10 facts about head lice you probably didn’t know

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1. An adult Lice can be gray or brown and no larger than a sesame seed.
2. Lice don’t  fly or jump, they crawl really fast!
3. Even though lice feed from your blood, they don’t transmit diseases when they go from human to human.
4. Lice can live 30 days in a human head.
5. Lice can survive off a human body for up to 48 hours!
6. Nits (eggs) look like dandruff but due to the protein they contain they will stick to the hair and won’t fall off easily.
7. Lice prefer clean rather than dirty heads.
8. Siblings and parents will most likely be infested if a child has lice.
9. The itchiness on the scalp is due to people’s reaction of lice’s saliva after their bite
10. Although pets & cats also get lice they’re different from the human ones.

Why do Head Lice seem such a big problem?

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Myths and misinformation around the subject along with a difficulty to diagnose the problem are the common causes as to why head lice seem such a problem. After all, 12 million days of school are wasted due to head lice in the United States.

What are the common problems that people have with head lice?

  1. Diagnosis – dandruff, restudies from other hair treatments and hair debris are mistakenly diagnosed as nits (eggs) as well as other small insects are misdiagnosed as lice. Having a professional do a head screening is highly recommended.
  1. Over the counter head lice products – many of those products have chemicals that lice have become resilient to. In addition, those treatments typically don’t offer a solution for nits resulting in a need to comb-out the hair to eliminate all of them. If one is left behind, it will hatch again and another round of chemicals will be needed to kill hatched lice. In addition, not all the over the counter products are as safe as we wish they were, some have toxic chemicals that can cause harmful side effects.
  1. Nits (eggs) – combing off nits is not as easy as it may seem. Hand picking the nits requires time & dedication. The best way to do it is separating the hair strand by strand while using a magnifying glass to spot them and comb them out. Even highly trained technicians can miss one, which would lead to a re-infestation. Heat has been proven to kill nits more effectively and in much less time (link to AA treatment).

What can I do to kill lice?

Having a professional screen your head for a good diagnose is the first step. According to the National Academy of Pediatrics, a good head lice removal treatment should be: SAFE, FAST & EASY to do. LCA San Diego offers a highly effective way to remove lice. A safe, FDA cleared꙳ medical device that kills lice & nits in a Fast – 1 hour -, easy and effective way. Make an appointment now!

Most common head lice symptoms

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  1. Tickling sensation on the scalp – if you find yourself or your child scratching your head more than usual you might have lice. Lice feed off your blood by biting on your scalp. People are typically allergic to their saliva and that’s what cause us to feel itchy.
  1. Sores & red bumps – after scratching for while you might see some red bumps or sores on your scalp, especially above your ears and around your neck line.
  1. Trouble sleeping & irritability – lice are more active at night. People with lice infestation have reported trouble sleeping due to the itchiness or the feeling of crawling during the night.

Although this symptoms are common for most of the people, some other may not feel any itchiness or have sores and red bumps. Being alert and knowledgeable as to how do lice and their nits look like is highly recommended to avoid severe infestations. If you suspect you have lice, have a professional screen and diagnose your head.

Why do over the counter products for head lice NOT work?

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There are many over the counter products available in the market that claim they treat lice infestations. Unfortunately they not always work. We see many customers that have tried those products before seeing us, and after being tired of repeating such in home treatments they finally visit us to remove the lice once and for all.
The shampoos that are sold for head lice removal usually contain medication such as phyretrin or phermethrin, which may kill the lice but won’t take care of the eggs. Lice have a cycle and eggs that are not removed will hatch again and lay eggs all over. That’s the reason why in many cases the treatment needs to be repeated every week for several weeks. Applying so many chemicals to the head may have risk such as chronic eye irritation and chronic scalp irritation among others. In addition, lice have become resilient to over the counter products.
Many people choose to use those products for  a strictly economical reason but if you think about having to buy the products for follow ups the total cost is not as appealing as it may be.
We offer an affordable and natural way of treating head lice and nits infestations. The FDA -cleared꙳ medical device kills nits and lice through heated air. The device has been used in over 100.000 treatments with less than 1% return. At LCA San Diego, we can treat severe lice infestations in just one hour! Contact us to find out more or schedule an appointment.

How do I search for lice & nits (eggs)?

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You just got the circular and… great news, there’s a head lice outbreak at your child’s school. and you wonder how to make sure your kid is free of lice. Here’s a few tips on how to spot lice and nits (eggs):
1. Before screening your child’s head, make sure your own hair is on a pony tale or braid to avoid cross infestation if they have it.
2. In general, try to search for nits and not lice. Head lice crawl really fast and it might be difficult to spot them.
3. Head Lice and nits will most likely be on the base of the neck and along the hairline, as well as on top of the ears. Check those areas first as the likelihood of finding a louse or a nit is high if your child is infested,
4. Separate the hair thoroughly and look for small white-brown flakes attached to the hair. If you touch them and they move or fall they are most likely dandruff. If they’re stuck to the hair it’s most likely an egg.
5. You might need a magnifying glass and a fine toothed comb to help you with the search.
If you suspect an infestation or are unsure, contact us for a head screening. we will screen the head, diagnose the level of infestation and treat according to your needs.

