There are always people who have misconceptions about head lice and the treatment of the problem. If people can understand the facts well, they can immediately start taking action to find the root cause and solve the lice infestation problem effectively.
First of all, you need to know the facts and myths about head lice and how they affect us. They do not have wings, so they cannot fly or jump and can only crawl. Although they can be contagious by direct contact, they do not transmit harmful diseases to humans. They are also not transferable by animals. Rather, lice are passed from person to person through direct contact with each other or contact with items that are infested, such as infested brushes, combs, hats, and bedding.
Another common misconception that people have is that head lice can survive on humans for a long time. No doubt head lice depend on humans for food (they feed on blood from the scalp) and heat, their lifespan is only 30 days. If they are away from the scalp, they can only live for the next 24 hours.
People also have the perception that people with long hair and those who do not wash their hair frequently will get lice easily, and this is totally false. In fact, head lice can live on anyone’s head, whether they have good or bad personal hygiene, long or short hair. As long as they can find an opportunity to climb onto a human head, they’ll stay there. However, the head lice problem is more common among children, as they often come into contact with other children (who might be infected) during playtime. Adults can get them too.
The first thing you can do when treating head lice is to use a special medicated shampoo that will kill them, then use a special lice comb to remove all the nits and lice. You will also need to look for all the items that the infected person has been in contact with and then do a thorough cleaning of these items. The main focus will be to wash all the household items that the head comes into contact with frequently, such as sheets, covers, blankets, etc. Throw them in a washing machine and wash them with hot water. This is because lice cannot survive above 125 degrees Fahrenheit after 10 minutes. Things that cannot be machine washed, such as pillows, comforters, stuffed animals, or cushions, can be placed in a dryer on a hot cycle for about twenty minutes to achieve the same result.
You can also send these things to the dry cleaner or place them in an airtight bag for 2 weeks to suffocate them. Brushes and combs can be placed in a pot of hot water and continued to heat on the stove for the next ten minutes, at a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit. If your combs and brushes aren’t safe to heat, you can also soak them for an hour in a Lysol or Dettol solution, which may be enough to kill them.
Other things you need to work on are your home carpets, furniture upholstery, mattresses, car seats, and car interiors. They must be carefully vacuumed and cleaned to remove the lice that live inside.