Are all head lice the same?
December 13, 2008 | Leave a Comment
As discussed earlier this week, there is clear evidence of head lice found by paleontologists and archeologists dating back to Ancient Egyptian times. There are nits found on mummies’ remains and in ancient combs and there are even indications that high priests in these time used to shave their heads in order to eliminate head lice. Close examination of these findings indicates that they are identical to their present day relatives.
Are all head lice the same….or do they vary?
Whilst todays head lice are descendants of the ancient head lice and have not shown significant evolutionary change, there are two types of lice that thrive more easily on different hair types.
Not all hair is alike. Caucasians , native Americans and Orientals have hair that is round when in cross section. By contrast, people of African descent have hair with a more oval shaped cross-section.
The most common lice to be found in the U.S are the ones that were thought to have arrived with the early settlers from Western Europe who were largely Caucasion. Understandably, these lice adapted to thrive with their hosts and to grasp effectively onto a round hair shaft. Because they cannot easily grasp onto an oval hair shaft it is unusual to find this strain of lice on black childrens’ hair. For this reason, every other group than those children of African descent have struggles with head lice infestation.
By contrast, African lice have developed so that they can effectively grip to the oval shaped hair shaft. As a result, African natives are at higher risk of infestation by this strain of head lice whilst other communities are unlikely to be affected.
The result? Nobody escapes the risk of infestation by one or the other types of lice.
Head Lice Remedies in History
December 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Some ancient remedies for head lice sound quite exciting, exotic and sometimes downright dangerous throughout history indicating how highly motivated a sufferer of head lice infestation is to get rid of the little critters!
- c1,200 BC – The Chinese were using mercury and arsenic based potions to eliminate head lice.
- c430 BC – Ancient Egyptian priests used to shave their heads to eliminate head lice.
- c64 AD – A physician in Nero’s army (Dioscorides of Anazarbus) suggested two possible remedies for head lice. (1) Rubbing on ceder oil). (2) A blend of oregano and garlic boiled together to kill lice and bed bugs (the only trouble is the enemy would have smelled them coming!)
- c64 AD – Pliny the elder suggested dog’s fat and eating serpents cooked like eels as a way to eliminate head lice.
- c 100 AD – The Chinese discovered Pyrethrum powder as an insecticide that was helpful to treat lice.
- c1020 – Mercury still used as a treatment for head lice even though there was now growing awareness that it is a neurotoxin.
- 1352 – Marco Polo discovered a string around the neck containing mercury was an effective insecticide.
- 15th Century – an array of daunting sounding remedies: (1) Strew horsemint around the house. (2) Wash hair in sea water. (3) Limewash and vinegar applied as a paste. (4) Wrap head in a strip of fabric basted in fat and mercury mixed together.
- 1653 - Apply a mixture of bryony, mercury, brimstone, potassium nitrate mixed with vinegar and oil plus other rare ingedients. This was acknowledged to be unsafe for young children….enough to make your hair curl (if not drop out).
- 1681 – Culpepper suggested a liquid of English Tobacco juice.
And so the list continues….makes current treatments seem quite innocuous by comparison…or are they. Over the coming weeks a discussion of the different prescription, over the counter and home remedies for head louse elimination will unfold. You decide.
A brief history of the presence of head lice
December 9, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Where on earth did these little critters come from? Are head lice a modern affliction or can they be traced back through history? Here we explore a brief history of evidence of the presence of head lice throughout human history showing that they do date back to time immemorial.
- c 105,000 BC – Kittler et al (2004) found evidence of head lice similar to those found on human head today. This was deduced using molecular clock analysis.
- c 8,000 BC – In northeast Brazil, Araujo et al (2000) found a nit attached to human hair at a 10,000 year old archeological site.
- c 7,000 BC- A skull found in a Neolithic cave in Israel’s Northern Negev showed head louse eggs attached to its matted hair.
- c 3,000 BC-Nit combs, nits and head louse eggs have been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt.
- c 350 BC- Aristotle wrote on the subject of head lice and their profusion writing ” There is also a specied of louse called the “wild louse” and this is harder than the ordinary louse and there is exceptional difficulty in getting rid of it. Boy’s heads are apt to be lousy but men’s in a less degree; and women are more subject to lice than men” Some things don’t change much do they?
- c 72 AD – A excavation at a Roman Fort just outside Carlisle Castle in Cumbria (U.K) revealed an intact head louse.
- c 1399 AD “…lice rushed out of the King’s hair at the (coronation) ceremony for Henry IV.” [Hilliam, 2001]. If you’re suffering from head lice now, you’re in good company!
- c1650 AD The precursor to the magnifying glass was invented. Known as a “flea glass” it magnified by approximately 10 times.
- c1700s - popular belief was that head lice were spontaneously generated from body secretions. This belief streches back to Aristotle’s times.
- 1652 - Nicholas Culpepper devised an approved remedy to “kill head lice (and) cure the itch“.
Where do head lice come from?
