How to Treat Head Lice

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Head lice are most common among children and are highly contagious, but there's no need to panic: They do not pose any serious medical threat and are certainly treatable.

Step 1: Assess the situation
Assess the situation: If you or someone in your family has an itchy scalp, check carefully for lice with a magnifying glass. Treatment should be considered only when active lice or unhatched eggs are observed. If you receive a notice from school that another student has head lice take it seriously.

Tip
Active lice will look like this. But you will rarely see them. This photo is magnified a lot.Unhatched eggs will look like this. T. In real life they are the size of a pin head!howcast.com/system/guideattachments/118/nit200n…

Step 2: Check everyone in the household
When you’ve spotted active lice or unhatched eggs, check everyone in the household. Lice are highly contagious, so everyone should avoid contact with the infested area or anything that might also be infested, like a comb, hat, or linens.

Step 3: Consult a doctor
Consult a doctor for any specific instructions and recommendations.

Step 4: Comb
In a well-lit room or outdoors—but not on carpeting—comb the scalp using a fine-tooth or louse comb and a magnifying glass. Clean the comb frequently to remove lice or eggs, and groom daily until no lice are discovered for two weeks. The first nit removal should take 1-2 hours to properly remove the nits. Start by parting the hair into 4 sections.

Tip
After parting the hair in four use the handle of a comp to look at one row of hairs at a time.If you are combing lice and eggs out of a child’s hair, sit behind them as they watch a movie so that they pay less attention to the meticulous work you are doing. After combing use a roll of sticky tape to clean the neck and shoulder in case nits fell.

Step 5: Heat the lice out
Heat the lice out. Using a blow-dryer can sometimes kill lice and their eggs, but be careful not to burn the scalp.

Step 6: Treat with insecticidal shampoo
Treat with insecticidal shampoo. You should always consult a doctor before taking this approach, and read the labels on these products carefully.

Tip
Avoid any treatments that contain lindane, a toxic chemical. If your doctor prescribes a shampoo with lidane, ask about the long-term effects, and get a second opinion.

Step 7: Apply petroleum jelly to hair on face
If infestations have spread to eyebrows, eyelashes, or facial hair, apply a generous amount of petroleum jelly these areas—never use chemicals. You may also want to sleep with olive oil in the scalp for at least 10 hours. This will help kill the nits.

Step 8: Treat clothing and linens
Treat clothing and linens. Gather clothes, pillowcases, hats, and sheets that have been in contact with the infested individuals, and dry them for a least 1 hour. The heat helps kill the nits.

Step 9: Treat the rest of the house
Treat the rest of the house. Clean any combs or brushes that have come in contact with the infestation, and try freezing any toys or other objects that cannot be washed. Put objects that can’t be washed in sealed plastic bags for 2 weeks.

Step 10: Treat again ten days later
Ten days after treating the scalp with an insecticide, treat again. Because insecticides have a limited ability to remove eggs, any lice that may have hatched in the meantime should be treated at this time.

Step 11:
Check with your doctor to make sure you have successfully eliminated the head lice.

Did You Know?
The nickname for these six-legged critters, 'cooties,' was coined by French soldiers in World War I to refer to body lice of any kind.