You may have lice and not even know it

Could you have an infestation of head lice and not even know it?

The truth is that within the first weeks of an initial infestation the case often goes on without any evident symptoms. Even the itching commonly associated with head lice may not come on for several weeks.

You may have a co-worker who has recently discovered that they are infested, and so you suspect that you could have lice without even knowing it, too. It is common for no symptoms to occur for up to six weeks of infestation, so you may have lice and not yet know it. Also, up to half of the people who get head lice never have any itching.

Lice experts recommend doing a head check regularly, especially when you have been in contact with people who have identified lice in their hair.

Where lice are most likely to be hiding in your hair

Lice can be hard to spot, so knowing the first places to look can help. Lice favor the areas around ears and the nape of the neck, so check there first.

The best method for checking for Lice

Using a fine-toothed lice comb is the expert-recommended way to check for lice. The combing method is much more efficient at spotting lice than a visual screening on its own.

It can be difficult for the untrained eye to see the difference between dandruff, dirt, dry skin and lice. You may need the services of a health care expert who is knowledgeable about the differences. They recognize lice and their eggs so you can have an official diagnosis rather than only the best guess.

You can be sure you’ve spotted lice when you see them moving around on the lice comb. You may need a magnifying glass to detect them, and using a light source like a flashlight can help because lice flee from light.

Choosing the best treatment for confirmed infestations

When you’ve confirmed that you have lice, the first tip is to take it in stride. Lice infestations happen to good parents and children, too. An outbreak does not mean you are a poor parent or that your home is unclean. And, there are new treatments that can solve your lice problem quickly and efficiently.

The most professional and effective treatment available for lice

Over-the-counter treatments are woefully ineffective as lice have become resistant to the medicines used in them. To treat and eliminate head lice, you’ll need professional help for total eradication of the infestation.

An excellent alternative is to use the services of Larger Than Lice, with natural lice treatments and caring technicians, you can rest assured that your child is in good hands. We even offer a 31-day guarantee after your initial treatment for your peace of mind. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Keep kids in the game and Lice Free

As a parent, seeing your children out on the sports field supporting their team gives you a feeling of pride. Their effort on the field in support of their team builds their character. But, with the bumps and bruises that can also happen out on the field, you may question whether sports are doing good for your kids. Everything is relative, but here are some of the most significant benefits kids gain from sports:

Playing sports gets kids active

These days, getting kids away from their phones and video games isn’t always an easy prospect. Their enthusiasm for electronic devices and video games isn’t equaled when compared to doing chores or their homework.

But, sports being the fun, energizing activities that they are, kids tend to respond well to the idea of playing a game with their peers. Building outlets outside of video games is healthy for them, and it can encourage them to seek positive things in every aspect of their lives.

Sports instill good qualities in kids

Playing sports builds character in your kids. They learn about teamwork, dedication, and pursuing goals. The natural leaders emerge and develop their skills, and kids learn how to work together to achieve common goals. The fun of playing sports helps kids become more outgoing and confident as they work together alongside their peers.

Sports are a good outlet for stress for kids

Let’s face it: the world is a stressful place. And, this is true for kids, too. We all need an outlet to get out the angst of the average day. On the field, working out the stressors of life can help them be at ease.

Kids who play sports together build strong, healthy relationships

When kids work together at a common goal, they build bonds with their teammates that can last through their whole lifetime. Few other situations have the same innate team-building and relationship-building qualities. Kids who play together get to know one another and the cooperation in sports activities can build the same spirit in everything they do with their sports friends.

Playing sports gets kids outdoors

Remember the days when every neighborhood had its gang of kids running around, riding their bicycles, playing basketball, tag, or follow the leader? For most blocks, those days are long gone, but one thing that helps sports are great for kids, but watch out for Lice!

Encouraging your kids to get involved with sports is a great thing. And, so is following these tips to help them avoid getting head lice:

• Tell kids to avoid sharing equipment like hats, towels, or jackets.

• Ensure your kid has their own locker, not one shared with another kid.

• Encourage your kids not to throw their belongings in a pile with everyone else’s. Putting them in their own space prevents lice.

• Tell your kids to avoid direct head-to-head contact with other kids.

• Stay vigilant and pay attention to your kid’s hair. Watch for signs and symptoms of head lice so you can catch them early to bring back that old spirit is playing sports.

When kids play sports in school, they’re more likely to play when they’re at home, too. Kids playing a game outside can draw other kids out of the house to play, and the positive impact on your neighborhood is palpable.

What do I do if I have nits, but no lice?