A teacher’s perspective on head lice

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At LCA San Diego we want to work with schools and teachers to help them avoid cross infestations in the classrooms. We help nurses perform head screenings to catch infestations right at the begging! If you are part of a school or a school nurse, contact us for more information: info@lcasandiego.com.

How to raise funds for your school? With Head Lice!

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You’ve read it right. Head Lice is the key to raising funds or giving back to your school.
At LCA San Diego, we’d like to help our community as much as possible and we know that head lice are not fun. Our Head Tops Education program will give the schools $5 for every child treated at our clinic.
If you’re a principle, teacher, part of the PTA or just a concerned parent that wants to help the school, contact us to set up this program.
How does it work?
Lice is an urgent matter. Kids get lice, it happens. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, we are here to help. Bring your child or refer the kid to our center and we’ll take care of it immediately. After the child or any member of the family has been treated we’ll give them a voucher to turn to the school’s PTA (or designated fund raiser person) and they will receive $5!
Why LCA San Diego – San Diego?
LCA San Diego treats lice differently. treating head lice infestations can be hazardous as the most important part is to take off the nits (eggs). We use the device that dehydrates the lice & eggs through heated air. Then we do a comb-out and apply a topic rinse for an extra layer of protection.

Head Lice & Social Stigma

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Unfortunately, some of us already have experienced the stigma of lice on ourselves or our children. Once a kid has lice it becomes the topic everyone is talking about, and not always in a good way. We all know lice are perceived as disgusting, gross and dirty. But what’s really the science behind it? Do we have enough information to make such assumptions?

It has been scientifically proven that lice do not care for a dirty environment but rather clean. Another fact to keep in mind is that although head lice bite and feed from our blood they do not transmit any diseases. Head lice would prefer one head to another depending on humidity and type of blood so none of us is immune to them regardless of our cleanliness, race or economic background.

Being educated and educating our children on head lice will help us destroy the social stigma once and for all. Misinformation and ignorance of head lice facts leads to social stigma. It is understandable that they are unwanted as they may be hard to be killed, especially for lack of communication. Due to the social stigma, parents and children hide the fact that they are or have been infested, spreading therefore the infestation to other people. As soon as we suspect having lice, the best is to communicate it to everyone around us so they can be protected or receive a head lice removal treatment as soon as possible.

After all, life happens and lice, happens too.

Can I prevent Lice?

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Once you’ve had an infestation at home or when you hear your friends talking about lice, you wonder… how can I prevent lice?

You might have heard that peppermint or rosemary oil are a natural repellent and even though it is, lice have become resilient to it and it would not protect you completely from getting it. There are, however, many things you can do to reduce the risk of getting head lice.

For your children: 

* braid your child’s hair or put it up in a pony tale.

* keep their jackets and other clothing in a bag while at school.

* teach your children not to share hats, comb or brushes, hair accessories or helmets.

* tell them to avoid head to head contact when taking pictures or selfies or when studying

* screen them every other day until they reach 8th grade. Finding nits on time will reduce the level of infestation.

For yourself:

* wear your hair up and avoid sharing anything touching another person hair (hair brushes, helmets, hats, etc.)

* items that might be infested can be placed in a cloth dryer on high heat.

* when traveling by bus, airplane or at the movie theater, protect your head.

 

Screening often is your best option to prevent lice. In addition, LCA San Diego provides an innovative product to repel head lice from crawling to your head.

(info about protect )

And if you get infested…. contact us! Same day appointments with policy* for 30 days in just one hour.

Parents, you are not alone coping with Lice. We are here to help.

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You come home from work and while combing your child’s hair… lice! Or you hear… “I found a bug in my head today!” Or you get a call or a letter from school alerting you about a lice outbreak. We’ve been there. We know how it feels like. You want to reach out, but not too much. You want to find a solution, but you’re not sure what’s best… We suggest you watch this short video where parents like you share their stories:

Finding lice on your children can be from frustrating to scary, overwhelming and gross almost always. We know it and we are here to help. Our team of professionals offers the best solution to take care of head lice. Our FDA cleared꙳ device kills lice & nits (eggs) by using heated air. 1 hour treatment and done! No need to cut your child’s hair, spend countless hours handpicking nits and …, most importantly, no need for follow ups. Of course, we complement our dehydration treatment with the use of only natural, non-toxic products to assure you the best care during our lice removal treatment. If your children are struggling with lice… make an appointment now, even same day appointments are available!