A female louse can lay up to 12 eggs per day (up to 300 in her lifetime) so it is important to treat head lice as soon as detected. The simplest way to do so is the 
5-Step ‘Conditioner and Comb Method’.

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Head Lice (perdiculus capitis) are tiny, wingless, egg-laying insects that live, breed and feed on the human scalp. They are around 3.5mm long and their colour varies from whitish brown to reddish brown.

 

Nits are the eggs of head lice. The eggs are hard,  yellow-white in colour and can be found glued to the hair shaft at a maximum of 1.5cm from the scalp (they need the warmth and moisture of the scalp to survive). They resemble dandruff but cannot be brushed off. Nits hatch within 7-10 days and mature into lice within 10 days. If eggs are found more than 1.5cm from scalp, they are hatched or dead.

 

Anyone can catch head lice and having them is not a sign of poor hygiene. They have no preference for cleanliness, ethnic background, hair colour, hair type or age.

 

Signs of infestation include a tickling feeling in the hair, an itchy head or red bite marks on the scalp and neck. Eggs are most often found in the hair behind the ears, but can also be found at the nape of the neck.  At the later stages of infestation, eggs can be found all over the head and a number of lice can be seen crawling around the head.

 

Head lice do not have wings nor can they jump. Head lice are spread only through direct head to head contact, or through the sharing of hair items such as brushes, combs and hats.

 

A female louse can lay up to 12 eggs per day (up to 300 in her lifetime) so it is important to treat head lice as soon as detected. The simplest way to do so is the 
5-Step ‘Conditioner and Comb Method’.

Source: Queensland, New South Wales and Victorian Government Health Departments