I see nits, but no lice?!

Well, in order to have nits, you had to have had an adult female lay them, as they can’t transfer by any other method.  So you had a bug at one point, but sometimes, the mother lays some eggs and then travels to another head, or finds this head incompatible to her system and the mother passes after laying three eggs.  Keep in mind, nits represent the next generation of lice and by doing a visual inspection there is no way of knowing that there are only nits with no live lice.

The bugs are designed by nature to be hard to see, so it is not typical to just see bugs on a head.  The only way to know that there are nits with no lice present at the time is by actually treating the head!  Then, during your comb-out, you would find dead bugs or discover only the eggs.  You can do a thorough combing head check on wet hair and still not find any lice because they will run from you. So if we do a combing head check on someone and we find nits we know that there must have been an adult female louse there.

To answer this question properly you would have to treat somebody to find out which stages of lice are on their heads – is it just eggs or various stages of bugs, or are there are only nits with no lice. It is possible to have Nits and no lice in the very early stages of an infestation. It is also possible to have leftover nits from a prior infestation.  Those would be old and unviable but with no real way to tell the difference to new lice.  In that case, hiring a professional might be a good investment for your peace of mind.

The Dangers of OTC Lice Treatments

With the summer behind us and school in full swing, you’re probably on the lookout for common problems like the flu and lice breakouts. Lice outbreaks in the New York area are more common than you might expect, and many parents are unsure of how they should proceed when they suspect that their child is carrying lice. Instead of coming to a professional lice treatment center, many parents choose to purchase over-the-counter lice shampoo in an attempt to save money and treat the problem as quickly as possible. While we understand the motivation here, the vast majority of parents are unaware that over-the-counter lice treatments often contain toxic chemicals that can harm their children.

In today’s post, we’ll explain what you need to know about OTC lice treatments before explaining why our approach to lice removal is safer and actually more effective. 

Skeptical readers may be wondering why certain lice treatment products are alleged to be dangerous. After all, many health-oriented businesses use fear and misleading arguments about chemicals in order to promote their products as the solution. It’s good to have a skeptical mind when you’re trying to choose the best lice treatment for your child, but it’s also important to follow the evidence wherever it leads.

In order to understand why many over-the-counter lice treatments are so harmful, it’s important to remember that lice are insects. Just as some of the chemicals used to keep our crops free of pests have turned out to be harmful, the chemicals (insecticides) commonly used in lice shampoos are being closely examined by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As we’ll explain below, some of the chemicals commonly used to treat lice have been banned in certain industries and in certain countries around the world, though they have not yet been banned in lice treatment products here in the United States.

Two commonly used lice treatment chemicals include:

Lindane

Although lindane has been categorized as a highly toxic pollutant by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), it is still used in lice treatment shampoos. Lindane has been proven to cause cancer and harm the nervous, neurological, and reproductive systems, which is why several countries around the world have banned it from being used in any over-the-counter products. Some of the most serious problems caused by lindane include:

• Severe rashes

• Dizziness

• Sleepiness

• Vomiting and nausea

• Seizures

• Uncontrollable shaking

• Stinging and burning sensations

The FDA has taken notice of these effects and recommended that lindane always be used with caution, especially in individuals who weigh less than 110 pounds. Given that the overwhelming majority of lice cases occur in young children who weigh significantly less than 110 pounds, it seems unlikely that lindane will continue to be used in lice shampoos.

While the effects of lindane on the human body are certainly scary, the effects on the broader environment are almost just as troubling. Lindane is also categorized as a bioaccumulative pollutant, which means that it builds up and stays in the environment for a long period of time. It doesn’t take much to pollute the local environment — it’s been estimated that one single use of lindane will pollute roughly 6 million gallons of water.

Permethrin

Permethrin has been used in lice treatment products for decades. While it was once incredibly effective at eliminating both fully grown lice and eggs, its prevalence in the United States has actually led to lice developing a resistance to the chemical. Recent studies have shown that permethrin is between 20 and 30 percent effective, which should be sufficient to give any parent pause before spending money on it. Moreover, the health risks of permethrin are troubling, to say the least:

• Wheezing, coughing, shortness of breath, and other respiratory problems

• Allergic reactions

• Runny nose and congestion

• Scalp irritation and a burning sensation

• Convulsions and other nervous system problems

Choose Natural Lice Treatment

At Larger Than Lice, we know that parents dealing with a lice infestation are looking for fast, affordable solutions. While we know it can be tempting to rush out and purchase over-the-counter lice shampoo, we hope that today’s post will prompt you to think otherwise.

