Head Lice Treatment, Nits and the Louse Life Cycle

Have you been searching for the most effective head lice treatment? Perhaps you’ve been looking for head lice pictures or home remedies for head lice. Well, your search ends here. Treatments For Head Lice is your source for trustworthy and unbiased information. Let’s start with the basics on head lice treatment, lice nits and the head lice life cycle.

Head Lice Treatment

Head lice are small wingless bugs with a compressed shape. Their coloration is normally white. However, once filled with blood, they transform into a shade of scarlet or even black. They measure approximately 2-3 millimeters. They do not have wings. Therefore, they can not take flight nor will they jump. They can move rather quickly. Up to 23 centimeters per minute. They live in hair. They adhere to hair via 3 sets of short legs. Their abdomen is usually broader in comparison with the rest of their body.
Lice breath through openings on their body. They close these openings and become impermeable to fluids. These openings also deal with excretion. Their head feature short antennae. It also features very specialized mouthparts. These mouthparts enable them to bite and feed. They feed specifically on their host’s blood. They bite their host 2-4 times each day. Each bite is a meal. Each mean lasts approximately 30 minutes. Try out a great head lice treatment here:
Lice can’t live longer than 36 hours if separated from their host. They die of malnourishment and dehydration. They must be frequently feed. Additionally, conditions vital to their survival are somewhat strict. Temperature must range from 28-32 degrees Celsius. Humidity must be 70-80%. They are an external human being parasite. This implies that they absolutely need to be on a human in order to live. Experts are not aware of any lice predators.

Head Lice Nits

Head lice treatment starts by treating the lice eggs. Lice eggs are generally termed as head lice nits. They look like caramel colored grain when laid. They grow to be more or less white colored. Lice nits are quite hard to spot. They measure around 0.8 millimeters. They are fixed to your hair by way of a secretion of the female. This secretion is termed cementum. It layers the base of the nit as well as your hair. This enables them to hold together strongly.
The female lays nits at the root of your hair, less than 1 millimeter from your scalp. Incubation is easier there due to the heat and moisture content. After hatching, the empty shell of the nit can remain attached to your hair for many months. Empty shells are often mistaken for dandruff. However, nits are generally resilient to washing and brushing.

Head Lice Life Cycle

Finding an effective head lice treatment is difficult simply because lice can multiply quite fast. A male can fertilize eighteen females without the need to rest. Females mate numerous times during their adult life. The life cycle of head lice can range from 10-40 days. They will lay anywhere from 4-10 nits every day for 3-5 weeks. This equals a total of 100 to 300 nits!

The nits hatch 7 days into their life cycle. This results in a larva. It resembles a smaller version of an adult louse. It measures approximately 1 millimeter. Maturity is attained around 10 days later. Hence, from nit to adult is approximately 17 days. Adults can live from 30-40 days. Now that we know the basics, take a look at the various articles on the right for the best head lice treatment.