close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Signs and symptoms of lice include:
- Intense itching.
- Tickling feeling from movement of hair.
- Lice on your scalp, body, clothing, or pubic or other body hair. Adult lice may be about the size of a sesame seed or slightly larger.
- Lice eggs (nits) on hair shafts. Nits resemble tiny pussy willow buds. Nits can be mistaken for dandruff, but unlike dandruff, they can't be easily brushed out of hair.
- Small, red bumps on the scalp, neck and shoulders.
When to see a doctor
Usually you can get rid of lice by taking self-care steps that include using nonprescription shampoo that's specifically formulated to kill lice.
However, see your doctor if:
- Nonprescription shampoo doesn't kill the lice — your doctor can prescribe a stronger, prescription shampoo
- You're pregnant — don't use any anti-lice shampoo until you talk to your doctor
- You have any infected hives or skin abrasions from scratching
References
- Head lice: Fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/factsheet.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Body lice: Fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/body/factsheet.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Pubic "crab" lice: Fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/pubic/factsheet.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Diaz JH. Lice (pediculosis). In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's Priciples and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/linkTo?type=bookPage&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..00293-9. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Goldstein AO, et al. Pediculosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Pollack RJ, et al. Ectoparasite infestations and arthropod bites and stings. In: Fauci AS, et al. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine. 17th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Medical; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=2898131. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Burkhart CN, et al. Fomite transmission in head lice. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2007;56:1044.
- Head lice: Treatment. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/treatment.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Body lice: Treatment. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/body/treatment.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
- Pubic "crab" lice: Treatment. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/pubic/treatment.html. Accessed Jan. 20, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on