Can Lice Go Away on Its Own?

You see the tell-tale signs. You see your child scratching. Maybe you see some sticky things in the hair. Maybe it isn't head lice. Please do not let it be head lice. I do not have the time, patience, or stomach for this. If you ignore it, does lice go away on its own? Do lice eventually die off if left untreated? After all, the bugs don’t live forever, right….right?

Does Lice Go Away On Its Own?

As a lice technician, it is not uncommon to have the opportunity to visit a family who has been battling lice for some time. One very memorable family I had the privilege of helping was a hard working family of five – three of them children, and all five of them had lice. Mom, an educated, hard working pediatric nurse with a considerable commute had been doing the best that she could to try to treat this ongoing infestation in the little bit of spare time that she had between working double shifts. She had recently thrown in the towel and said that she was, at this point, ready to just live with lice as one big happy family. However she wanted to know can lice go away on their own? In a perfect world, that would be great, however, lice will not go away if left untreated. 

What Happens If Lice Goes Untreated?

So what happens if lice is not treated? Will lice go away on its own? If left untreated, lice will not only not go away on its own, the head lice infestation will continue to get worse and worse as more and more time goes on. 

Consider this: head lice can survive on a human head for about 30 days. Regular shampoo and other every day hair care products like hair spray, gel, and mousse will not kill them. Over that period of time, they are able to lay anywhere from 6 to 10 eggs (nits) every single day. Once the female louse lays her eggs, in about 10 more days, each one of those eggs will hatch. The baby that comes out of the egg is called a nymph. Within a period of about two weeks, that nymph is mature and ready to start laying its own eggs. Left to reproduce uncontrollably without treatment you can easily see what will happen. This cycle will repeat itself over and over again, increasing the severity of the case exponentially as more and more time passes. If no treatment is provided, it would be reasonable to say that you will eventually have thousands of nits and at least hundreds of bugs in the hair. In fact, that is a very real possibility for those who choose to ignore an infestation. As this infestation progresses, the amount of time required for successful treatment and subsequent follow up will also increase. People with severe infestations, at a loss for what to do at this point, will self isolate and will experience severe itching from the bites of the bugs and the feeling of hundreds of bugs running around on their head. While head lice do not carry  disease, the severe scratching that may accompany this level of infestation increases the risk of cellulitis and other bacterial infections.

Another one of my most memorable clients had probably the second worst case of head lice that I encountered in my time as a lice technician. This teenager had somehow been able to conceal a several months long infestation despite the fact that her hair was not very thick and only about shoulder length. I followed up with them and they reported that, not only does she have more confidence and no more itching, but that her quality of sleep had drastically improved. The hundreds of bugs that were present on the head became more active at night which caused significant sleep disruptions. Lack of sleep can cause people to be less attentive at work and school; and I don’t know about you, but when I lose sleep, I am no ray of sunshine for those around me. Another observation her mom made was that this particular client had begun to take better care of her hair and was overall a more outgoing person. Do not underestimate the broad impact a severe case of head lice can have on a person, including self esteem and mental well being.

Treatment for Severe Infestations Is Available!

At LiceDoctors, technicians are skilled at eradicating the most severe of lice infestations in just one visit. There are no short cuts when it comes to the successful eradication of head lice, especially so for the most severe infestations.

This job cannot be done haphazardly. Leaving behind a couple of nits in the hair can start an infestation all over again. By now you know those nits will hatch and if left untreated, the number will increase and you will be back to where you started: with a head full of lice and nits. LiceDoctors is available day or night to provide lice treatment and nit removal to you and your family in the privacy of your own home.

While you may experience a desire to hide in a hole or run for the hills upon finding head lice, the fact remains that you need to confront the lice problem “head on”! That is where LiceDoctors comes in. With more than 500,000 lice treatments under our belt and counting, your professional head lice technician will take the burden off of you, providing an all natural, effective lice treatment for your entire family. Your personal lice expert will make sure that the whole family is lice free when they leave your home. No case is too tough for us! Give us a call today at 800-224-2537 and we will help you out. That's a guarantee.