You might think that lice infest children’s heads at the start of the school year, taking advantage of the return to class. But in reality, each year it is during the summer months that these parasites proliferate and the peak is reached at the end of August.
Like bronchiolitis or gastroenteritis, lice show unfailing regularity every year. They progress during the summer, taking advantage of beach games to colonize children’s hair, and experience a peak in incidence at the end of August.
Read also: “Children often re-infest themselves”: hunting for lice before going back to school
A peak at the end of August
According to the company OpenHealthwhich specializes in the collection and analysis of health data, it is one of the health phenomena with the greatest seasonal regularity.
OpenHealth has established an index to observe and quantify the phenomenon of lice. The Advanced Health Indicator (IAS®) Lice is based on the monitoring of pharmacy purchases of a set of products indicated against lice.
Every year, the OpenHealth indicator peaks at the end of August. This year, the last update was on July 25, but the 2024 peak was starting to appear:
The lice trail on Google
While waiting for confirmation with the update of the OpenHealth indicator, Google searches confirm the phenomenon, with a search index on the keyword “lice” close to its maximum currently.
The Google Trends tool provides an idea of the interest in a search, in the form of an index. The results reflect the proportion of searches for a given keyword in a specific region and for a specific period, compared to the region and period where the rate of use of this keyword is the highest (value of 100).
The search for “lice” is over the last 7 days at an index of 98, for a maximum of 100 established… The last week of August in 2019.
Google Trends also offers to compare searches region by region (according to the old division that was in force until 2016):
In August 2024, the regions with the most Google searches with the keyword “lice” are Auvergne (index 100), Limousin (95), Franche-Comté (95).
Last year, coastal regions were most exposed.
The region with the lowest search index is Île-de-France (index 51) followed by Alsace (index 56) and Corsica (index 62).
To avoid getting infested with lice, it is recommended to shower after the beach, and to wash beach towels and bath towels regularly. Public Health France reminds us that there is no point in taking anti-lice treatment as a preventative measure.
If the damage is done, there are many methods available to get rid of lice. Among the most effective and safe are asphyxiating products based on dimethicone (silicone oil), combined with a fine-toothed comb with a metal-toothed anti-lice comb. Do not use insecticide!
If lice persist despite two treatments, it is recommended to consult a doctor. Anti-lice centers have also opened in several cities.
To prevent a return, you must also remember to thoroughly clean clothing, bedding and potentially infested objects (brush, comb, cap, etc.).
