Dr Rink says lice spreads because people are doing selfies every day having more head-to-head contact.
A group of US paediatricians has warned that taking selfies have increased the number of head lice cases among teenagers, reports The Independent.
According to the group, there is a growing trend of “social media lice” that causes lice to spread when teenagers join their heads together to take a selfie.
Dr Sharon Rink, a Wisconsin paediatrician, told WBAY2 that there is an unusual trend that has never been seen before in the last five years. A large number of teenagers seeking head lice treatment have been coming to her on a regular basis.
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“People are doing selfies like every day, as opposed to going to photo booths years and years ago," said Dr Rink.
“So you’re probably having much more contact with other people’s heads.
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“If you have an extremely itchy scalp and you’re a teenager, you might want to get checked out for lice instead of chalking it up to dandruff," she added.
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The official online guide of the Center for Disease Control recommends avoiding head-to-head contact where possible to prevent head lice from spreading. It also suggests girls are more likely to get the parasite than boys because they tend to have “more frequent head-to-head contact”.
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