Guide
Pro tips: how to tame your kids’ torturously tangled hair
by Katja Fischer
The big crawl: 5 exciting facts about head lice
22.9.2024
Translation: machine translated
They are tiny, harmless, but an incredibly nasty nuisance: head lice. They often appear after the summer holidays, in late summer or early autumn - right now. Here are five things you probably didn't know about them. Attention, itching danger!
My head itches. And it has been for days. To be precise, since the day my daughter's school informed me of another lice infestation. While I was still reading the letter, the scratching reflex kicked in. And it won't stop. Even though I've checked my head thoroughly at least ten times since then.
No wonder, now I'm also dealing with the little beasts professionally. While writing this article and reading the interview with a louse expert, I find myself reaching for my scalp again and again. "Louse" has become an irritant. Literally.
Oh dear, now your head is itching too? Hopefully it's just a paranoid reflex. The critters are in high season again. However, it is not yet clear why the number of head lice reports increases after the summer holidays and no scientific research has been carried out. However, other facts are clear - here are five of them.
1. lice change colour
Head lice are tiny, two to three and a half millimetre long insects with six legs. At the ends of their legs are so-called clasping claws, with which they literally cling to the hair. Head lice are normally grey to transparent. However, if they have just sucked blood, they take on a reddish colour.
2. only adult lice are contagious
Head lice reproduce by laying their eggs directly at the hairline. The newly hatched young lice, known as nymphs, can feed directly on the scalp. It takes a few days before they are sexually mature. This is why the period between hatching and sexual maturity is used for the second lice treatment. The first treatment usually kills the lice, but not their stubborn eggs. You wait until the young lice hatch - and then eliminate them before they multiply.
3. starved head lice become senile
4. lice cannot jump
5. Nits and eggs are not the same thing
So, are you still itching? It should subside soon, I promise. If not - and you actually notice a louse infestation - you'll find what you're looking for in our shop. With anti-lice products rated as very good by "K-Tipp":
Header image: Shutterstock/Janeberry
Katja Fischer
Senior Editor
Katja.Fischer@digitecgalaxus.chMom of Anna and Elsa, aperitif expert, group fitness fanatic, aspiring dancer and gossip lover. Often a multitasker and a person who wants it all, sometimes a chocolate chef and queen of the couch.
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