Head lice live exclusively on the head, body lice hide in the folds of clothing, and pubic lice are an exception, because they can live on almost all parts of the body covered with hair, but since they are transmitted mainly sexually, they are localized mainly on the external genitalia, lower abdomen, in the groin.
BUT when combing pubic lice may spread on the chest area, eyelashes, beard, mustache, eyebrows, armpits, and in young children and on the scalp.
Head lice live on the scalp and are more common in women and children. They mainly affect the back of the head, neck and the area behind the ears.
Do lice live in dyed hair and at what length are they more common? As for the type of hair, this type of insect can live in any hair, short, long, straight and curly, as well as dyed.
However, in order to remove insects using this method, you will need to use it several times at short intervals, which will have a detrimental effect on the hair.
It will be much safer to purchase specialized shampoos and lotions against pediculosis at the pharmacy, for example, Pair Plus, Nok, Nittifor and others.
Life cycle
The development cycle of lice consists of the egg stage (), larva and adult(imago). An adult female lays an average of 10 eggs per day..
So complete life cycle head lice ranges from 45 days to 2 months.
Now let's move on to the next question: how long do lice live outside the head?
How long do lice live outside a person's head?
The opinion that lice are transmitted from pets is fundamentally erroneous.
Blood-sucking insects feed often and in small portions, and females bite more often than males, but how many lice can live without a person?
Deprived of nourishment head louse in the environment can exist without a person for about 2 days, to be more precise, then about 55 hours - that's the whole time, how many lice live without a person.
Transmission routes
The main and most common contact, person to person. This can happen with hugs, kisses, and other close contact.
Possible, but less common, way of infection with pediculosis through bedding and pillows. Most often, infection occurs when co-sleeping. It is very rare, but not excluded, that lice infestation while swimming in stagnant water, if people with pediculosis are swimming nearby.
Most often, infection with pediculosis occurs in summer time year, in crowded places - in children's camps, kindergartens, etc.
Not a single person is immune from infection with head lice. Of course, systematic hygiene procedures are the main methods of prevention, but far from excluding the possibility of infection.
Now you know how long a louse lives on the head, whether lice live outside the head, and whether they can live on animals.
Useful video
For information on how to transmit lice and how to get rid of them, see the video:
Pediculosis is characterized by the appearance of lice on the human body. More often they are found in the hair zone of the head, sometimes they start on the pubis, under the armpits. It is noted that bloodsuckers are not long-lived, the life cycle does not exceed 30-40 days. Adults lay 100-150 eggs.
Low temperatures take bloodsuckers into suspended animation, the ability to save life lasts about 2 weeks, waiting for comfortable living conditions.
How many lice live outside a person
The disease is easily recognized by severe itching, bites. Despite how long and in what part of the body the lice live, they notice that in a short cycle, bloodsuckers manage to raise a new generation.
Head insects feed on blood. Bloodsuckers do not have wings, but thanks to 6 legs, individuals run perfectly.
The entire life cycle of the head bloodsucker is 30-40 days. Immediately, an adult female lays 2-5 eggs, tightly held by a special paste near the hair roots. They are difficult to wash off, comb out. When the incubation period passes, a small individual appears, after the first meal, the bloodsucker undergoes a molt.
For the entire lifespan of head lice, bloodsuckers go through 3 periods of molting, which distinguishes the nymph in terms of maturity.
This is required to shed the shell, which is unable to grow along with the individual. When the period ends, the bloodsucker becomes an adult, begins to multiply. Eggs appear a few hours after mating is completed.
Stages of development
Knowing how many days head lice live, they divide the period into several phases:
- Egg. The first stage takes 1-2 weeks, depending on the conditions environment- Humidity, temperature.
- Larva. It hatches from eggs, able to breathe. The collected air at the bottom of the nit chrysalis pushes the creature out. The bloodsucker is taken to search for food, after a day it moves to the next stage.