Instead of taking on your child’s lice removal on your own, book an appointment with us for a lice screening. With natural lice treatments and caring technicians, you can rest assured that your child is in good hands. We even offer a 31 day guarantee after your initial treatment for your peace of mind. We look forward to speaking with you soon!

Five Things You Should Never Do If You Have Lice

Most people shudder at the thought of having lice, and it’s easy to understand why. While we hope that you never have to deal with lice, it’s important to know what you should and shouldn’t do if you end up with them. In today’s post, we’ll cover five things you should never do if you have lead lice.

If you have lice…

• Don’t Panic

  Most people shudder at the thought of having lice, and it’s easy to understand why. While we hope that you never have to deal with lice, it’s important to know what you should and shouldn’t do if you end up with them. In today’s post, we’ll cover five things you should never do if you have lead lice.

• Don’t Use Over-The-Counter Treatments

  Over-the-counter lice removal products are some of the most harmful and toxic products available on today’s market. Many of the chemicals have been linked to serious problems such as cancer, uncontrollable shaking, wheezing, seizures, and more. At Larger Than Lice, we use safe and effective natural lice treatments that eliminate lice without putting your health and well-being at risk. 

• Don’t Throw Away Hats and Clothing

  Many of our clients tell us that they threw away everything they wore when they had lice, and while we understand the sentiment, it’s completely unnecessary to throw away your hats and clothing after a lice infestation. Lice cannot live for more than 48 hours without a human host, but their eggs can remain viable for up to seven days. Instead of throwing out your clothing, gather everything that could be contaminated and place it into a double-lined trash bag. Wait seven days before removing your clothing, and then immediately wash everything with hot water and soap.

• Don’t Tear Your Home Apart 

  As we noted above, it’s completely unnecessary to tear your home apart in the days following a lice infestation. You should vacuum carpeted areas and furniture thoroughly, mop hard surfaces with soap and water, and take your pets to the vet for a checkup. You should know that it’s unlikely that lice will make their way back into your hair if they have fallen into the carpet, so you don’t need to spend an inordinate amount of time scrubbing every inch of your home.

• Don’t Wait

  Seeking out professional lice treatment as soon as possible is the best way to get back to normalcy as soon as you suspect that you have lice. Do-it-yourself lice removal kits are difficult for the average person to use, and a prolonged battle with lice is the last thing you want to deal with. Here at Larger Than Lice, we are committed to helping you get back to lice-free living as soon as possible!

Are head lice the same as body lice?

The short answer is no, head lice and body lice have similar characteristics, but they are not the same. Here are some tips for distinguishing head lice from body lice:

Their Appearance

• Head Lice

Adults are about the size of a sesame seed, around 2-3 mm in length and brownish in color. You can see them attach to the hairs of the head near the base of the hair shaft and they go to the scalp to lay eggs.

• Body Lice

Adults are slightly longer than head lice, 2.3-3.6mm in length. Still, they’re very similar in appearance. They are also brownish in color and have two antennae on their heads. Body lice aren’t found in the same locations as head lice. In fact, they only go to the human body to feed.

How Do You Catch Them

• Head Lice

These are caught when you come into close contact with infected people, especially their hair. Head lice cannot jump or fly, instead, they crawl from one host to another. Even objects, such as clothes, hats, combs or brushes seldomly transmit lice as the lice die within a day without human blood.

• Body Lice

Body lice can spread via direct contact and through contact with items that are carrying the lice. As previously mentioned, body lice don’t stay on the body, they dwell in items such as clothing, bedding and towels, only making their way to the body to feed.

Who is at Risk of Catching Lice?

• Head Lice

Head lice occur primarily among children of preschool and elementary school age. Since direct, head-to-head contact is the main way the lice are transmitted, young kids at school are most likely to get infestations. According to the CDC, 6-12 million infestations occur each year in the U.S. to children. More girls get head lice than boys because of their long hair, which is easier for the critters to climb on to.

• Body Lice

While body lice usually require direct person-to-person contact, the creatures tend to thrive in crowded conditions, messy environments and on those with poor hygiene. People in places like homeless shelters and other crammed dwellings are susceptible to body lice infestations, which can spread quickly in such conditions.

Make lice checks a weekly habit

Catching head lice early is vital to helping stop the spread of these itchy pests. It can take 2-4 weeks for outbreak symptoms such as itching to show up, if they do at all. By making weekly lice checks a habit at home, you can help stop an infestation before it gets out of control.

