All about the Head Louse

Every one of us has heard of head lice, and many of us will have endured the unfortunate passage of suffering from itchy head lice, but what do you really know about them? Head lice are actually fascinating creatures that, although unpleasant and irritating, are quite harmless; they do not present any life threatening qualities, and they do not – contrary to popular belief – signify that the host is hygienically challenged, they simply happen to enjoy living on our hair, feeding on our blood and laying their eggs, nits, on our scalp!
What does a head louse look like? If you run a  quick internet search for head lice pictures you will be presented with a variety of depictions of these miniature mites; one thing you will notice is that they do not have wings, and that puts to bed the common misconception that they spread by flight. In fact, they can only do so by walking, hence they are easily spread among children who enjoy a much freer form of physical contact than adults.
It is common, also, to mistake the head louse and the head lice nit for the same thing; nit is the name given to the eggs, perhaps the most troublesome part of the equation as they are difficult to remove. This is because of a combination of factors, in the main their absolutely miniscule size and the fact that they are attached to the hair by remarkably strong natural glue. For the record, nits remain as such for up to a week, after which time they hatch into nymphs, or young head lice, and it only takes one further week for these absolutely minute creatures to grow into breeding adults.
The life cycle is completed by the adult, the female of which will live for up to thirty days in adulthood, and on each of those days will lay somewhere between six and eight nits. These itchy head lice become more, therefore, and as the symptoms can take weeks to occur, and the tiny creatures are often mistaken for dandruff, the head louse population can become rampant in a matter of a few weeks.
Interestingly, the creature breathes through two holes in the side of its body, and this is why the seemingly bizarre ritual of applying mayonnaise or olive oil to the head is actually quite a successful routine: it smothers the lice, hence ridding the host of an irritating companion.