Well we have children and they seem to get lice but we don't know if it's from the parakeets.

Question

Because they always have them on their heads.

Answer 1

ewww, nope not from birds

Answer 2

Lice is species specific.  Treatment for head lice on humans is very time consuming.  You need to get special shampoos and treat the children and remove all nits, sometimes you can get the cheapest mayonnaise possible and use that in the kids hair wrap in plastic then let sit for at least 30 min. then comb through with a special nit comb.  You will need to wash all bedding and pillows and spray all fabric and matresses with a bed bug spray.  All stuffed animals must be double bagged in trash bags for about two weeks.  vaccuumm everything very slowly and change the bag when you are done.  If you have insurance on your children their doctor can write a prescription for the shampoo.  Your local health department can give you the most up to date on cleaning after a lice out break.  This can get expensive to treat the house. (dirty people normally don't get lice, they need oil free hair to lay their eggs, hope that makes you feel a little better about the kids new friends)

With our outside birds we use a dust for the building to prevent bird lice and mites.  But I read some place that just a light mist from a spray bottle filled with water would prevent bugs on our parakeets in the house.(It stated if they had a bird bath they wouldn't need to be sprayed, I never saw ours use it so I removed it and started misting them)  I'm sure they have special sprays for them you can look into, call a vet, or pet store for advice on the birds and research online.

Before we had birds one of our kids picked up head lice at daycare and while that parent wasn't treating their home or kid properly, or the day care provider wasn't he would bring it home repeatedly until we changed babysitters.  Watch who your kids are around and who comes into your home and see if a person the kids are in contact with might not be the one infesting them, might be uncomfortable but you would need to tell them how to treat the condition if you don't want it coming back again.

Answer 3

The mites that birds get are species specific, they're not going to show up as lice on your kids. Actually head lice that people get, can't survive well on any pet because of the species specific issue.

It's more likely that someone in the kids school or a local playground has lice that's not being treated right and without intense treatment in your own home (special shampoos, manually using a lice comb to pick out the lice, quick cleaning of the house, etc), the kids will keep getting re-occurrences.  

Answer 4

gross....

Answer 5

...parasitic infestation from bird mites too small to be easily seen without magnification. Symptoms include pinprick bites, often intense itching with or without lesions, small reddened bumps, and a crawling sensation anywhere on the body; with increased activity at night. Some people label these the "creepy crawlies" or "nose ticklers". The intense itching and irritation on the skin is due to the mite's saliva. When a large area is covered with bites it will resemble a rash in appearance, and it is often mistaken for scabies