The CDC estimates six to 12 million head lice cases occur each year in children ages three to 11, but doctors say the stigma and misinformation surrounding the condition can cause more harm than the lice themselves.

Dr. Krista Lauer, national medical director for Lice Clinics of America, said head lice infestations are not linked to personal hygiene or socioeconomic status."Head lice infestations have nothing to do with personal hygiene or cleanliness," Lauer said.

"They are equal opportunity parasites."How lice spread and how they don'tLauer said lice spread almost exclusively through direct head-to-head contact, not through shared objects."There is very, very little transmission, if any, through inanimate objects like a hairbrush or a hair scrunchie or a hat," Lauer said.