Content

• Steps
• Advice

Head lice are wingless creatures that sometimes live in human hair. They survive on a small amount of blood from the scalp. Anyone can get lice, but children are most likely to get it because they are often close to others and tend to share overhead items such as combs and hats. You can take action to prevent your child from getting lice.

Steps

Method 1 of 3: Help your child prevent lice

1. 

   Avoid touching each other's head. You should advise your child to avoid touching other children's heads while attending school, playing sports, or doing other activities (for example, at birthday parties, sleeping parties, at the playground). Head-to-head is a common way for lice to spread. Children often get head lice from friends in their classrooms, family, and from other children they are close to.

2. 

   
   
   Advise your child not to share personal care items with anyone. Do not share hats, coats, shawls, hair accessories, combs, brushes, headphones, and towels with others. This action will indirectly spread the lice to the child.
   • Children should also avoid storing personal belongings in common spaces such as lockers or on the same hanging hook.

3. 

   
   
   Make sure your children are not lying on a bed or carpet that is at risk of getting lice. Head lice can be indirectly spread if your child is lying on a bed, armchair, carpet, stuffed animal, or pillow when these items have been in contact with someone with lice. The risk of infection is lower than touching each other, but it is still possible.

4. 

   
   
   Keep personal belongings separate. Children should not hang their belongings on the same coat hanger, in the same place or closet. If the school or daycare doesn't provide each child with space, you should have your children put their belongings in a sealed plastic bag before storing them in the shared space.
   • Also, remind your child to avoid playing in general makeup and not washing it on a regular basis.
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Method 2 of 3: Take measures to prevent lice infection

1. 

   Keep up to date with any lice outbreaks at school or daycare. Schools and daycare will notify parents if a child has lice. You should begin to monitor your child's hair and clothing to prevent illness. Under light, you should brush your hair with a tight tooth comb to remove adult lice and nits (small lice) as well as their nits (nits). Look for a light brown, yellow, white, or golden brown pea-like object.
   • Pay particular attention to the area around the ears, hairline, and nape. You will find lice eggs more easily in these places. Itching in this area can also be a symptom of lice. You will also notice a small red bump or a painful sensation on the scalp.
   • Check night bedding, towels, and any clothes your child has used in the last 2 days for signs of lice.
   • Remind your child to avoid touching their heads and sharing personal items with others.
   • Continue testing until the lice outbreak at school has ended.

2. 

   Clean all objects that have been in contact with someone with lice. Clothes, bedding, and anything that a person with lice has used 2 days before they start lice treatment should be washed with warm water and dried on a high temperature. You can also dry-clean them or store them in sealed plastic bags for 2 weeks.
   • Vacuum floors and furniture, especially where the person is sitting or lying down. Head lice can only survive for a day or two after falling out of an infected person's hair, so simply vacuuming out any of these objects is enough.
   • Stuffed animals should also be dried over high heat.
   • Remember, lice do not live on pets.

3. 

   Do not take your child out of school. You do not have to leave your child out of school if a child in school or daycare has lice. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises that healthy children should not miss school if they or another child in school develops lice. It is okay for your child to finish the school day, get treatment for lice, and return to school the next day.
   • The AAP encouraged schools to change their policy that prohibits children with lice from going to school.No child should miss school just because they have lice.

4. 

   Beware of shampoos that are thought to help prevent lice. A few over-the-counter hair care products have been claimed to help get rid of lice. However, they are often not tested by the US Food and Drug Administration, and their safety and effectiveness are not yet known. It's best to use a proven method of preventing lice rather than these types of products.
   • Lice prevention products are usually more expensive than conventional hair care products and need to be used on a regular basis. Therefore, these will be an expensive solution but there is no guarantee that they will be effective.
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Method 3 of 3: Treatment of lice

1. 

   Symptom awareness. The most common symptom of lice is itching on the scalp, neck, and ears. Your child will also complain that they feel like something is crawling on their heads. You may notice yellow, brown, white, golden brown nits, or adult lice and nits on the scalp. You will also see lice eggs clear if they are already hatched.
   • Not all children with lice experience an itchy scalp.
   • Nits and lice eggs are very difficult to see. So make sure you're in a well-lit place when looking for them. They are more likely to appear around the ears and nape.
   • Nits are usually located on the hair near the scalp. They look like dandruff, but don't easily fall out of the hair by brushing or shaking the hair.

2. 

   Seek medical attention. You should seek medical attention to determine if they are infected with lice before starting treatment. Sometimes, parents will treat a child for lice while they are free of lice. In addition, itchy scalp can also be a symptom of another condition like dandruff or eczema.
   • Your child may not feel itchy until 2 or 6 weeks after being infected with lice.

3. 

   Take over-the-counter (OTC) medications. Your doctor will likely recommend OTC medication. Be sure to consult your doctor for specific instructions about when and how often to use them. Some popular medications include Permethrin (Nix) and Pyrethrin (Rid, A-200, Triple X). You must follow the instructions on the package.
   • You should wash your hair and condition it with conditioner before using one of these treatments. You can also try rinsing your hair with white vinegar before taking the medication.
   • A common side effect of the medication is redness and itching.
   • Do not use pyrethrin if your child is allergic to ragweed or chamomile.
   • Continue checking for lice in everyone in your family 1 week after treatment ends. Pediatricians often think that you should repeat the course of treatment once every 1 week.

4. 

   Take prescription medications. If the OTC doesn't work, your doctor will prescribe medications like Benzyl alcohol (Ulesfia) and Malathion (Ovide) for you. Benzyl alcohol can cause redness and itching, so it should only be used in children older than 6 months. Malathion is only used for children over 6 years old.

5. 

   Comb the child's hair while it is still wet. Wet your child's hair, apply conditioner and then brush the hair with a tight-fitting brush to remove lice. You need to brush your hair from root to tip at least twice. Repeat this process every 3 or 4 days until the lice are gone for 2 weeks.
   • There is no scientific evidence to prove that brushing while wet hair is effective in getting rid of lice.

6. 

   Put oil or hair conditioner on your child's hair. Mayonnaise, olive oil, and mineral fat can also be applied to the hair and scalp. Keep in mind that there's no scientific evidence to back these home remedies yet, and they can cause quite a bit of stains.
   • Apply the product to your hair and then use a shower cap to cover your hair. You should leave your hair overnight and then wash your hair the next day.

7. 

   Clean the house thoroughly. Any item that an infected person has used in the past 2 days needs to be cleaned. These include bedding, clothing, and hair care tools. If you can't put them in the washing machine, dry clean them or store them in sealed plastic bags for 2 weeks.
   • Hair care supplies need to be cleaned with hot soapy water.
   • Bedding, stuffed animals, and clothes need to be washed in hot water and dried with high heat.
   • You should also vacuum floors and furniture.
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Advice

• Head lice are very common in young children. Head lice are not a sign of poor sanitation or unhygienic living spaces.
• Never use flammable products to treat lice.
• See a doctor of all ages if their scalp becomes inflamed, has oozing sores, or swollen lymph nodes during the lice attack. Infection can develop.
• Take children under 3 years old to see a doctor. Some lice medications are not recommended for young children this age. The doctor will recommend the best treatment.
• See your doctor if you find that your lice are still alive 2 weeks after your treatment.