Lice exist everywhere in the world. They are a type of parasite that feeds on blood from the scalp and live on human hair, including eyebrows and eyelashes, to survive. Though lice aren’t considered a life-threatening species, they may cause a serious infection when an infestation is left untreated.
But, do you know that these parasites can also become resistant to conventional lice removal treatment? That’s right! Once head lice develop resistance to basic remedies, they become super lice.
Let’s take a closer look at how super lice differ from typical head lice and what you can do to get them out of your hair for good.
Difference Between Head Lice and Super Lice?
Head lice are tiny, six-legged insects that live on human hair, and lay small eggs that look like (and are often mistaken for) dandruff — called nits. They grow and sustain themselves by consuming blood from the human scalp. Head lice are most prominent in school children between the ages of three to eleven years old.
Super lice have the same appearance as head lice. However, they are a strain of regular lice, containing gene mutation which may be resistant to widely used over-the-counter remedies and head lice shampoo.
Furthermore, while head lice infestations can be treated with insecticide treatment such as pyrethrin and permethrin, these products have proven to be less effective against super lice. Ultimately, since this mutated parasite does not look any different from normal lice, they’re primarily identified by their resistance to common lice treatment.
There are a few factors why lice treatments have not worked effectively in addition to drug resistance:
- Lice are misdiagnosed
- Treatments are administered incorrectly
- If reinfestation has occurred
Symptoms of Infestation
Super lice symptoms do not differ from natural lice infestations. As such, the most common symptoms include the presence of nits in your hair and itchy scalp. Aside from these, there are some indications associated with lice infestations:
- Itching on the neck and ears
- Red bumps on your shoulders, neck, or scalp
- Tickling sensation from lice movement in your hair
- Presence of nits on your clothes
- Itching on the scalp that may cause irritability
In more severe cases, intense itching from lice can cause sores on your skin, particularly on the scalp. With this, infection and vulnerability to other diseases may develop. Plus, untreated long-term lice infestation may also cause hair loss and iron deficiency anemia, since these parasites feed on human blood.
How Do Lice Spread?
Lice can spread through direct contact with infected people or household items that are shared, such as comb or clothing. Thus, it is necessary to thoroughly clean any items used by a person who is experiencing lice infestation, especially if those items are shared with other household members.
Moreover, both head lice and super lice have a short life span off of the hair. They can’t walk nor fly, but they do crawl. An infestation is transmissible and can be spread through other means aside from person-to-person contact.
These include:
- Shared items such as pillowcases, hairbrushes, toys, and hats
- Contact with infested furniture
- The proximity of stored things in infested areas
How Can Head Lice be Treated?
Removing standard head lice is much easier than eliminating super lice. However, there are non-toxic lice remedies effective against normal and super lice infestation so you don’t have to use harsh chemicals on you or your family’s scalp. These include the following:
- Licefreee Spray. Our unique lice and nit treatment uses a natural, homeopathic solution that contains sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt. Fast and easy to use, apply Licefreee Spray! and it starts killing SUPER LICE and nits on contact. Allow the head lice spray to dry naturally, no rinsing or washing needed. Once the hair has dried completely after treatment, you may then resume regular grooming habits (such as: wash hair, style, etc.)
- Licefreee Everyday! Shampoo. Often, after treating head lice, the biggest concern parents have is a reinfestation. The idea of having to repeat lice treatment, clean the home, and notify the school is overwhelming. That’s where our head lice shampoo comes in, to help you on your quest to become lice free. With daily use, Licefreee Everyday! can be used as a head lice maintenance shampoo
How Can Super Lice be Treated?
Besides natural remedies, traditional treatment for head lice involves products that contain permethrin and pyrethrin, insecticides. However, these products are proven less effective to treat super lice since they have become more resistant to over-the-counter treatment, and pose a health risk to your family.
With this, doctors have recommended stronger medication to treat super lice, including:
- Natroba
- Sklice
- Ulesfia
When none of these products are effective in treating your resistant lice infestation, you may undergo another method called hot air treatment. Here, professionals use a device to dry out nits and lice. This method blows controlled hot air on the scalp to dehydrate super lice. Usually, the hot air treatment takes about two and a half hours.
While these options can help kill a lice infestation, they require quite a bit of your time and may not eliminate the entire infestation. To ensure super lice are eliminated the first time around, choose Licefreee Spray.
Treat Resistant Lice Infestation by Using Licefree
Although a case of lice is a common event, it’s never a pleasant one to experience. Remember, while lice infestations are most common in children, anyone can get them, so whether it comes to protecting yourself or your loved ones, you want to make sure that you have the right tools to get the job done quickly and efficiently.
Licefreee is a safe, effective, non-toxic alternative to more traditional lice shampoos which contain chemical pesticides. In 1999 we launched our Original Non-Toxic head lice treatment Licefreee Gel, and have expanded our product line in the last two decades while still maintaining our reputation as one of the most trusted and reliable products on the market. If you or someone you know is dealing with head lice, don’t wait, pick up some Licefreee today!
