The efficacy of a lice treatment depends on two components: 1. The effectiveness of the formulation of the product itself; and 2. The methodical by-the-book treatment application and follow-up preventive measures.
Head lice move by crawling and contrary to folk knowledge they cannot hop or fly. Although head lice are spread mostly by direct head-to-head contact with an infested person, the transmission may also be indirect, through clothing articles, hats, the shared use of hair brushes, swimming pools, through the bedding and even stuffed animals and furniture.
The head louse survives by sucking the blood of its host every 2–3 hours (is hematophagous). The male louse (approx. 1/16”) is smaller than the female that can reach up to 1/8”. The female can live up to 35 days after fertilization and lays 8 to 10 nits (lice eggs) per day for a total of up to 300 nits during its lifetime. From the nits, nymphs will hatch after 8–12 days and become mature and reproductive in another 8 days.
When head lice get onto your head, they feed from the human scalp; head lice need human blood to survive. The bugs feed three times a day and like mosquitoes, there are maybe little bites on the scalp. When a person is sensitive to these bites, he/she will scratch. The scratching inflames the bites and the head becomes itchier.
