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Treating Headlice
Treatment ideas seem to vary widely, but the end result is getting rid of the infestations. Whichever headlice treatment you adapt will be the best headlice treatment for you.
Many tend to avoid using the insecticide headlice treatment if they can, but I will list some of the more common ones. Of cause headlice insecticide treatment will vary from country to country, so check with your child's school nurse for recommendations in your area.
Insecticide headlice treatment
Some types of insecticides are available over the counter, such as:
- malathion (eg Derbac M)
- phenothrin (eg Full Marks)
- permethrin (eg Lyclear)
Nit Comb
Whichever treatment method you decide on, a nit comb is essential. These come in all shapes and sizes and you can even get battery operated ones! Ideally the teeth should be 0.2 to 0.3mm apart for successful eradication of all the louse eggs. Lady Jayne products have a pack of two, a black one for easy detection of the white nits and an ivory one to find hatched louse eggs which are darker in colour.
Head lice treatments must be applied to all parts of the hair. A complete regime consists of two treatments 7 days apart, the first to kill the mature lice, and the second to kill the juvenile lice hatched from the eggs over the intervening 6 days. No product currently available kills all eggs.
The most popular headlice treatment method is to use the conditioner and nit comb technique:
- 1. Apply hair conditioner to dry hair aiming to cover each hair from root to tip with a layer of conditioner.
- 2. Detangle the hair using an ordinary comb.
- 3. Immediately comb the hair with a fine tooth comb. Plastic nit combs with conditioner are very effective for detecting and removing climbers, but far less effective for eggs. The LiceMeister® (recommended by National Pediculosis Association) comb removes about 10 times more eggs than plastic nit combs.
- 4. Wipe the conditioner off the fine tooth comb onto a paper tissue and look for lice and eggs.
- 5. Repeat the combing for every part of the head at least 5 times.
- 6. Examine the comb for lice and eggs.
Remember to examine (and treat) all family members if one has been diagnosed with head lice. Keep a nit comb in the shower so that everyone can use it in conjunction with the daily shower.