As a veteran clinic owner, this is one of the most commonly asked questions. The easy answer is that head lice “awareness” is actually what ebbs and flows more than prevalence. Head lice is not seasonal, but we see a big surge in appointments from August to November. The end of the summer marks many children returning from summer camps, having more sleepovers than usual (no school, YAY!), and of course, eventually heading back to school. Many parents and caregivers assume that head lice is spread due to school but the reality is that kids are spreading it wherever they’re congregating. Back to school creates a massive awareness of head lice and prompts parents to be on “high alert” as I like to call it meaning that they are more in tune with a child having an itchy head and more apt to do regular head checks at home, especially if they’re hearing that there’s lice at their child’s school. What we find is that when awareness is lowered, we see many more heavy cases coming in which just means that it went unnoticed for a longer time, so they had it all along, while heightened awareness brings in lighter cases and families with less members who present positive for lice.