Have you come for permanent residence, or how long do head lice live outside the human head? How long do lice live among us - How to protect yourself and your children How long do body lice live without blood
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Stages of lice development
Nits develop from 7 to 10 days. Body lice eggs can take up to 2 months to develop, provided that the nit develops when room temperature. At low temperatures, development can take up to a year.
When temperatures drop to -1°C or lower, nits can only survive for one week. As for the development of the nymph, or larva, the process also proceeds faster - with favorable conditions in 15-20 days. Adult lice live for 40-46 days. The lifespan of insects that live on clothing is about 40 days.
Despite the fact that the life of a louse is fleeting, it manages to go through several stages. An insect has only 3 molts. They begin every time the chitinous “clothing” for the nymph becomes small. When the third molt ends, the nymph becomes an adult insect. The female can lay 2–4 eggs per day. During its short life, a louse manages to lay 140 eggs.
Despite the fact that body and head lice different structure, their individuals, placed in a limited space, begin to interbreed with each other. After a few generations, the differences disappear.
When the larva hatches from the egg, the insect can pierce the cap of the nit with its jaws, but is not able to get out of it on its own. The larva begins to actively breathe. In this case, air passes through the insect's digestive system and exits through the anus. When air accumulates at the bottom of the nit in large quantities, it pushes the larva out of the cap, which lands on the skin of the hairline and begins to suck blood.
How to get rid of lice?
Knowing that lice do not live outside the head for so long, you need to find effective way getting rid of them. These harmless creatures, among other things, are carriers of dangerous diseases such as typhoid.
You can learn about pediculosis by characteristic features. A person suffers from itching. Bluish marks appear on his skin. A person’s health and mood deteriorate, and sleep is disturbed. If uninvited guests were found during the inspection, you need to go to the pharmacy. Tell us about the problem, and the pharmacist will advise you on the best remedy.
This must be done, since lice live without a person for several days, and if suddenly the fallen individual “decides” to return, preventive measures will prove necessary.
Sometimes you can apply radical way- shaving bald. Combing is much more often used. The method works great in combination with the use medicines. Special combs quickly free hair from nits and lice. They are not difficult to use. Treat your head with the product.
Lice are dangerous and unpleasant insects that carry infectious diseases. They live exclusively at the expense of man, live on his body and feed only on his blood.
Insects live for about a month; all stages of their development, from laying eggs to the death of a mature individual, fit within this period. But during this period they manage to multiply greatly. After each feeding, the female begins to lay eggs, and they feed often, especially pubic lice, every four hours.
Life expectancy very much depends on temperature: when it drops - life cycle begins to slow down; when it increases, on the contrary, it accelerates.
How long do lice live outside the human head?
In addition to the head on the human body, they can live in the groin, under the armpits, on the eyebrows, eyelashes, and also in people’s clothes. Body lice live in clothing at home, especially preferring folds, seams and other hidden places. They choose things that are worn often and rarely washed.
Do lice live in colored and short hair?
Do lice live in bedding and pillows?
They do not live, forced, accidentally falling into these things, but without access to the body they die of hunger. They prefer hidden, closed places: folds, seams, hems. In pillows they live in the filler, preferring chicken feathers and fluff.
Do head lice live on clothes?
They don't live. Outside the scalp, without regular nutrition, they quickly die, as they are adapted to living and reproducing only on the “host”. They can penetrate through clothing to another object.
Can lice live under the scalp?
Overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, personal uncleanliness, and lack of personal hygiene items contribute to the spread of these unpleasant and harmful creatures, so you should carefully monitor your body so as not to get lice.
Small insects whose body length reaches 2-4 millimeters. The nymph is 0.7-2 millimeters in length. The color of the insect is light brown. The color makes it possible to camouflage the hair.
Appearance Features
Life cycle
Lice belong to the order of lice. The insect's mouth organ is ideal for piercing the host's skin and drinking blood.
The louse attaches to the hair and lives right on it. After a meal, she squirts juice and digestive material into the dermis. For a person, the process is noticeable due to the appearance of itching.
Nits
Nits are lice eggs. The lifespan of adults is up to 30 days. An individual lays 5 eggs per day.
Difficult. They secrete a special adhesive mass and are firmly attached to the hair. The louse lays eggs as close to the scalp as possible.
Lifespan outside the head
- Less than 2 days if they are fasting.
