What Are the Dangers of Lice?

There are three species of lice that can live on and infest human hair: head louse, body louse and pubic louse. The effects of these lice tend to be very similar, but affect different parts of the human body, depending on the area of the body in which the louse lives. The general term for louse infestation is pediculosis.

Itching

• Head lice bites cause itching.

  The most common complaint of someone whose hair is infected with lice is the itching sensation that accompanies the bite of the louse. This itching usually peaks around six weeks after the initial arrival of the louse or lice.

Sores Caused by Scratching

• It is better to seek treatment for pediculosis than to scratch and risk causing infection.

  Because of the irritation caused by the bites of lice, people often scratch the area of skin where a louse has bitten them. Although the bite marks themselves are not very large, the scratching of the affected area can lead to sores and these sores can become infected. These infections represent another indirect danger of lice.

Spreading Epidemic Typhus

• Typhus is an unpleasant and potentially fatal disease.

  Human head lice can act as a means by which epidemic typhus can spread in a human population. Epidemic typhus is caused by a bacteria of the bacillus variety. When a louse consumes the blood of human that is infected with epidemic typhus, the louse subsequently becomes a carrier of the disease. When the louse transfers to another human, it carries the bacillus bacteria with it and spreads the epidemic typhus to the next human.