- Nymph of the first level. immature insect. The reproductive organs have not yet completely finished forming.
- Nymph of the second level.
- Nymph of the third age.
- Imago. Fully adult insect with formed organs, capable of reproducing.
All individuals of the species go through these stages of change during the period of pediculosis in humans, the life span of lice as nymphs varies within 1-4 days at a certain stage.
Can lice live outside of a person
Interested in whether lice can live outside of a person, it is worth noting that the answer is yes. But the period of life of individuals is 2-3 days.
The question arises whether lice can live on a person immersed in warm water. Pubic individuals in such conditions are able to survive for 2 days. Therefore, you can become infected through close contact or swimming in fresh water.
Where do lice live
Video
Where do lice crawl from?
How long do nits live
This confirms that how long head nits live outside of a person depends on the ability to produce without food.
Over the entire period of how long the nit lives, the larva goes through the stages of growing up, becomes a developed individual capable of reproducing. The ability to fertilize is manifested only on the hairy part of the human body. Usually lice settle on the head, pubic area, eyebrows, eyelashes, armpit hairs.
Being interested in how long the nit lives with the owner before moving to the louse stage, you need to find out the conditions for the existence of the larva. Comfortable indicators for the appearance of offspring are the numbers of humidity 65-70%, air temperature 25-28 ° C. Then the period does not exceed 2 weeks.
The life of lice is not long, an individual can lay 100-150 eggs. At bloodsuckers good ability to reproduction. Adults mate for two days, then the egg-laying period begins. The louse lays 2-4 eggs per day. No fertilization, eggs are empty. An adult feeds 4-6 times a day.
An interesting fact: the female bloodsucker exists longer than the male, she can immediately consume three times as much blood.
Pediculosis is diagnosed regardless of age, gender and social niche. Parasites are saturated with blood, they do not exist outside the body. Nits are also unable to produce on their own. When laying, they are fixed near the hair root with an adhesive substance.
A louse will not live long without a person. Blood-sucking insects need constant access to a food source. For this reason, lice can only live with one host, without seeking to find a new one. They are inactive and not very active. The answer to the question of how many lice live without a person has weight even during the period of struggle with them.
Blood-sucking insects are so arranged that they are not able to live away from humans. Prolonged hunger strike leads to early death. For this reason, lice cannot live on the body of animals even if, as a result of a combination of circumstances, they fell on a dog or other warm-blooded creature. Body temperature, hair quality and the characteristics of the body - all these factors together determine the place of residence of human or pubic lice.
Thinking about how long this pest lives outside the host body, you should know that environmental conditions have a strong influence. So, a louse without a person will live for about two days, if the temperature does not drop below +28 degrees. In cooler conditions (+10 ... 12 degrees), insects will last longer - up to 1.5 weeks. This is due to the fact that all processes in the body slow down.
Body lice, which live outside the human body, do not differ in longevity - their adults live 40 days and without a host 3-4 days.
When solving the problem for yourself, how much lice can last without food, you need to remember that representatives different types eating habits are very different. For example, head individuals should eat at least 4 r. per day. Pubic brothers are saturated with more intensive feeding - they need to eat every 3 hours. The question arises of how long lice live outside of a person.
Pubic individuals exist no longer than 9 hours if they lose their host
Pubic individuals exist no longer than 9 hours if they lose their host. This means that in order to determine how long the insects in question live without a person, you must first find out where lice of different morphotypes and species live.
For example, head individuals should eat at least 4 r. per day
Thinking about how many nits live, you should first figure out how they work. At this stage of development, these are not yet formed insects, therefore, they cannot fully exist, since they have not reached the stage when it becomes possible to drink human blood. If the question of how long a nit is able to live without a host is being studied, you should know that it retains the ability to develop and further form for several days - a longer period than in the case of adults.
