Myths Busted

It is not a sign of poor hygiene. Head lice don’t really discriminate and don’t care if hair was washed this morning or last week.

This is true and 71% of mums¹ got ‘full marks’ believing that head lice can be spread this way. Schools are advised not to store children’s hats in a communal box between breaks.

More than half (53%) of mums surveyed thought lice can be caught jumping from head to head when in fact they are unable to hop, jump, or fly at all – they are transmitted by close personal contact or by sharing caps and hats, brushes and combs with an infested person.

This is indeed a myth. Anyone of any age can get head lice but it’s generally more prevalent in school age children. Interestingly, nearly 60% of mums surveyed¹ reported that they or their partner had had head lice at some stage so it’s a good idea to do a check of the entire family if an outbreak occurs.

Healthy lice are not detached easily from the hair shaft. Any louse found in a swimming pool will be dead or dying and not an infestation risk.

Lice need regular blood meals to survive and are very good at staying attached to the hair. If a louse is found on the floor it will be dead or dying and is not likely to be an infestation risk².

Human head lice are very specialised and will only live on human hair.

While we are seeing resistance to some of the older pesticides⁴ there are many head lice treatment products that are effective when used correctly.

You do not need to wash bedding to eradicate head lice⁴ A lot of parents feel more comfortable washing the sheets, and this is not a problem – we all love clean sheets! MOOV Head Lice products are effective in destroying, detaching and defending against head lice.