What are lice?
A louse - the name for lice if you are talking about just one, is a tiny grey and brown bug as big as a sesame seed.

What are nits?
When lice start living in hair, they start laying eggs - which are called nits. Lice can survive up to 30 days on a person's head and can lay 8 eggs (nits) a day. Lice attach their eggs (nits) to strands of hair close to the scalp. If these eggs are yellow, tan or brown, the lice haven't hatched yet. If they are white or clear, the lice have hatched and they are already sucking blood from the scalp.

Can lice live off the head?
Lice feed every 3 to 6 hours, so they do not usually survive for more than 48 hours away from the host.

 

Are chemical treatments for lice ok?
NO!!! The following passages from 'Headlice.org' and the French research group 'Inserm' are quite upsetting.

 

 

 

 

'Children who have been treated repeatedly for head lice or exposed to lice sprays may be more at risk of adverse events with additional chemical exposure, eg, seizures, behavioral changes, attention deficit disorders, skin disease and even death have been reported to the National Pediculosis Association Registry.' - Headlice.org

 

Inserm looked at 280 children diagnosed with acute leukaemia and compared them with 288 children without the disease, the results were mind blowing. 'After interviewing the mothers about their use of insecticide shampoos and other household chemicals, the scientists found that using chemical shampoos to get rid of head lice, could lead to doubling the risk of contracting childhood leukaemia.' Inserm Research (French)