Many myths and misconceptions surround lice, and these sometimes create unnecessary panic and confusion among people. The most common one is probably that lice jump from one person to another. So, can lice jump? Let's delve deep into the facts regarding their mobility and understand how these tiny pests actually move and spread.

The Myth: Lice Can Jump
One of the biggest fallacies about lice is that they jump from head to head. It is furthered by just how rapidly lice infestations can apparently spread, but it isn't technically true. It becomes easy to picture in your mind the pests leaping from one head to another. That is not the case when one is faced with lice, however.

The Reality: Crawling, Not Jumping
Lice are wingless insects, and their mode of movement is rather restricted. They cannot jump or fly. Therefore, lice move by crawling. They possess six legs with claws, and these claws are modified to catch human hair shafts perfectly, thereby enabling the lice to move about easily in the hair but not to jump or fly.

How Lice Actually Spread

Knowing how lice spread—their mode, thereby gaining the ways to prevent and treat it—is very essential. Here's how lice really move around:

Direct Head-to-Head Contact: This is the main way lice spread, due to the direct contact of people's heads with each other. The lice can be transferred on this kind of platform from one scalp to another through crawling. Children who frequently play closely together, share beds, or have some activity involving close physical contact do this a lot.

Sharing Personal Items: Although it is less common, lice may be passed by direct contact with personal articles that get into contact with hair. These include hats, hairbrushes, combs, headphones, and pillows. However, lice do not live for a very long time apart from the human host, so this means of transmission is quite less frequent.

Proximity in Shared Spaces: Places where people are in close quarters - such as classrooms, play-grounds and sleepovers - allow the spread of lice, as head-to-head contact is much more likely to occur in these areas.

Key Facts About How Lice Move 

Jumping or flying not possible: Lice do not have the ability to jump or fly. Their legs are adapted solely to crawl and hold onto hair.

Slow Moving Creatures: Lice are relatively slow movers when compared with other insects. Their transfer from person to person relies on direct contact.

Human Host-necessity: Lice obtain their nutrients from a human host. Blood is fed on many times during the day, and lice cannot exist away from the human scalp for more than 24-48 hours.

Prevention of Lice Infestations
With the knowledge that lice cannot jump, we now know the correct measures to adopt in terms of prevention of the spread of lice. Some of the effective ways to prevent infestation are:

Don't Touch Heads: Suggest that children keep away from things that bring their heads together like using the same pillows during the sleepover/sleepovers and playing games in very close head proximity. 

Avoid Sharing Personal Things: Teach the child to avoid the habit of sharing personal things like hats; combs,Scratches clips, and headphones will help to localise the lice infestation and prevent its spread through objects.

Regular Head Checks: Check your child's head regularly in case of an outbreak in their school or locally. This early detection will prevent the lice from spreading.

Lice Education: Educate the child and adults regarding how lice spread. It is also essential to learn about personal space and hygiene. Sometimes, when people are well aware that lice cannot jump or fly, they do not fear and experience lesser stigma.

Among the very important steps to understanding how these pests spread and how to prevent an infestation is to debunk this myth that lice jump. Movement for lice is by crawling, and transmission relies on direct head-to-head contact. Therefore, focusing on effective prevention strategies and letting our children and ourselves be aware of the mobility of lice will help much in managing and possibly preventing the infestation.

These days there are professional lice clinics available to help professionally treat head lice. At our clinic in Elsternwick we provide a guaranteed service that will grant you peace of mind. Professional head lice treatment will be effective at any stage in the life cycle, whether the eggs have hatched or not. The revolutionary head device is designed to dehydrate and damage the eggs so they are no longer viable. 

Remember, lice stand among the most common problems in schools and with children in general; their diffusion, however, can be kept under control and even prevented if only the right kind of knowledge and practices are available. Share the truth about lice mobility and keep your community lice-free.

Advantage Pharmacy Elsternwick can help take care of your head lice problems with a visit to our Head Lice Clinic. CLICK HERE to find out more or to book your convenient appointment today.

355 Glen Huntly Road, Elsternwick, VIC, 3185