Theres really no way of getting around it: head lice are fairly gross. These little creatures take up residence in our hair and feed on blood that they extract from our scalp. To add insult to injury, they lay eggs and glue them to our hair follicles. One of the more memorable parental moments has to be combing your childs hair and discovering a patch of lice eggs.

Lice is the plural form of the word louse. A louse is a type of insect that is both flightless and cannot jump (like a flea). Lice can however, move fairly quickly and one of the reasons you rarely actually see a louse is because like cockroaches, lice hate light. As soon as you turn on the light to comb your childs hair, the lice take off and crowd as close to the scalp as possible.

Contrary to popular belief, there really isnt a season per se for lice. They live year round and can lay eggs at any time. Younger children tend to get them more during the school year when theyre in contact with a greater number of other children. They are generally passed when children share brushes or nap time blankets or carpet.

Head Lice Arent a Sign of Poor Hygiene
There is generally a certain amount of embarrassment that surrounds the discovery of lice on ones child. This is absolutely unnecessary. Head lice, unlike body lice, arent caused by a lack of cleanliness, and they dont carry disease or bacteria. Furthermore, standard washing absolutely wont kill head lice.