Head Lice - What should I do?

It's the day you have thought might happened, and hoped would never happen. Now you need to face the reality of that day, and how to deal with the situation. You have found out that your child has head lice. The question is now what do you do, is it your fault?

The first thing you do is to accept the situation calmly. Having a panic won't help you and it certainly won't help your child. As head lice are a form of parasite they need a host to survive, and they always need a human host. It just seems that children get infested with hair lice, and when one child gets infested it spread through the school and also through the other members in the home.

You might suddenly be informed by the school that many of the children have been found with head lice. Your child will be able to tell you whether they have felt an itching on their head, as this is one of the signs to look out for.

People will suggest that you check for the eggs but if you are not sure what to look for then it could be a fruitless exercise. The nits or their eggs will be close to the base of the hair near the scalp. They like it there because of the warmth that is generated which helps them to hatch. They can be in different color, yellow; tan or brown. You might think you have found dandruff on your child's head but unlike dandruff nits do not move, they attached themselves to the hair. It is easier to find the nits or eggs than it is to find the lice.

Now you have the task of killing off the lice and their eggs. One way is to purchase a lice comb which will be used to go through the hair. This has to be done slowly and methodically to remove all the lice and eggs. You will need to repeat the process until the day comes when there is nothing on the comb.

There are various insecticides that will kill of the lice and you should talk to your pharmacy and take their advice and follow the instructions very carefully.

Then there are shampoos which are designed for killing lice and their eggs. You again will need to follow the instructions but normally you would need to leave the shampoo on for around 10 mins before washing it out. You need to use this treatment again in about 7 day's time.

Choose your method of killing the lice carefully, and follow the instructions to allow your child to be free of lice and nits.