Can Stress Cause Head Lice?

Let’s not mince words…when a mom, dad, grandparent, nanny, or anyone in the position of a caregiver even hears the word “lice” their heart skips a beat. Just that one four-letter word is enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone. It usually also brings on a bout of itching, leaving them wondering “do I have lice?” This is especially so when they are dealing with the everyday stresses of life. When these two elements combine, and they find a full-blown lice infestation, they begin to wonder, and understandably so, does stress cause head lice?

Is It Possible To Get Lice From Stressing?

Lice often come at the most inopportune time. When I speak with families, they often tell me about everything they have going on – be it extracurricular activities, an ill loved one they are caring for, closing on a home – the many things that are necessary but that can bring on considerable stress – and then they find out they have lice. They wonder if it is a coincidence or can lice appear due to stress? Is this even possible? Can you get lice from stress!? If you are worried about can stress cause lice or not, let us reassure you, the enthusiastic answer to that question is an emphatic no! You cannot and will not get head lice from a bout of stress – no matter how minor or severe the stressor may be.

Now that we have established that you and your family members will not get head lice because you have been dealing with one or more very stressful situations, let’s talk about how you actually got head lice. Anyone with hair can get head lice, even if your hair is only one-quarter of an inch long. To get head lice, most often, a single pregnant louse or two lice (a male louse and a female louse) will need to crawl from the head of a person with an active lice infestation to your head.  Most often, this can happen at any time, but a few examples would be when giving someone a hug, playing a game at school, taking a selfie, or cuddling with your child. Less often, head lice can also be transmitted by trying on hats or sharing a hairbrush or other hair accessories. While it is possible, although extremely rare, head lice can be transmitted via seats on a bus or other routes of public transportation, or from a seat at a movie theater.

What Does Getting Lice Cause?

Now that you are familiar with the cause of getting lice, you will want to understand the things that getting lice does actually cause. When a person has a case of head lice, there are many things that they may begin to notice. While it is not always the case, many people who have an active case of head lice will experience itching. This itching is caused, not usually by the bugs running around on the head, rather, the cause is often from an allergic reaction to the bites from the bugs themselves. This is much the same as in the case of mosquitoes, ants, chiggers, or any other biting insect. It is a reaction to the saliva from the bug itself. This reaction varies from person to person. Some will experience severe, intense itching, others only mild itching, and in some cases, no itching will be experienced at all. If a person’s head is particularly sensitive, they may feel the bugs crawling on the head, but this is not usually until the infestation reaches severe levels, and by that time the individual will likely already have had a very itchy scalp from all of the live bugs present on the head already.

Another common issue for individuals with head lice face is lack of sleep. This can be a physical or emotional response. Physically, if the person with the head lice infestation is experiencing severe itching or crawling sensations (head lice are more active at night), they may find it difficult to get the restful, quality sleep they may be accustomed to. Additionally, caretakers often spend hours treating their families for head lice. For larger families, this could mean the mom and the children in the house are up into the early morning hours when providing lice treatments. With some head lice treatments, such as pesticide treatments, it is recommended that the household be thoroughly cleaned. This means that in addition to treating her family, mom may be up for an even longer amount of time than the rest of the family vacuuming furniture and carpets and laundering linens. This type of work, especially when it comes at an unexpected, already stressful, and inopportune time, will take its toll on anyone and would likely require long, exhausting days.

Getting Lice Causes and Aggravates Existing Stress

While a case of head lice will not be caused by stress or stressful situations, head lice infestations can and do, cause stress and stressful situations. Pre-LiceDoctors, the first time my daughter had head lice we discovered it late at night, right before bedtime. She was looking forward to a visit to a friend’s house the following day that was long overdue. When we discovered she had a full-blown head lice infestation, I knew that I had to treat her that night to make sure she would not miss out on the visit. After a run to the grocery store, a few loads of laundry, and a lot of nitpicking and tears, we finally made it to be around three in the morning – only to be back up in four hours so I would not be late for work. I wish I could say the stress stopped there – it did not. The next few weeks were spent on follow up checks and treatments, lots of laundries, worrying, and fear that the lice infestation had not been conquered each time either of us felt like our heads were itching. This is on top of everything else I had to worry about, like my work, family life, and the everyday needs of a common household. If I had known about LiceDoctors back then I would have contacted them immediately to take care of the infestation with only a tiny bit of normal stress.

Conclusion

While stress can not cause head lice, head lice can cause stress.  If your family has head lice, the chances are overwhelming that they got it from a friend or another family member. Lice do not know or care if you are feeling stress.  If you find that you encounter a case of head lice, give LiceDoctors a call and we will subtract stress from the equation! Call at 800-224-2537.

If you are dealing with stress right now and you just cannot stomach the thought of treating yourself and your entire family for head lice, or you have minimal stress right now and want to keep it that way despite having found head lice on yourself or a family member, give us a call at 800-224-2537. A head lice technician is available in your area to come to your home in an unmarked vehicle at a time that is convenient for you and your family equipped with the tools she needs to get rid of head lice for you. You will not even have to lift a single finger if you do not want to!

The treatment she provides is effective, but it is also safe for everyone because it is all-natural. If everyone in the home is checked at the same time; which is what we recommend, (we check the same way that we treat) you will get a thirty-day lice-free guarantee. With the treatment provided, you will be provided a simple follow-up plan to ensure the infestation stays gone. With this follow-up plan, the stress of laundering and vacuuming is not needed. Your technician will also answer all of your questions, putting your mind at ease while removing every single head lice bug and all of the visible lice eggs from everyone’s hair. Same-day appointments are available and even recommended. We know you have so many other things you are worried about, so let a professional head lice technician relieve you of this burden. Lice are what your technician knows and she is good at getting rid of them.

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