{"id":364,"date":"2024-03-04T15:17:38","date_gmt":"2024-03-04T20:17:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/?page_id=364"},"modified":"2025-04-30T09:34:44","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:34:44","slug":"head-lice","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/head-lice\/","title":{"rendered":"Head Lice"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-376\" src=\"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/04\/Lice-Facts.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"992\" height=\"699\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/04\/Lice-Facts.jpg 992w, https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/04\/Lice-Facts-300x211.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2024\/04\/Lice-Facts-768x541.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 992px) 100vw, 992px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif\"><strong><u><span style=\"font-size: 14pt\">WHAT ARE HEAD LICE?<\/span> <\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Head lice are tiny, wingless, grayish-tan insects that live and breed in human hair. Lice cannot jump or fly, as they have no wings or hind legs. They are about the size of a sesame seed with six claws that attach to the hair shaft. The eggs, called nits, are easier to see than the lice themselves and are usually found attached to hair shafts close to the scalp behind the ears and on the back of the head.<\/li>\n<li>There are three forms of lice: the nit, the nymph, and the adult.\n<ol>\n<li>Nit:\u00a0\u00a0 Nits are head lice eggs.\u00a0 Nits are firmly attached, usually seen from the scalp up to \u00bd inch on the hair shaft. They are oval and usually yellow to white in color.\u00a0 The eggs hatch in 7-10 days and then in another 7-10 days the young will mature and lay eggs of their own.<\/li>\n<li>Nymph:\u00a0 The nit hatches into a baby louse called a nymph.\u00a0 Nymphs mature into adults about 7 days after hatching.\u00a0 To live, the nymph must feed on blood.<\/li>\n<li>Adult:\u00a0 The adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, has six legs, and is tan to grayish white.\u00a0 In persons with dark hair, the adult louse will look darker.\u00a0 Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person\u2019s head.\u00a0 To live, adult lice need to feed on blood.\u00a0 A louse can only survive 1-2 days away from the scalp.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Head lice separated from the human host will rarely survive more than 24 hours and cannot live on family pets. They depend on human blood for survival.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><strong><u>HOW DO THEY SPREAD?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Most always, lice are spread via direct head-to-head contact.<\/li>\n<li>More hair means a more favorable breeding ground and long hair creates a \u201cbridge of opportunity\u201d from one head to another.<\/li>\n<li>Nits found on an abandoned strand of hair have a slim chance of survival, as they need the warmth of a human host to incubate and hatch.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><strong><u>HOW ARE THEY DETECTED?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Most often, the first clue that a child has head lice is frequent scratching of the scalp or a rash at the nape of the neck.<\/li>\n<li>To check for infestation, carefully examine the hair around the back of the neck and behind the ears. Since head lice shy away from light, you may only see their eggs (nits), the nits are small whitish ovals of uniform size attached to the hair shaft.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/head-lice\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20356180\">Link to Mayo Clinic<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"font-size: 16px;font-style: normal;font-weight: 400;color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2025\/04\/Lice-Nits.png\">Picture of head lice nits- Mayo Clinic<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #3366ff\"><a style=\"color: #3366ff\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/parasites\/resources\/pdf\/HeadLiceFlyer.pdf\">CDC Inspection Instructions with photos<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><strong><u>HOW ARE THEY TREATED?<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"list-style-type: none\">\n<ul>\n<li>Individual treatment is <strong>a two-step process<\/strong> involving\n<ol>\n<li>The killing of all live bugs<\/li>\n<li>The manual removal of the nits (eggs) using a comb made especially for nit removal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Infestation can be treated with an over-the-counter or prescription medications from your healthcare provider.<\/li>\n<li>There are also a number of local companies that can help walk families through the process (A google search for \u201clice clinics\u201d can provide contact information and services provided). There are several treatment options available on the market.<\/li>\n<li>Treatment should be considered when active lice or viable eggs are found. When this occurs, each person (adults &amp; children) within the home should be checked to determine if live lice are present. All who are infested should be treated at the same time.<\/li>\n<li>Personal Items: The same day as treatment, bed linens, nightclothes, hats, and towels used within the last 24 &#8211; 48 hours should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. There is no research to support the use of household sprays, as these can be harmful. Carpets and upholstered furniture should be vacuumed.<\/li>\n<li>It is important to evaluate and treat <em>all people living in the household<\/em>.<\/li>\n<li>A daily nit check is advisable for at least 10 days following treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'comic sans ms', sans-serif;font-size: 14pt\"><strong>Other Resources:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><u>CDC Head Lice Information: <\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0CDC Information \u2013 It is important to evaluate and treat <em>all people living in the household<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/lice\/about\/head-lice.html\">CDC Link to Lice Information<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: left\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0CDC Treatment Information \u2013<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/lice\/treatment\/index.html\">\u00a0CDC Link Treatment Information<\/a><\/p>\n<h1><span style=\"font-size: 12pt\"><u>From the AAP Parenting Website \u201cHealthychildren.org\u201d<\/u><\/span><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt\">Head Lice: What Parents need to know \u2013<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/health-issues\/conditions\/from-insects-animals\/Pages\/signs-of-lice.aspx\">https:\/\/www.healthychildren.org\/English\/health-issues\/conditions\/from-insects-animals\/Pages\/signs-of-lice.aspx<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>WHAT ARE HEAD LICE? Head lice are tiny, wingless, grayish-tan insects that live and breed in human hair. Lice cannot jump or fly, as they have no wings or hind legs. They are about the size of a sesame seed with six claws that attach to the hair shaft. The eggs, called nits, are easier [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5184,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-364","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5184"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/364\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":419,"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/364\/revisions\/419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www-pva.stjohns.k12.fl.us\/clinic\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}