Do rural people rarely have lice now? Why?

When I was a child, every time my hair was itchy, I liked to run to my grandma and ask her to help me catch lice. Every time, I would lie on my grandma’s lap and listen to her using the method after catching the lice. The crisp sound of crushing the lice with your fingernails is very enjoyable. Although my grandma has been gone for almost ten years, I still miss her from time to time.

For rural people at that time, it was not only me who had lice, but other people as well. Those lice on the hair will make your scalp itchy and you can't help but keep scratching it with your hands. However, lice are rarely found in rural areas now. So what is the reason for lice to disappear from rural areas? Let me analyze for you the reasons why lice disappear. Let’s first talk about where the lice in rural areas came from in the past

01. In the past, almost every household in rural areas raised pigs and cattle, and these poultry may have lice on them.

Friends who have helped parents herd cows in the past should all know that there are fly-like bugs on cows, also called cow lice, which suck the blood of cows (I heard that they can also be like mosquitoes) , suck human blood, but I have never been bitten, so I don’t know whether this statement is true or not). These insects will lay eggs on animals, wait for the eggs to hatch, and then turn into adults and attack the animals again.

In the past, rural people often came into contact with animals, so they would get the eggs of these cattle lice on their clothes. The source of transmission of lice should be the same as the principle of cattle lice. At that time, rural residents often came into contact with pigs, sheep and cattle, and these poultry were more or less carrying lice.

02. In the past, some of the mattresses that rural families used to sleep on in winter were woven from grass, moso bamboo silk, etc. At that time, few families could use 100% cotton as their mattresses.

This kind of mattress is handwoven by oneself. The workmanship of the mattress is very rough. If there are lice on the body, some lice will hide in the mattress while sleeping on it. This kind of mattress cannot be washed.

Although every household will put away this kind of mattress in the summer, it will still be stored with clothes. After the lice mature, they will be transmitted from the clothes to people.

03. For rural residents in the past, their favorite way to wash clothes was by the local river or creek. The river water at that time was clear. Many young daughters-in-law like to take their family members' clothes to the river and chat with their peers in the village while washing them.

The river water may seem clear, but no one can guarantee that it is not filled with lice eggs. This is also one way lice may spread, to clothing, and then to people.

04. A few years ago, a certain post on a forum posted a sentence such as "so and so, your mother told you to go home for dinner." The reason why it became popular was because it reminded many people of their childhood, and created ** *Ming.

Because in the past, children in rural areas were very "wild" and could not sit still all day long. They were always rolling and playing around in the village. When it was time to eat, they didn't know how to go home. Every time, the adults would shout or instruct other people to tell someone to come back quickly for dinner when they see someone in my house.

At that time, rural children stayed in the wild every day, and the lice in the soil and grass would naturally crawl onto their clothes and hair, thus spreading. Why are there no lice now?

I think it’s because people’s living conditions are better now. In the past, every family raised pigs, but now few people do so. At that time, people had lice on their bodies and rarely used shampoo when washing their hair. They basically dry-cleaned their hair. That is to say, wet your hair with water and rub it yourself.

The same goes for washing clothes. At that time, as long as the clothes were not too dirty, I was reluctant to use soap. Even if I used it, I would only apply it lightly and then pat it hard with a wooden stick.

There is also the heavy mattress on the bed in the past. At that time, most of the mattresses were made manually. Today's mattresses are all produced by large manufacturers. They have already disinfected them during production, and they have made the mattresses very dense so that lice cannot get in.

Finally, it is the rural people in the past. A piece of clothing will be worn for several generations. If the grandfather wears it, leave it to the father. If the father can’t wear it, it will be worn by the elder brother. If the elder brother can’t wear it, then it will be worn by the younger brother.

In this way, the lice will continue to spread through different hosts on the clothes. People nowadays dress differently. After a season, they might not wear it tomorrow. Who would want to wear someone else’s old clothes? To sum up:

The fact that lice could continue to spread in rural areas in the past was inseparable from the living environment at that time. At that time, the living conditions in rural areas were still relatively poor and dirty. . Also because of limited economic and knowledge, the villagers are not very aware of hygiene, so they have lice on their bodies. But nowadays, living conditions in rural areas have improved a lot, and the environment in the village has also become better. After the villagers have money, they also pay great attention to personal hygiene, and naturally there are fewer lice.

This can be seen from today’s homeless people, or people who live a sloppy and lazy life. Those who don't pay attention to personal hygiene, don't change their clothes often, don't wash their quilts often, and don't want to wash their hair until it's almost oily, will be prone to lice, but not vice versa.

In a word, there are fewer lice in rural areas, mainly because all aspects of rural life are now better than in all previous eras.