Head lice

[MScott]

What's a safe way to get rid of head lice in children?

[homer]

They are unpleasant, but easy to treat, and having head lice does not mean the sufferer is in any way unhygenic or 'dirty'. Lice feed from human blood and lay eggs nightly. The eggs (nits) can often be mistaken for dandruff, or flakes of dry skin. The only sure way of confirming the presence of head lice is by seeing adult lice or their eggs. The lice stay close to the scalp and the nits stick to the individual hair. The best treatment is the careful removal of the lice by wet combing hair that has been washed with conditioner. There are two good reasons for this - first that in wet, conditioned hair, lice lie doggo and are easy to catch - and secondly you don't have to use any insecticides which could be potentially harmful. To get rid of them you need to ensure you are working on clean hair, in good light and use a special 'nit-picking' comb available through chemists. Begin at the root of the hair and remove the lice from the teeth of the comb as soon as you find any. Repeat the process at 3-5 day intervals for two weeks as the nits can take 10 days to hatch. If a child has lice, they can spread to adults in the household. Remember, though, that the symptons - an itchy head or neck might be caused by something other than lice, so if in doubt consult a doctor or pharmacist.

[jayne b-t]

Whenever there is a head lice scare at my children's school, I condition and comb through their hair with a nit comb every second night, and that both prevents and gets rid of them. There's no need for chemical products.

[Cynthia Dyke]

It does not matter about what is or is not a 'safe way'. What matters is that you publish your address immediately so that those living near to you, will be able to take avoiding action and, of course, make sure that their children do not make any contact with yours.

[modge]

As 1 in 20 schoolchildren in the Uk have headlice at any one time, there isn't much point in one mother publishing her address. Head lice are second only to the cold as infections spread at schools, so most kids will get an infection or two.

[SMILL48]

There is an article about headlice on Answerbank - just click article 1177

[sunnysue]

I have found the Robicomb very effective. I got it from Argos for around �17, It is a battery powered find tooth comb with zaps the lice when it finds them. The children don't mind me using it on them, it uses to chemicals, and is also reassuring to use just to check there are no lice if you see one of your children scratching. Ive had mine for about eighteen months now, it has got rid of two infestations on my daughters head, and reassured me countless other times.