After applying lots of conditioner, comb the hair out in very small sections, and look for lice or nits on the comb. You can wipe the comb onto a tissue or paper towel where it will be easier to see them. If your child is itchy and scratching their head but you're not sure if it's lice, ask your child's doctor or the nurse at school or childcare center to take a look.
Medicine: Medicated shampoos, cream rinses, and lotions are available that kill lice. These may be over-the-counter OTC or prescription medicines. If you buy OTC, be sure it's safe for your child's age. While some over-the-counter shampoos are safe for kids as young as 2 months, others are safe only for kids 2 years and older. In some areas, lice have developed resistance to some medicines.
This means they no longer work to kill the lice. Ask your doctor or a pharmacist to recommend a medicine known to work in your area. The doctor also can prescribe a medicated shampoo or lotion. For very resistant lice, the doctor might recommend taking medicine by mouth.
Whether the medicine is OTC or prescription, always follow the directions closely. Applying too much can be harmful. Applying too little won't work. It is also an option for anyone who doesn't want to use an insecticide.
And it is the only option for children 2 months old or younger, who should not use medicated lice treatment. To do this, use a fine-tooth comb on wet, conditioned hair every 3—4 days for 3 weeks after the last live louse was seen. Wetting the hair temporarily stops the lice from moving, and the conditioner makes it easier to get a comb through the hair. There's no need to buy electronic combs that claim to kill lice or make nits easier to remove. No studies have been done to back up these claims.
You also don't need to buy special vinegar solutions to apply to the scalp before picking nits. Water and conditioner works fine. Though petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, or olive oil are sometimes used to try to suffocate head lice, these treatments may not work.
If medicine doesn't work and you want to try these methods, talk to your doctor first. A few important things to NOT do: Don't use a hairdryer after applying scalp treatments. Some treatments for lice use flammable ingredients and can catch on fire. Don't use pesticide sprays or hire a pest control company to try to get rid of the lice; these can be harmful.
Local health departments may have guidelines that address school head lice policies; check with your local and state health departments to see if they have such recommendations. More on: Head Lice Information for Schools. Head lice should not be considered as a medical or public health hazard.
Head lice can be an annoyance because their presence may cause itching and loss of sleep. Sometimes the itching can lead to excessive scratching that can sometimes increase the chance of a secondary skin infection. Head lice are spread most commonly by direct contact with the hair of an infested person. Spread by contact with inanimate objects and personal belongings may occur but is very uncommon.
Head lice feet are specially adapted for holding onto human hair. Head lice would have difficulty attaching firmly to smooth or slippery surfaces like plastic, metal, polished synthetic leathers, and other similar materials. Head lice and their eggs nits soon perish if separated from their human host. Adult head lice can live only a day or so off the human head without blood for feeding. Nymphs young head lice can live only for several hours without feeding on a human.
Nits head lice eggs generally die within a week away from their human host and cannot hatch at a temperature lower than that close to the human scalp. For these reasons, the risk of transmission of head lice from a wig or other hairpiece is extremely small, particularly if the wig or hairpiece has not been worn within the preceding 48 hours by someone who is actively infested with live head lice.
Data show that head lice can survive under water for several hours but are unlikely to be spread by the water in a swimming pool. Head lice have been seen to hold tightly to human hair and not let go when submerged under water.
Chlorine levels found in pool water do not kill head lice. Children should be taught not to share towels, hair brushes, and similar items either at poolside or in the changing room. Swimming or washing the hair within 1—2 days after treatment with some head lice medicines might make some treatments less effective. Seek the advice of your health care provider or health department if you have questions.
This information is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care provider. If you have any questions about the parasites described above or think that you may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care provider. Contact Us. Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link. Section Navigation. Unless treated properly, this condition can become a recurring problem. Head lice feed on blood from the scalp.
The female louse lays eggs nits that stick to hair shafts. Lice feed on human blood and can infest the human head, body and pubic area. The female louse produces a sticky substance that firmly attaches each egg to the base of a hair shaft.
Eggs hatch in six to nine days. You can get lice by coming into contact with either lice or their eggs. Lice can't jump or fly.
They spread through:. It's difficult to prevent the spread of head lice among children in child care and school settings. There's so much close contact among children and their belongings that lice can spread easily. It's no reflection on your hygiene habits or those of your children, and it's not a failure on your part as a parent if your child gets head lice.
Some over-the-counter products claim to repel lice, but more scientific research is needed to prove their safety and effectiveness. She lays her eggs a fraction of an inch from the scalp, where it's nice and warm — just right for hatching. Nits typically hatch eight or nine days after they're laid.
Once the eggs have hatched, their yellow or white shells remain attached to the hair shaft, moving farther from the scalp as the hair grows. As a result, empty nit shells attached to hairs are usually found farther away from the scalp than live eggs are. Baby lice, known as nymphs, are not much bigger than the nits and tend to be light in color.
Nine to 12 days later, they become adults and mate, the females lay their eggs, and the cycle continues. Your child probably picked up lice from an infested sibling or playmate. Lice are crawling insects. They can't hop, jump, or fly, but they can crawl from one head to another when people put their heads together — for example, when they hug or lay their heads on the same pillow.
Once female lice find their way to a child's head, they lay eggs and begin to populate the area. You can't catch nits; they have to be laid by live lice. Since lice can live for up to a day off of the human head, it's theoretically possible to get infested if your hair makes contact with items such as hats, combs, or brushes if they were used recently by an infested person.
However, this is less likely than human-to-human spread. A healthy louse will rarely leave a healthy head except to crawl onto another healthy head!
It's a myth that lice are a product of poor hygiene or poverty. Head lice are equal-opportunity parasites. They like clean hair as well as dirty hair and can flourish in even the wealthiest communities. So, when lice are going around, it's no one child or family's fault.
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