(1) Can Black People Get Lice?

Causes and Remedies

Are you a black American, wondering (1) do black people get lice or not? Well, you are not
alone, and it is not a strange interrogation. This inquiry has been questioned for many times.
The answer is yes, but it is complex and depends on several factors. The article would clarify
your confusion and would make the matter simple for your understanding. Firstly, you need to
understand under what conditions these insects thrive and what are your chances of getting
lice depending upon your race.

Not only school going children but adults also feel embarrassed due to head lice. It is one of the
most annoying problems that causes uncontrollable itching. These tiny insects pass from one
body to another through direct physical contact. They nourish themselves with our blood and
flourish in a warm environment. Although people from all races are prone to face this problem,
however, the proportion of each race is different. For example, in America and Europe, 10.4
percent of the Caucasian children get hair lice, as compared to the significantly lower
proportion of 0.3 percent of the Black children. What are the major reasons behind this
difference? The response to (2) “Can Black people get lice?” is positive yet the chances are
significantly less than other races.

What are Hair Lice?

Hair lice are small parasites and are called Nits in common language. The size of big hair lice is
around 2 to 3 millimeter. The hair lice lay the eggs at the bottom of strands. However, research
has confirmed that these tiny creatures don’t transmit any disease and don’t affect human
health except causing uncontrollable irritation and itching that resultantly leads to scabs and
sores.

http://www.slugbugliceremoval.com/what-does-head-lice-look-like/

Why (2) do black people get lice significantly less than other races?

There are many reasons for how (3) can black people get lice significantly less than other
races.

Hair Structure
The most important reason for it is the curly hair structure of black people. The tiny insects
are more inclined to straight round hair because such texture facilitates their crawling and
they can easily suck the blood and grow in the hairs. However, the movement is
significantly difficult when the texture is curly and oval shaped. Lice tend to move to
another head or die when their movement is hindered in curly hairs.

Treatment Style

The other major reason is the treatment style opted by the black people. When young
African-American boys get hair lice, they immediately shave their heads to solve the
problem. Whereas black girls straighten their hairs and intense heat quickly kills the hair
lice, solving the issue instantly.

Follicles and Pores

Another major reason behind lesser chances of black people to get lice is follicles and pores
of African Americans. Typically, the follicles and pores function in a different manner than
the white population, making the scalp wetter. Hence, any person having open pores would
have minimum chances of getting hair lice as the scalp with open pores is not an ideal
habitat. Anyhow, it is not necessary that all black Americans have such phenotypes and
follicles. There could be major differences in phenotypes within the same race that may
cause less or more oil production. On the basis of it, we can positively affirm the repeatedly
asked question (4) “Can Black people get lice as their white counterparts?” However, they
are less prone to this issue if their pores, follicles and hair texture resist the hair lice.

How can Black People get rid of Hair Lice?

Although the curly hair texture of black people creates a great hindrance for hair lice and don’t
let it move easily, the same texture becomes a problem when Black people somehow get hair
lice and try to get rid of it.
Combing through coarse hair is much difficult and complicated in this case. However, here is a
good news! There is an easy and reliable method to eliminate the lice from curly hair without
shaving the head. First of all, take a good anti-lice shampoo from the market and thoroughly
wash your curly hair with it. A good quality lice eradicating shampoo would kill all louses in your
head.
Other than the chemical solution, there are some effective home remedies that can solve the
problem in a natural manner. You can also use an iron hair straightener by separating the curls
and killing the nits through intense heat. In case your hairs are already straight, then apply
conditioner in heavy amount and comb your hair to wipe out the dead nits and lice. In some
cases, hair combing might not help you to get rid of hair lice; you can get all dead lice manually.

Remember that lice love searching new homes. Once you get lice in your home, it is really
important to wash all towels and bed sheets with warm water. But the most important is to
completely eliminate them from your hair as lice reproduce and reside on humans instead of
things. If you missed even a single louse in your curly hairs, it would keep on reoccurring. There
are some lice that are so minute that you cannot wipe them out with a comb and the only way
to get rid of them is to use manual approach. In order to ensure that all lice have been
eliminated, you are advised to repeat this process every three days and a month. These easy to
execute, simple and cheap methods would certainly work for all African Americans and people
with curly hairs by setting them free from irritating lice and eliminating the cause of
embarrassment.

We hope by the end of this reading, you have got your answer to question (5) “Can Black
People get Lice?”. Even though the issue is not common, yet it persists in the black community
and black kids also need to get checked for hair lice. A timely diagnosis and action would save
you or your child from irritation and embarrassment. The major reason for taking prompt
action is that lice reproduce within few weeks and could be transferred from one head to entire
family. A regular checkup to timely detect the hair lice is the only solution. Usually a high quality
shampoo along with careful combing can eliminate the issue. However, if problem still persists,
you are advised to consult a doctor to know about alternate options.