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Head Lice: What They Are and How to Get Rid of Them

CPDTime.
4m of CPD
Head lice are small wingless biting insects. They live and breed in human hair and feed on blood from the scalp. An adult louse can range from a whitish-brown to reddish-brown colour and is about two to four millimetres in length.

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Once a female louse has laid her first eggs on a new host, they will hatch after seven to ten days. From here, the nits will progress through their short life cycle consisting of three stages: egg, nymph and adult. The total lifespan of a louse is only 32-35 days, but after mating, each female can lay three to ten eggs per day. These eggs will then hatch and continue the cycle.

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Ausmed’s editorial team is committed to providing high-quality, well-researched and reputable education to our users, free of any commercial bias or conflict of interest. All education produced by Ausmed is developed in consultation with healthcare professionals and undergoes a regular rigorous review process to ensure the relevancy of all healthcare information and updates to changes in practice. If you have identified an issue with the education offered by Ausmed or wish to submit feedback to Ausmed's editorial team, please email ausmed@ausmed.com.au with your concerns.
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What do others think?

165 reviews by Ausmed Learners
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Portrait of Shayne Power
Shayne Power
03 Mar 2020
Well organised and well document review of the subject. Which is excellent for a "4 minute" CPD program.
KR
Kathlyn Rogerson
01 Jan 2021
It is always good to have good information on highly contagious communicable health issues such as lice, and to keep up to date with any new information just as this article provided for me. It was easy to follow and the information will be easy to communicate to patients for education purposes
SM
Siemone mitchell
12 May 2022
Registered Midwife Registered Nurse
Good
KK
Kuldeep Kaur
09 Mar 2020
Helpful
GH
Gail Hart
01 Jan 2021
Interesting, brief update on lice & nits, covering definitions, life-line of lice, contemporary treatments and practices to minimize the trauma and damages caused by such a small creature..
PP
Penelope Peach
20 Jan 2023
Informative
MC
Mary Cross
29 May 2020
Good read - clear and helpful.
AW
Amanda Whitmore
05 Mar 2020
Good short article, practical for families with children at school
BB
Bina Baniya
20 Apr 2021
Informative
LG
Leigh Gleeson
21 Aug 2021
Perfect quick knowledge bite for anyone who needs to explain lice treatment to parents.
4.3 / 5
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