Definitely not! Head lice die if they leave the head. The only way head lice can get water and food is by sucking blood from the scalp. A head louse not on the head is a head louse in a desperate situation! Head lice will dehydrate when off the head. The rate at which this occurs depends on the amount of water vapor in the air. In an air-conditioned room, head lice will be severely dehydrated after a few hours. When it is wet and raining, head lice may live for 24 hours.
A study showed, searching the floors of 118 primary school classroom carpets for head lice while the pupils were out of the classroom. They also checked the children's heads. They found no lice (ZERO!) on the floors and 14,033 lice on the heads of the 2000 or so children using those classrooms. To treat head lice concentrate on the head!
A small number of lice do move down to pillow cases at night. So change the pillow case when you are treating your child, or heat it up (hot wash, iron, hot dryer) to kill any head lice that may have walked across to the pillow slip. However, focus your main efforts on the head, not on the environment. The head is where the action is!
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