How to perform head lice checks

Work under a bright light and use a nit comb to help remove anything you find. Part your child’s hair and watch for movement as lice will quickly travel away from the light.

Look for eggs stuck to the hair shaft near the scalp. About the size of a poppy seed, they often look like dandruff that can’t be easily removed

Pay particular attention to the nape of the neck, behind the ears and on your child’s bangs to the crown of their head. Recently laid eggs are nearly transparent so it’s helpful to examine hair from different angles.

6 easy steps to reduce infestation risk

1. No sharing. Remind kids to keep belongings that touch the head to themselves.

2. Give them space. Tell school kids and campers to not share cubbies or lockers with friends.

3. Go for an updo. When possible, have children wear long hair pulled back.

4. Play smarter. Encourage children to avoid games that involve head-to-head contact.

5. Keep alert. If you notice your child has symptoms of lice such as excessive head scratching, immediately do a thorough check so you can treat it right away.

6. Tea Tree Oil/Lavender Oil/Peppermint Oil

   A couple of drops of tea tree oil in your child’s shampoo or some lavender oil around their hair line is said to deter head lice. Research has investigated the effectiveness of these oils, and while they don’t completely repel, they do aid in deterring the head lice from habituating in a child’s hair.

Nine tips to avoid head lice

While the news may cover lots of articles about how to treat head lice, there just aren’t very many about how to prevent it. Other than, of course, the tired and true obligatory phrase: “don’t share combs or brushes.” I’m not sure about you, but I don’t see that many kindergartners fluffing and tossing a shampoo-commercial head of hair at school. The underground market for “pre-owned” brushes during recess just doesn’t seem that large. So what reasonable steps can you take to reduce your chances of bringing home head lice? Without being all paranoid and nit-picky, that is?

First, before we dive into this infested topic, brace yourself. The more you know about the wonders of head lice, the more likely you are to spend the next two weeks scratching your head from time to time and shuddering. Thinking about lice too much provokes that kind of reaction. It’s what we highly-skilled professionals in the world of homeless healthcare term, with diagnostic precision, a case of “the heebie-jeebies.”

Second, try to channel a bit of helpful fatalism. People don’t die from head lice. Sure, if you find a louse crawling on your teeny child’s scalp, you might end up flapping your hands and running around in circles while emitting an airless eeh-eeh-eeh scream. But unless you trip, fall and impale yourself on one of Urban Outfitters’ invisible toy sticks, no one’s going to get hurt. Or sick. Maybe nauseated. But not sick.

Even when it comes to changing your life to avoid head lice, it’s important to maintain perspective. As a doctor who works in a homeless clinic, I can tell you that we staff see it all – things that crawl and creep and slither across human skin. What you realize is that reasonable precautions are important. But staying happy, and productive and (frankly) sane means that you’ve just got to shrug and, after taking reasonable precautions, think that hey, what will be will be. Every living creature on this earth has its own version of lice (aphids are plant lice). But I’ve seen friendships and social events and classrooms literally destroyed by the emotional fallout of a head lice outbreak. Which makes you wonder if, really, should we let the little suckers have that much power over us? Instead, we can focus that energy into anti-louse action.

The first way to prevent head lice is to arm yourself with some knowledge. Here are a few important head lice facts to keep in mind:

1) People are infested, on average, four to six WEEKS before they discover they’ve got lice. That means it can be essentially impossible to know who got what, when, from whom. The blame game, in a world of lice, is meaningless. Take it out on the lice – those little creepers are sneaky beyond belief. How sneaky?

2) Lice, except in florid cases, can be harder to diagnose than you might think. Hey, theoretically, all you need for a self-sustaining infestation is one fertilized female louse. They’re tiny. And sometimes speedy (6-32 cm/min). On-going cases exist with as few as 10-15 live lice on a person’s entire head (average = 12).

3) Nit cases are how most diagnoses are made. The louse glues an egg to the base of a hair shaft and the heat of a person’s body incubates the egg. Lice (being nobody’s fool) lay eggs that are, generally, the color of the person’s hair. Only when the egg has hatched, and the hair has grown out, and the “husk” that’s still glued to the hair-shaft pales, can you reliably see the empty cases. But even that is sometimes difficult to be sure about. Telling the difference between normal scalp fluff or skin, and an old nit case, is a job for someone with experience.