The feeding process of lice and how they depend on the host
Feeling the need for food, the insect descends to the skin and inserts the proboscis into the epithelium. Lice live outside the head (for example, in bed) for a short time precisely for this reason. If they are far from the owner, when there is no way to drink blood, the insects will quickly die. When thinking about whether lice can live outside the human body, one must take into account that the size of their “claws” is suitable for a human hair, and the shape and size of the body make it easy to maneuver along the hairline.
Without access to the human body, the louse dies within 3-4 days
If the question is being studied, how long the louse lives on the human body, then in this case the life expectancy is quite small - no more than 1.5 months. upon reaching the sexually mature stage. To this must be added the period when the insect is in larval form (2-3 weeks). Thinking about how many lice can exist in the groin, you need to remember that these individuals live less - up to 6 weeks. At blood-sucking insects the risk of falling off a person's body with a hair or during bullying is too high.
Body structure and lifestyle of lice
In a situation where the owner leads an active lifestyle, the answer to the question of how long lice live outside the human body will be the same as in the case of head individuals - no longer than 2 days.
Dog lice will die as soon as they leave the owner.
Interesting video:Pediculosis - causes, symptoms and stages of development
Ability to live in bedding
When wondering how long lice live outside the human head, one should take into account the type of parasite. For example, the head individuals will soon die, and the clothes ones are not originally adapted for life on the host's body. They come closer to the skin for food when necessary, but live constantly on clothing. When studying the question of how long lice live in the head, one should take into account the possibility of an infected hair falling out. If it falls on the bed, the parasite will quickly die once it is outside the body. So how long do lice live outside a person's head? Approximately 2 days under such conditions.
The fact that, as a rule, with pediculosis - lice, hair loss intensifies also contributes to the misconception. However, this is only evidence of the development of an inflammatory reaction and metabolic disorders. So, let's find out what lice actually eat, where they live and how they breed.
The lifestyle of insects from the suborder of lice
Where do they live?
- human
- pubic.
The pubic louse is also called the lice. She constantly lives on the human body. She chooses, as a rule, areas covered with thick, coarse hair:
- pubis;
- genitals;
- armpit;
- eyelashes;
- beard
- chest and abdomen in men.
Is a variety. It lives only on the scalp, never moving to the body. Such selectivity is explained by the peculiarities of the structure of its paws. They are adapted to move along the hairs only round section and are not able to stay on underwear vegetation, which in the context has the form of a triangle.
Do human lice live in pillows? No, they don't live. Neither the head, nor the clothes, and even more so, are not adapted to life away from the human body. However, some individuals may inadvertently end up on the surface of bed linen, having inadvertently lost their owner during a night's rest. Without food and warmth, they quickly weaken and die within a fairly short time.
Interesting fact! Head lice prefer clean heads. It turns out that it is easier for them to move around and feed!
What is their food?
What do lice eat? There is only one answer to this question - blood. They simply cannot swallow anything else. Them oral apparatus adapted only to piercing skin and pumping blood into an insatiable belly. The myth that they eat hair and other derivatives of the skin is not based on anything. The suborder of lice is not able to absorb solid food. Particles of dead epithelium, hairs, sweat and feathers feed on lice and lice.
What do human lice eat? Like the rest of the insects of their order, they feed on blood. They adhere to such a diet throughout their lives, with the exception of the stage of development that takes place in the egg.
Lice nutrition is as follows:
At one time, the louse is able to drink about 0.5 mg of blood. In total, she feeds 4-5 times a day.
The issue of nutrition for lice is vital. High intensity of reproduction and rapid development requires a large amount of food. Without it, insects quickly weaken and die within a fairly short time.
Interesting fact! In the Middle Ages, lice were revered as creatures carrying Christian blood. A sign of special piety was then considered the rejection of bath procedures throughout life.
How do they reproduce?
Lice breed in the same place where they live - on the host's body. Conventionally, the whole process can be divided into the following stages:
- mating males and females;
- fertilization of eggs;
- laying eggs.
