A louse which infests the hair of the human head and is especially common among schoolchildren.
Pediculus humanus capitis, family Pediculidae, order Anoplura. See also body louse
‘An intense itch of a particular part of your body may be due to the presence of lice (body lice, head lice, pubic lice).’
‘It is a common mistake to associate head lice with dirty hair.’
‘People can be infested with three types of lice: body lice, head lice and crab or pubic lice.’
‘If they knew how long ago body lice diverged from head lice, they should know the likely date for the appearance of the first clothes, too.’
‘The team examined differences between parts of the genes of body lice and head lice.’
‘Outbreaks of head lice are most common in school-aged children.’
‘Parents generally discover head lice by seeing the nits in a child's hair, or when children complain of itching.’
‘Finally, be aware that the head louse is only one of three lice species found in humans.’
‘So, how do you treat head lice, especially when lice are becoming resistant to common over-the-counter treatments?’
‘A child should be allowed to return to school after proper treatment and should not miss valuable school time because of head lice.’
‘Much to many parents' annoyance, the head louse is a tiny, wingless parasitic insect that lives among human hairs and feeds on extremely small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp.’
‘The head louse is an external parasite of the human host.’
‘Bug busting, a popular alternative to insecticide treatment for head lice, involves combing a child's hair with a fine toothed comb every few days.’
‘Fine tooth combing of wet hair is an effective method of detecting head lice but unproved as a treatment’
‘Basically, anyone who has hair can contract head lice.’
‘When you suspect that a child has head lice, inspect the hair.’
‘‘This problem has got worse recently, and head lice are much more common than they used to be,’ the site adds.’
‘Nits are not a sign of active infestation with head lice.’
‘The head louse begins as an egg laid near the scalp and ‘glued’ firmly to a hair shaft.’
‘Infestation with head lice is a widespread condition that is seen most commonly, but not exclusively, in children of school age, although there is no proof of a link with school attendance.’
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