November 29, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Head lice have been around from time immemorial. There are nit combs to be found in museums that date back to the 1600s….even royalty in those days suffered with lice….if it makes you feel any better! If you have a problem with lice at the moment, you need to know that they can affect anyone of any walk of life regardless of personal hygiene standards.
I have never had lice before…now my entire family has them. Where do head lice come from?
Basically head lice come from head to head contact with others…which explains their prevalence amongst younger children (up to the age of 12 and especially girls with long hair) as children of this age are more likely to share toys and work in closer proximity in the classroom. They literally walk from one head to another as head lice do not have wings.
If your child has come home with little visitors you can consider the head lice have probably come from another child working close to them, playing with them or sharing hats, scarves etc. Lice do not live for long away from the scalp. However, you shouldn’t be complacent about this.
The most common way for lice to be passed around the family is by sharing hair brushes in quick succession or enjoying a cuddle with your child. If you know that someone in your family has lice, it is best to avoid sharing hairbrushes, towels scarves, hats and head to head cuddles until the problem has cleared. If your child has a head lice infestation, it is best to check the whole family for lice as they may have spread already.
If you have had a nasty shock with your child coming home with head lice, you need a quick and easy solution that is not going to cost a fortune (like over the counter head louse remedies). Head Lice No More represents just that solution. With household items going into the preparation, you can download this cheap ebook and be on your way to conquering this problem this evening. Once you know you have the little critters in the house you need to get rid of them fast before there is a head louse infestation.
Head lice life cycle
November 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
Potential multiplication of one breeding pair of head lice
Stage 1 of Head Lice Life Cyle – Laying louse eggs to newly hatched nymphs
When a female head louse has been fertilised by a male head louse, she will lay a number of eggs. Each of these will be glued firmly to the base of the hair shaft where there are two benefits for her to successfully breed:
- the head louse egg will derive warmth from the scalp which created an ideal environment for the head louse to develop in the egg; and
- there will be an instant source of food for the newly hatched nymph from the scalp.
The eggs take approximately 7 days to hatch and newly hatched head louse is called a nymph in its infancy. The empty egg shell remains glued to the hair shaft and will grow out with the hair unless removed.
Stage 2 of Head Lice Life Cycle – Newly hatched nymph matures into adult head louse.
The newly hatched nymph has three developmental stages or growth. As they have a hard shell, this will be moulted three times during this phase (which lasts 10 days).
After only 10 days the nymph has become an adult head louse capable of reproducing in its own right. This is why head louse treatments need to be repeated to catch lice before they become sexually active.
Stage 3 of Head Lice Life Cycle – Life expectancy of a head louse
Head lice only have a life expectancy of a maximum of 30 days. During this time their efforts are focused upon reproduction and feeding from the scalp. Generally speaking, a female head louse can produce 5 – 10 eggs per day. This may reduce as she gets older.
As the illustration above shown, the potential of the briskness of the head lice life cycle to serious infest a scalp in a short space of time is spectacular. However, not all of these hatched nymphs will survive.
Apart from dying anyway at the end of this approximately 30 day life, combing, brushing, styling and straightening hair will kill some of them off….or at least harm them significantly. Some will also travel to other poor victims’ scalps reducing the burdon on the initial carrier.
However, you cannot rely upon all of the above to completely rid yourself of lice….some form of head louse treatment or removal of the lice and eggs will be necessary to avoid a head louse infestation.
What is a “nitwit” and what does it have to do with head louse treatment?
October 15, 2008 | Leave a Comment
The 1944 Education Act made a significant provision to deal with the issue of head louse infestation in U.K. schools. Under the Act it became illegal for the parent of any child infected with head lice to attend school. The intention of this provision of the Act was to prevent cross-contamination of lice to other children at the school and provide the opportunity for parents to treat their child’s head lice before returning them to school.
The effects of this policy on head lice elimination and education
Whilst this policy to contain outbreaks of head lice infestation were effective for many, there were problems for those who, for whatever reason, struggled to eliminate head lice from their child’s head. For those who were repeatedly infected with head lice, so much schooling was missed that it had an adverse impact upon their education. This is how the derisory terms “nits” and “nitwits” started to be used to describe people who were suffering from missing education and later, to describe people behaving in an unintelligent way.
The U.K. policy on head lice now
Current belief is that children should not be excluded from school solely because they have head lice. This is known to be detrimental to their education and, for persistently affected children, this would leave them with major disadvantages educationally.
However, the cost of this to others at school is that for those parents who do not adequately clear their childrens’ head of lice, other children in their class will be subjected to repeated head louse infestation. This, in its own way, has a social cost for everyone involved that will be discussed in a later post. Please subscribe to Freedom From Head Lice’s RSS Feed to keep up to date with the discussion about U.K. head louse policy that will be starting soon on this site.
In the meantime, we would be grateful for any contributions discussing the State guidlines for dealing with head lice infestation in other countries around the world so as to increase awareness for everyone affected by the misery of head lice.
