggs are usually located within 1/4 inch (6mm) of the scalp.

The adult louse is no bigger than a sesame seed and is grayish-white or tan. The color of lice vary based on your hair color. Nymphs (baby lice) are smaller, and can be black, clear, or even blood red. Lice eggs, often called nits, look like tiny yellow, tan, or brown dots before they hatch. After hatching, the remaining shell looks white or clear. Nits are literally glued to the hair shaft and are very difficult to remove.

Our clinic uses a dehydration-based treatment with the Flosonix device to eliminate head lice and their eggs. Rather than relying on chemicals, the treatment works by drying out lice and nits until they can no longer survive — a process that's fast, non-toxic, and doesn't carry the resistance issues that traditional pesticide-based treatments now face.

After the dehydration treatment, our technicians follow up with a thorough comb-out to remove any remaining lice and eggs, so nothing gets left behind. This combination gives you the speed and effectiveness of a professional treatment with the added assurance of a manual, hands-on check — something over-the-counter shampoos and home remedies like mayonnaise or bug spray simply can't match.

Eggs are laid by adult female lice and usually take about a week to hatch into nymphs. Nymphs: Nymphs are immature lice that mature into adults about a week after hatching from the egg. Adults: Adult lice can live about 30 days on a person’s head. If they come off the host, they usually die within 24 hours. Female adult lice lay 4 to 8 eggs per day and can lay 100 or more eggs during their lifetime. The eggs are glued to hair shafts and hatch in 4-10 days. It takes another 9-12 days for the female louse to mature. She mates 24 hours later and starts laying eggs.

There is not a difference although a nit is usually referred to as the empty shell and the egg as a viable egg. Sometimes people refer to one or the other in relation to its viability.

Although a microscope would be able to show you whether an egg is empty or not, there is no way to tell whether a non-empty shell is viable or not.

The best way to prevent head lice is to avoid head-to-head contact in the first place, since that's how the vast majority of cases spread. Keeping hair tied back or worn up — especially for kids at school or during sleepovers and playdates — reduces the chances of hair-to-hair contact turning into an infestation.

You can also use a lice prevention spray as an extra layer of protection. These sprays can help deter lice, but they're not foolproof, so they shouldn't be relied on as your only line of defense — head-to-head contact is still the main thing to watch for.

We recommend that all family members living in the house get a head check when one person is found to have lice. If lice are found on anyone else, they should be treated as well — otherwise, a person who's already been treated can easily get reinfested by someone else in the house who still has an active case.