- At temperatures below 10 degrees, the life cycle increases to 10 days.
As long as insects live, they eat so much. Head louse can eat up to 4 times a day.
Distribution methods
Lice can be obtained in various ways:
Nits, despite the fact that they look unpleasant, cannot move. The transmission is carried out by the person himself. Nits are transmitted through hair combs, shared clothing, towels, and bedding.
Nits are rarely transmitted. They cannot be called infectious agents. They cannot cause an epidemic.
Treatment methods
Insects can be removed only with repeated treatment. This is the only way a person will get rid of lice.
Modern drugs help fight lice:
- Shampoo-cream Nok
- Nittifor
- Shampoo
- Aerosol
- Permethrin ointment
Rules for the treatment of pediculosis
You can get rid of lice various methods. It is necessary to strictly follow the instructions of the drug. In some cases, a doctor's consultation is required!
The appearance of lice - for every person unpleasant event. This is not only the discomfort caused by the “new residents”, but also the danger of infecting others. What kind of disease is this, how to fight it, is it possible to avoid infection and how long do lice and nits live outside the head?
Lice are...
Signs of lice infection
To diagnose head lice, you need to identify a number of symptoms. Typically this is:
- Reduced immunity.
- Increased sleepiness.
- Chronic fatigue.
- Depression.
- Frequent headaches and spasmodic pain in internal organs.
Can a louse live without a person and for how long?
Life cycle of a louse
There are several stages of louse development:
So, we can say that the lifespan of a louse from the moment the egg is born until the death of the individual is up to two months maximum, provided that it exists on the human body.
Louse habitat on humans
There are three types of human lice in nature:
- head;
- pubic;
- linen.
- cranberry juice;
- vegetable oil;
- tansy decoction;
- juice or decoction of wild garlic and wild rosemary;
- cosmetic hairspray.
When these products are applied to the hair, lice and nits die, after which they are usually combed out with a comb. If you managed to comb out the louse, but it is still alive, then you should remember how long lice live outside the head. It depends on how quickly the insect hits the person again. Therefore, all combed individuals should be destroyed immediately.
How to avoid lice infestation
- do not use other people’s personal hygiene products for the head and jewelry (towels, hairpins);
- maintain hygiene;
- systematically check all family members for lice infection;
- do not wear other people's hats.
By following these simple precautions, you can save yourself and your loved ones from such an unpleasant disease as lice. After all, everyone now knows how long lice live outside the human head and body.
It is believed that lice feed on hair or sebum. But the basis of their diet is blood. The oral apparatus of insects is adapted only to pierce thin human skin and suck out iron-containing liquid. Lice outside the head may obtain food on other parts of the body, but then return to their normal habitat. Therefore, they live in the hair and prefer to feed in the back of the neck, behind the ears, and on the temples.
Lifespan
The lifespan of an insect depends on temperature environment. Between 10°C and 45°C, the louse actively develops. More high temperatures or a decrease to 0°C kills it. But before the death mark, the insect hibernates and can survive in this state for 7-10 days.
- A nit is a fertilized egg with an embryo. Requires 5-7 days to fully ripen at favorable temperatures. When the heat decreases, development slows down and is viable for 10-12 days.
- Nymph is an intermediate state of an insect that includes three stages of molting. The larva, nymph and adult, if provided with food, live 15-20 days. If the hatched insect does not receive blood within the next hour, it dies.
- An adult louse acquires the color and body structure corresponding to its species. They are much larger than nymphs and require more nutrition. After the last molt, individuals are distributed according to gender and are immediately ready for fertilization and laying new eggs. The active reproduction process lasts 20 days maximum.
Living lice outside the head
Therefore, head lice live without food outside the human body at a favorable temperature for no more than 55 hours. They can remain on pillows, clothing, personal hygiene items, etc. So they wait for a new owner to get blood.
When the temperature drops to 10°C, adults slow down and hibernate. Their existence on any hard surface lasts a week or a little longer. Lice live without humans fresh water up to 4 days in warm weather, but during cold spells they can wait 15 days.
In accordance with temperature conditions and during the normal period of development, nits live without a person. They can leave their head only with fallen hair or when combing it out. The length of time they live outside the head in the absence of blood does not change - 5 days in the heat and 12 days in the cold. Destruction of eggs is possible with the use of physical force and the action of certain aggressive substances.