Are selfies causing head lice among teens?

What appears to be a perfectly innocent gesture could be causing a lot more damage to your teen’s health than you think.

 

According to a US head lice lice expert Mary McQuillan, the selfie sensation is the cause for the soar in head lice among teens.

 

The California-based expert says she has seen a dramatic rise in the instances of lice among young people and thinks the ‘head-to-head- contact of taking group selfies is to blame.

 

“Lice don't jump or fly, so you actually have to touch heads. Every teen I've treated, I ask about selfies, and they admit that they are taking them every day,” she says.

 

Although this makes perfect sense for some, other experts think that it is not possible to get head lice from taking group selfies.

 

Dr. Nick Celano, a resident at the Los Angeles + USC Medical Center said: “The way we're taught is that it takes contact for an extended period of time, and 10 seconds is not what I'd consider an extended period of time.”

 

He thinks that these louse don’t have enough time to make their way to another person’s head during a selfie.

 

“We're in rooms with patients that have lice, and we don't really worry about getting it transmitted from one person to the other while in the room,” he added.

 

McQuillan advises selfie-takers not to keep their heads too close while taking selfies girls are advised to keep their hair tied up – better safe than sorry right?