Itchy scalp? Lice and ‘super lice’ cases spike during coronavirus pandemic, clinics say

Itchy scalp isn’t a common coronavirus symptom, but more people are experiencing it during the pandemic because of an unexpected visitor: lice.

Lice Clinics of America said clinics across the U.S. have seen an increase in lice activity during the coronavirus pandemic. Reports of lice increased by an average of 25% from April to May this year, with entire families being impacted, LCA said in a news release.

Why would the pandemic lead to more cases of lice? More families are sheltering at home together, so it’s likely that lice has spread from person to person, LCA said.

“We’ve been hearing from customers who’ve said they tried to use home remedies to remove head lice but due to the severity of the infestation, it’s just not feasible,” Claire Roberts, CEO of LCA, said in the news release. “Traditional over-the-counter remedies aren’t working. Lice, or ‘super lice,’ have developed resistance to the pesticides and chemicals used in them.”

”Super lice” are really just head lice that have become resistant to active ingredients in many head lice treatments, according to Mayo Clinic. They aren’t new, but super lice make it more difficult to get rid of the head lice.

Adult head lice are about 2 or 3 millimeters long, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They can’t hop or fly, so they most commonly spread from person-to-person contact, the CDC said.

“Head lice infest the head and neck and attach their eggs to the base of the hair shaft. Lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly,” the CDC said. “Head lice infestation, or pediculosis, is spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice.”

The condition is most common in children, with an estimated 6 million to 12 million children ages 3 to 11 getting head lice every year, according to the CDC.

“If you have children who are elementary and middle-school ages, it’s important to take some immediate steps to either prevent your children from being infested or to properly treat and kill the lice before they spread to others in your family and social group,” Krista Lauer, medical director of LCA, said in the news release.

This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 12:52 PM with the headline "Itchy scalp? Lice and ‘super lice’ cases spike during coronavirus pandemic, clinics say."