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Head Lice

Lice are parasitic insects that can be found on people’s heads and bodies, including the pubic area. Human lice survive by feeding on human blood. 

Head lice are mainly spread by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. The most common way to get head lice is by head-to-head contact with a person who already has head lice. Such contact can be common among children during play at

  • School,
  • Home, and
  • Elsewhere (e.g., sports activities, playgrounds, camp, and slumber parties).
  • Uncommonly, transmission may occur by
  • Wearing clothing, such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, or hair ribbons worn by an infested person;
  • Using infested combs, brushes or towels; or
  • Lying on a bed, couch, pillow, carpet, or stuffed animal that has recently been in contact with an infested person.

Head lice is not a reportable disease in Oklahoma.

Head lice are spread most commonly by direct head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact. However, much less frequently they are spread by sharing clothing or belongings onto which lice have crawled or nits attached to shed hairs may have fallen. The risk of getting infested by a louse that has fallen onto a carpet or furniture is very small. Head lice survive less than 1–2 days if they fall off a person and cannot feed; nits cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they are not kept at the same temperature as that found close to the scalp.

Treatment for head lice is recommended for persons diagnosed with an active infestation. All household members and other close contacts should be checked; those persons with evidence of an active infestation should be treated. Some experts believe prophylactic treatment is prudent for persons who share the same bed with actively-infested individuals. All infested persons (household members and close contacts) and their bedmates should be treated at the same time.

Treat the infested person(s): Requires using an Over-the-counter (OTC) or prescription medication.

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