In the rush to butt their heads together to capture a great group shot, teenagers may be inadvertently capturing something else – headlice!
Health experts are claiming the selfie sensation is not just infesting social media but scalps as well, and has lead to an increase in lice among the younger generation.
Marcy McQuillan, a lice-treatment expert who runs two lice-treatment centers in California called Nitless Noggins, says she’s seen a dramatic uptick in the incidence of lice among young people, and it’s due, she maintains, to all that head bumping for selfie snaps.
‘Head lice are spreading through head-to-head contact,’ she said.
‘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.’
According to CNET, Vanessa Mor, supervisor at Lice Control in Oakland, Calif., said: ‘That makes a lot of sense. In order to get it, you have to be direct contact — sitting on the same towel, sharing headphones together, or using someone else’s hair curler, sharing hats, sweaters, and scarves.’
Mor added she has seen a recent uptick in lice in teens and young adults in her area.
So, think twice before sticking your head with another’s all the name of taking picture.
