No. Head lice are not selective. They don't care if hair is long, short, blonde, brown, washed this morning or last week. As long as they are warm, and have blood to drink, then they are content.

Nit: Nits are head lice eggs. They are hard to see and are often confused for dandruff or hair spray droplets. Nits are found firmly attached to the hair shaft. They are oval and usually yellow to white. Nits take about 1 week to hatch. Nymph: The nit hatches into a baby louse called a nymph. It looks like an adult head louse, but is smaller. Nymphs mature into adults about 7 days after hatching. To live, the nymph must feed on blood.

No. Although factors such as hair texture may make African-Americans less likely than Caucasians to get head lice, they are not immune to becoming infested.

Head lice CRAWL very fast and require head to head contact for transmission. It is possible that because of the way young children play, head lice are seen more widely amongst primary school children than adolescents or adults.

Head lice don't have a preference over clean or dirty hair. Their main concerns are food, shelter and keeping warm. When it comes to head lice, the only difference between clean and dirty hair is that when hair is dirty, it'll have more egg casings, shed skins and other debris which makes the infestation seem worse than it really is. So far there is no evidence that treated hair affects head lice in any way, including preventing infestations.

According to the National Association of School Nurses, children found with live head lice should be referred to parents for treatment. Data does not support school exclusion for nits (lice eggs). Because head lice do not cause illness or disease, schools are not advised to exclude students when nits remain after appropriate lice treatment, although further monitoring for signs of re-infestation is appropriate. Information from the Vermont Department of Health: http://www.state.vt.

It is difficult to track head lice cases because head lice are not considered a disease and therefore public health departments and the Centers For Disease Control do not routinely track the number of head lice cases. However, schools and manufacturers of lice products estimate head lice cases at 12- 25 million infestations a year in the United States alone. Most of those infested are children under the age of twelve.

The most common symptom of a head lice infestation is persistent itching, particularly around the ears, back of the neck and crown, but some people never itch at all. Repeat infestations can cause some individuals to become super-sensitive to bites. Secondary bacterial infections can occur with excessive scratching. See a doctor if this occurs. Diagnosis of head lice is usually made by finding nits (lice eggs).

Getting rid of head lice is a three-step process. You must kill all the live lice, check for and remove all the nits by combing and manual nit picking, and do a reasonable job of cleaning the infested person's belongings and home environment. Please make sure you have head lice before treatment. Many people misdiagnose head lice and treat themselves or their children with chemicals unnecessarily.

People should also be aware that according to entomologists, any insect over time can develop resistance to pesticides. It is not surprising therefore, that many consumers, health professionals and entomologists report that head lice have become resistant to pediculicides. However, failure to follow directions, non-compliance and failure to pick nits manually can also result in a persistent head lice infestation.

If you have used a pediculicide correctly and still have live lice or new nits, you probably have a persistent case of head lice. According to the Palm Beach County Head Lice Task Force and the Head Lice Treatment and Prevention Project at Florida Atlantic University College of Nursing, persistent head lice is defined as three incidents of live lice found over a 6-week period.

There has never been a case of someone getting AIDS from head lice. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, head lice are not known to transmit infectious agents from person to person.

By contact with an already infested person. Contact is common during play, at school, and at home (slumber parties, sports activities, on a playground). Headlice are highly adapted to live on the hair and scalp of humans. However, although the human scalp can provide them with feed for life, headlice are vulnerable to inbreeding. So, because outbreeding is a requirement for survival, this appears to be the reason for the strong urge to disperse onto other heads.

Not enough product and/or not enough time. Headlice products cannot work unless they come into contact with lice. No contact; No action! (And, if one pregnant female avoids contact, her eggs will develop into the next generation.) All hairs on the head should be covered with sufficient product to treat from roots to tips, particularly for long hair. To ensure proper coverage, comb it in with a normal comb (except for dreadlocks or tightly curled hair).

Children are at risk of exposure to head lice when participating in activities where they are in close proximity to each other, such as schools, camp, day cares, etc. Therefore, in the best interest of all campers, Camp Li-Lo-Li has a "no lice, no nits" policy. According to Health Department regulations, each child will be screened for lice by Camp medical personnel upon arrival at Camp.