Eggs, or, as they are also called, nits, are surrounded by a dense protective shell. It helps the embryos protect themselves from adverse external conditions. In her entire life, a female can produce from several dozen to several hundred eggs. Such high fecundity ensures the survival of the species.
The larvae hatched from the egg molt three times before turning into an adult insect. Outwardly, they are very similar to adults, except that they are inferior in size and have underdeveloped genitals.
Other features of the life of lice
The life of lice also has other features peculiar only to them. The most interesting of them are the following facts:
- For successful continuation of the genus, it is enough for the female to meet the male only once. She keeps his seed in her abdomen throughout her life.
- Lice do not tolerate low temperatures. Their reproduction stops already at +20 0 C. They die at -5 0 C. They also do not like heat. When the thermometer rises above +50 0 C, they die within 30 minutes.
- On the human body, lice prefer to focus in the warmest places. Clothes - near the neck, on the lower back and armpits. Head - behind the ears and on the back of the head.
- Washing off the lice with water will not work. They cling tightly to the hair and block the breathing holes on the sides.
- Lice prefer one owner and rarely move unless absolutely necessary.
Interesting facts about lice and pediculosis can be found in this video:
How many lice live outside a person's head is a topical issue that makes a person seriously think about the possibility of infection anywhere. is able to cover a distance of 10 m in an hour. If there are several people in the same room with an infected person, everyone runs the risk of becoming infected, no matter what corner he is in.
Life cycle of insects
Every day, one head louse lays about 10 eggs. Egg laying occurs every 4 hours. Nits develop in the egg for about a week. They are born as the smallest individuals, the body length of which does not exceed 2 mm. They look like adult lice, but are lighter in color.
Within 1 month, the nymphs pass full cycle maturing, molt 4 times. At the last stage, the sexual organs are formed. Immediately after the molt begins. It is after the birth of the first or second generation of lice that the patient notices.
On a note!
Being on the hair with full access to the source of nutrition, the louse can live for more than a month. But troubles happen when the insect falls by accident, or deliberately explores the area in the house. How many lice live on the head - about 45 days, outside of it - depends on environmental conditions.
Life outside of man
How long lice live without food is a moot point. According to various sources, from 1 day to 3. When room temperature the insect is able to live for three days, once on the street, it dies almost instantly in frost, for several hours at temperatures below +10 degrees Celsius.
The body temperature is about 37 degrees Celsius. If a nit with a torn hair falls on the floor, its development will stop. It is not so important how long she lives, the main thing is that she will not be born alive.
On a note!
On a note!
Experts say that pediculosis is not transmitted from the patient through a handshake, while being at a distance of 50 cm from him. But if you have to stand for a long time, there is a risk of infection. A louse is able to crawl or fall from the head of one person, climb on rough clothes onto another.
FAQ:
- Can lice live in pillows. They can stay there for a while until their head rests on that pillow. If it is the head of a healthy person, it will happen. If a sick person continues to sleep on the pillow, the insect will again fall into its usual habitat.
- Do lice live in bedding. Head louse in bedding happens for a while. He will not live there, because he will not be able to lay eggs, the air temperature, humidity are not suitable, there is no food.
- Do lice live on clothes. There is a certain type of lice - either clothing, linen. They live exclusively on the tissue surface, feed on human blood. located on different parts of the body, except for the head. The life cycle is somewhat different. Nits are laid in folds, seams. In terms of lifestyle, they are more reminiscent of. able to live under a certain temperature regime. Hot wash kills.
- Can lice live on a sofa. If this is the sofa where the sick person sleeps, the lice may be there for a while. Infection is possible if another person sits or lies on it. Insects are able to settle temporarily on the bed, stay in bed. Without food, the human louse dies within 2 days.
The main way is contact with the head, comb, headgear. Less commonly, infection occurs through things. Prevention measures - use your head accessories. Wash your hair periodically with shampoo essential oil tea tree, lavender.
