Can Selfies Cause Head Lice And Other Boogiemen

Recently, a question was raised to the Lice Aunties regarding the role of selfie photos and their role in the spread of a lice infestation. After all, the easiest way to get head lice is via head to head contact and a selfie usually requires head to head contact. Can a person get head lice from participating in a selfie? Let’s look at the facts:

• Head lice locate another host head using hair as vehicle to get to the food source aka the blood under the scalp. They have to crawl. They cannot fly or jump.
• Head lice cannot survive being away from their food source for much more than a day, maybe two.
• A newer infestation does not have a large amount of adult head lice. The immature lice (a.k.a “nymphs”) do not normally venture away from the food source.
• Head lice  prefer the warmth of the scalp.
• Occasionally, a louse may fall onto a piece of clothing. This would most likely take place during an advanced state of  infestation when the proverbial house is crowded.
• Cell phones are made of materials that a louse cannot grasp.

Given these facts, if two people put their heads together to take a selfie, is it possible for a head louse to see the opportunity and then run fast enough to transfer from head to head? Possibly but not likely.  That would have to be a really fast louse and it would probably have to be positioned in a convenient location away from the scalp. It can’t transfer to the head via the cellphone unless it is an absolute freak of nature. The likelihood of an adult louse wandering away from the food source is not unheard of but they do prefer to stay warm near their food source until the situation warrants it.  And it is far more likely to happen when there is a case that is advanced with a population of adults on the head that is aggravating its host (i.e. beware of  itching people).

So, can it happen? Yes. You can also get one from leaning onto the same chair a person has just vacated in a waiting room and a ton of other ways warranted via really bad luck. Is it likely? In our unscientifically proven, hands-on experienced opinion, not any more than a whole lot of other ways with really low odds. Which explains why we see way more 6 year old girls who like to play head to head with a bunch of other 6 year old girls (and their older sisters) then we see, well, everyone else in the population taking selfies.

For more real facts and helpful information, check out our website at www.liceaunties.com

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