Types of Lice

Lice are tiny, six-legged parasitic insects that feed on human blood and are extremely easy to catch. There are four main types of lice.

Head lice

• Head lice are more common among children than in adults and are often spread through head-to-head contact. They cannot jump or fly, but can crawl extremely fast. Symptoms include intense itching and crawling sensations. An adult lice bug (louse) can hatch up to six eggs a day, 100 in its lifetime.

Body Lice

• Body lice, though a close relative to head lice, is different in that it does not live in the hair, but on the body, underneath clothing. Eggs are laid in the seams of clothing and can be transmitted from person to person if they share the same clothes. They are not commonly found in the United States.

Pubic Lice

• Also called "crab" lice, these bugs are shorter in stature with a crab-shaped body. They are found in the pubic region but may be found in facial hair and even eyelashes. They are mainly contracted via sexual contact or in rare cases, by sleeping in the same bed as an infected person.

Book lice

• This type of lice are commonly found in leaf litter, under bark of trees, and even within the pages of books. They are not found on humans and do not feed on blood. They can cause damage to books.

Treatment

• Each type of lice requires its own special treatment.

  Head lice for example, typically requires multiple treatments with over-the-counter pesticide containing shampoo and the careful by-hand removal of lice eggs.

  Pubic lice should be removed by hand through careful examination and combing.

  Book lice may benefit from hand removal as well.