Head lice are easy to kill with a special shampoo, but these parasitic insects become super-resistant crackers if left untreated.
The TikTok account, what ifshowrevealed that as many as 20,000 tiny insects can live on your head after a month, many of which would resist treatment.
These blood-sucking parasites are eliminated in nine to 10 days with the FDA-approved permethrin lotion and a fine-toothed comb that catches the lice and eggs.
However, ignoring the critters can make your scalp their new home, which can lead to infections.
The TikTok account, whatifshow, revealed what happens when head lice go untreated. In the first week you will see nits, which insects are developing
Lice can also be contracted by sharing tools such as brushes, combs or towels with someone with an infestation.
And they are most common in elementary school children who pass the bugs to each other while playing.
These little critters can fly to jump from person to person, so if a child is infested with lice, the rest of the family probably will be too.
Symptoms include extreme itching of the scalp, a crawling sensation over the scalp, and sores or scabs on the scalp from scratching.
The term “feeling bad” comes from having head lice, where the lice that feed on someone’s blood can bring that person down and give them mild, flu-like symptoms.
Extreme infestations left untreated for a long time can lead to toxic shock syndrome.
The TikToker explains that the contamination would be visible in two weeks.
Hair strands are said to be covered in tiny white eggs, known as nits, that appear yellow.
A week later, adults will appear and crawl all over your scalp.
The fully grown and developed adult louse is the size of a sesame seed.
Lice can also be contracted by sharing tools such as brushes, combs or towels with someone with an infestation
Hair strands are said to be covered in tiny white eggs, known as nits, that appear yellow. A week later, adults will appear and crawl all over your scalp
Adults can live on your scalp for up to 30 days
It has six legs and is tan to grayish white in color. And adults can live on your scalp for up to 30 days.
Now it’s starting to itch. You would scratch to try and relieve yourself of that horrible itch, but this would only give you painful sores that are at risk of getting infected,” the TikToker said in the video.
Adult lice can lay about six to ten nits a day when they find a host, and the eggs take about nine days to hatch.
If left untreated, these nits can multiply by the tens of thousands.
“Eventually you could be carrying 20,000 of these unwanted hitchhikers, including treatment-resistant super lice,” the narrator said.
Lice droppings is the next nightmare of this parasitic infestation.
Your scalp then starts to smell due to the build-up of bacteria on the lice, on their eggs and in and on their feces.
At this point, the person’s sleep is disturbed by itching and the stench emanating from the head.
Australian baby and child resuscitation experts have recently busted the biggest myths and misconceptions about head lice, including how they can live nowhere but the human head and are not transmitted by jumping or flying from person to person.
Keeping your locks clean and shiny will not deter head lice, as they ‘do not discriminate’ and are not the result of dirty hair or poor hygiene.
CPR Kids does not recommend insecticides for the treatment of head lice.
“Insecticides can have even more serious health consequences than the lice themselves, as they can cause skin irritation,” the post reads.
Finally, keeping your kids away from school or daycare won’t break a head lice infestation and CPR Kids say eradication is more effective.
“Eradication of head lice is most effective when the schools and community work together to treat an infestation, for example by implementing a Nitbuster program,” they said.
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