Can Black People Get Lice

One of the biggest worries of parents about their kids is head lice. They are wingless parasites that can be found in the hair of a person and they usually feed on blood from the scalp. These parasites do not go about spreading diseases but they are irritating and they usually spread from either body contact or various other indirect means like using the comb of an infected person, or maybe using the towel or other personal property of the infected person. Not only children, but if not careful, even adults might have head lice. Some people often ask the question 'Can black people get lice?' This question arises because the hair of African-Americans are different from Caucasians or Hispanics. Given below are some points which will answer your question and clear all your doubt.

What Are They

Let us first try and understand what are these lice and why do people get them. They are wingless parasites which feed on a small amount of blood from the scalp, and although they do not spread any kind of deadly diseases, they can be pretty annoying. Lack of proper hygiene has nothing to do with spread of hair lice, but of course, if you keep your hair dirty and do not wash it frequently, then there are chances of lice in your head. These lice are usually grayish white or brown in color and they are the size of sesame seeds. These lice (sing. Louse) can survive only on human blood, and that is the reason why they cannot survive on your pets. They can survive without blood for a day or two.

Head lice are contagious and they can spread by various means such as towels, or pillow covers or sometimes even by using the comb of an infected person. They usually occur in children from the age group of 3 to 12 years and it's specially the girls who have this problem because of their long hair. The various symptoms of head lice are usually tingling sensation in the hair, itching and sometimes even formation of red sores due to the constant itching. If your kid or someone in your family is suffering from this problem, then there are various head lice home remedies that you can try out.

African-Americans and Head Lice

Now, these lice, they are not racist and thus they do not choose to breed only in the hair of Caucasians and not in the hair of the African-Americans. Thus, the answer to your question is, Yes, they can, but the chances of Caucasians, or Asians or even Hispanics getting lice is more than that of the African-Americans and this is due to the difference in the hair characteristics. Various studies have shown that less than 1% of African-American children suffer from the problem of head lice (however the result varies from one place to another; in countries like Brazil or Nigeria the number of black children suffering from this problem, is more). So why don't black people get lice or rather why are so few are infected?

Well, as I have already told you that the characteristics of the hair of the African-Americans are the reason why they have so less lice in their hair. I am sure you must have seen how the hair of the African-Americans varies from that of the other Caucasians or that of the Asians; they have curly and frizzy hair and the strands are more elliptical than that of the other races, hence the lice finds it difficult to grasp on to these kinds of hair strand. Thus, the number of black people getting infected with head lice is less. However, children in Brazil or Nigeria have got more lice in their hair despite having the same hair characteristic. This is because the lice in these areas are more adapted to get a better grasp of elliptical type of hair.

If you or your child is suffering from problem of head lice, then there are various head lice treatments that you can carry out. These treatments will help you to get rid of these lice pretty soon.