4) Shampoo and conditioner won’t help. Keep in mind, getting head lice has nothing to do with hygiene. Trust me, lice don’t actually care how often you wash your hair. They like a nice invigorating shower as much as the next person. You get lice when lice from one head move to another head. That’s it. There’s nothing more to it. Lice has nothing to do with poverty either – they don’t know how much is in your bank account. Lice can be more common when people are living in crowded settings, though, purely because the lice can more easily spread to more heads. Our only saving grace is that they can’t live very long on another surface (max = hours, but not more than 2 days). Lice have to feed (urk – your blood) frequently. Five times a day. And lice can’t jump. They’re not fleas. High heat works to kill them, but we’re talking clothes dryers here. If you try to treat lice by blow-drying high heat on someone’s head, you can burn and/or kill the child (true – there are reported cases where treatment solutions on a head ignite), but the lice are fine – they just move to the other side of the head.

5) Use the star pattern for sleeping arrangements at sleepovers. First, make it a habit, if it’s not already, to have sleeping bags and sleeping-on-the-floor an expected part of sleepovers. No sharing pillows or beds. Second, when night-time comes, instead of putting kids side by side, or lying in a circle with their heads in the middle, try to get kids to lie in a circle with their feet in the middle. A good PR move for encouraging this arrangement is to tell kids that this way everyone gets enough room, and no one is left sleeping on the ends.

6) Beware performance culture! Adults who wouldn’t dream of letting their kids share a comb or a hat seem to forget all precautions when it’s time for a performance. Schools with strict lice policies will hang posters for a production of “Annie!” where 37 kids in two casts swap 6 wigs between 5 scenes. Make-up and hair volunteers will style all kids with the same implements, hair-bands, and hair-ties. And the hats! Don’t get me started on the hats! Make sure your kid’s joy of performing isn’t marred by a 4-6 week delayed mega-infestation. It’s important to have performance programs develop sensible anti-lice precautions. Cosmetic grade disinfectant should be mandatory for hair styling. If that’s not possible, at a minimum, each kid should have their own brush/comb with strict non-sharing supervision. Keep in mind that lice tend to be dead if left on a surface for more than a couple of days, so those elaborate hats for “Dolly” can probably still be used between separate casts, as long as they perform on different days.

8) Safety (equipment) first! Let’s take a moment here and play the Worst Case Scenario Game-show! Which of the following would you choose? What’s behind Door #1 – Skull fracture and death; or Door #2 – Head trauma with a lifelong seizure disorder; OR Door #3 – Itching. Not really much of a comparison, is it? That’s why, when it come to your kid’s long-term health, helmets trump head lice fears any day of the week. Sure, in terms of avoiding head lice, it’s best if everyone has their own, individual head-protection. But if your nine year old son is at a friend’s house and they’ve decided to take on Dead Man’s Cliff with a borrowed skateboard, you want to make sure he knows it’s better to borrow the helmet too – rather than avoid head protection because of lice fears. It gets a bit trickier when expensive protective head gear is shared constantly on a team, and passed among players during the same event/day/tournament. While the practice may not be optimal for lice avoidance, it’s definitely better than having someone forced to take what’s behind Door #1.

9) What’s the deal with movie seats and airline headrests? Once you’re aware of head lice transmission patterns and risks, you’ll probably start to wonder about those cushy movie theater seats. You know, the kind where hundreds of people lean their head back against them, over and over again all day. Can you get head lice from leaning your head back against them? The same question applies to airplane seats. Planes are emptied and refilled rapidly, with only cursory trash removal. Many airlines no longer use (or change!) those flimsy paper headrest covers – and who knows if those even “worked” in the first place? And, since most people can’t know they’ve got a case of head lice until 4-6 weeks after exposure, how would you know one of those seats is where you got it? Unfortunately, I don’t have a definitive answer for you there. What’s reassuring is that most clusters of head lice occur in the same predictable ways – among elementary to middle school kids and their siblings/family members. But if you’re worried, you can do like a nurse friend of mine does – carry a scarf to toss over the seat back, then shove it in a plastic bag afterward to launder and dry on high heat. Does that work? Reasonably, it could, but sorry, again, I don’t have a definitive answer for you there.

Bottom line: We humans are uniquely prone to infestations. Hey, it may be the real reason we’re, as a species, essentially hairless. Which leads me to wonder if the only difference between us and chimps, over time, is that we ARE hairless. After all, if you have to spend all day, every day, picking nits, it’s hard to find time to paint the Mona Lisa. When it comes to recognizing, treating, and containing the spread of lice, we’re all in this together. Be sure to email, tweet or share this information with others, including school officials. But if lice happens in your community, try to avoid the blame game. After all, anyone can have a lousy day.