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Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffThe greatest risk factor for getting head lice is coming into contact with someone who already has lice. Cleanliness and personal hygiene have little bearing on whether you get lice.
Young children, preschool through elementary age, are most prone to infestation, which often transfers to a child's family members. Females of all ages get head lice more often than males do.
- Goldstein AO, et al. Pediculosis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed March 27, 2009.
- Head lice: Fact sheet. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/factsheet.html. Accessed March 27, 2009.
- Head lice: Treatment. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/treatment.html. Accessed March 27, 2009.
- Ectoparasites. In: Rakel RE, et al. Textbook of Family Medicine. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/128370895-3/822018529/1481/307.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2467-5..50029-4--cesec39_1386. Accessed March 27, 2009.
- Schlossberg D. Arthropods and leeches. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/128370895-5/822078666/1492/1286.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50385-2--cesec27_16133. Accessed March 27, 2009.
- Burkhart CN, et al. Fomite transmission in head lice. Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. 2007;56:1044.
- FDA approves benzyl alcohol lotion for the treatment of head lice. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW01993.html. Accessed April 15, 2009.
- Head lice: Prevention and control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/lice/prevent.html. Accessed March 27, 2009.
