Actress boards plane with head lice, triggers social media firestorm: What to know

Instagram users appear to have questions and concerns after actress Jenny Mollen shared a video revealing her itchy head lice discovery while on an airplane.

Her Instagram announcement, along with a follow-up post, was shared by Mollen late last month but has made recent headlines and prompted users to sound off. 

"I hope you told the crew," said another.

Mollen, who was seen with a plastic bag on her head in the video, said she had been scratching her head for two weeks.

"The airplane seat that's a bummer for whoever sits there next," Mollen said on Instagram, where she tagged the New York City-based lice removal company, Licenders.

"The world in its oversharing era," said another. 

"Calm down, People! It's just lice," one user commented on the video update.

Another said, "I hope you told the airline." 

Lice are parasitic insects found on people's heads and bodies and can spread by close person-to-person contact that move by crawling and cannot hop or fly, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Christine Bonanno is the owner of Fairy LiceMothers, a professional lice removal service that has been in business for more than 18 years with locations on Long Island in New York and in Austin, Texas. 

Bonanno told Fox News Digital via email that the most common way to catch lice is through head-to-head contact.

She said the most effective way to treat lice is to comb out all the bugs, and it is very important to communicate with those you are around so they can be checked and treated.

"The hair acts as a bridge for lice to crawl from one head to another. So the less hair exposed the better. Hair tied back in a braid or bun helps," said Bonanno.

Bonanno, who is a certified head lice removal clinician, said certain scents such as lavender, peppermint, coconut and tea tree oil could help repel the bugs.

"We tell clients, 'once a week take a peek,' meaning check yourself for lice weekly, so even if you do get [lice] it will be manageable and easy to treat," Bonanno said.