Scratching Your Head Away – Is It Head Lice Or Dandruff?

Is it a speck of grain? Is it a piece of lint? Is it disgusting dandruff? No, it’s pesky head lice come back to haunt you!

As per the findings of a 2000 study conducted by Laboratory of Public Health Entomology at Harvard School of Public Health, lice infestations were often misdiagnosed and wrongfully treated. The perpetrators of this incidence are healthcare workers, parents and school officials.

Is It Head Lice or Dandruff – Don’t Scratch Your Head

It can become difficult to correctly diagnose head lice with question of dandruff looming in the near distance. What are the consequences of misdiagnosis? Parents inappropriately administer chemical based lice removal solutions to fight head lice infestations, which does more harm than good.

The researchers (who conducted the study) asked for several examples of what people thought were head lice or lice eggs. The results were disappointing.

Lice vs. Dandruff – What Is the Difference?

These two are common conditions that affect the scalp and show some similar symptoms hence the confusion. Lice and dandruff are caused by different ways, which is the most important thing you need to remember when treating head lice.

Head Lice – Icky and High in Numbers

The common head louse affects approximately 6 to 12 million children in the United States. Children as young as 3 can get head lice yet there have been cases of adult lice, caught from a child. Are head lice contagious? Extremely!

It exists in three forms:

• Eggs or nits which resemble tiny white specks
• Nymphs or young lice which resemble small, tan-colored insects
• Adult lice which are still extremely small (sized of a sesame seed)

Dandruff – Disgusting in Appearance

This common and self-contained scalp condition is also called seborrheic dermatitis. What happens when you have dandruff? This condition causes flaky skin or scales to form and fall off from the scalp. There are many reasons why we get dandruff, yet it isn’t a contagious condition meaning we can’t catch it from anyone else.

Lice and Dandruff – The Main Causes Are…

Cause and effect of both scalp related condition is very different despite some similarities. Аnti-fungal-med options of dandruff and head lice are also different and cannot work for one another.

Lice Is Commonly Caused By

This parasitic bug crawls and spreads to other non-suspecting humans. Close head-to-head contact helps but so does sharing certain items such as:

• Clothing
• Bedding
• Towels
• Personal hair accessories

As easy as it’s to get head lice, removing the bugs takes a lot of time and effort.

Dandruff Is Commonly Caused By

As mentioned above, dandruff is a non-contagious and non-inflammatory skin condition that sometimes runs in families. Reasons associated with spread of dandruff are:

• Excessive dry/oily skin
• Common skin yeast
• Certain genetic factors

Catch feelings but don’t catch head lice! Schedule an appointment today at your nearest lice removal clinic Orlando, Lice Busters USA. Live a lice-free life!