How to Prevent, Find, and Treat

Head Lice

What Are Head Lice?Headlicearetinyinsectsthatliveonthehead.Theylayeggs(callednits)closetothescalp.Headlicedonotspreaddisease,andhavingheadlicedoesnotmeanthatyouarenotclean.Headliceareverycommonamongchildren.Scratchingtheheadcanbeasignofheadlice,butyoucanhaveheadlicewithoutanyitching.

How Is Head Lice Spread?Headlicespreadthroughdirectcontactamongchildren(head-to-head),orindirectlyonitemssuchashats,combs,hairbrushes,headbands,helmets,andtoques.

Headlice

• donotjump,fly,orhop,buttheycrawlveryquickly

• cannotliveonpetsorotheranimals

• canliveofftheheadforupto3days,buttheireggs,thenits,needawarmenvironmenttodevelop—nitsarenotlikelytohatchatroomtemperature

How to Prevent the Spread of Head Lice• Checkyourchild’sheadregularly:

–onceaweekaspartofyourroutine–aftereverysleepover–everydayduringliceoutbreaksatschool

• Keeplonghairtiedbackorbraided.

• Teachyourchildnottosharepersonalitemsthatareusedontheirhead.Thismeansthingslikebrushes,combs,barrettes,headbands,elastics,towels,hats,helmets,toques,andscarves.

• Teachyourchildtoputtheirhatsandscarvesintheircoatsleevesorbackpackswhentheytakethemoff atschool.

Ifyourchildhasbeenincontactwithsomeonewhohaslice,youneedtocheckyourchild’sheadcarefullytoseeiftheyhavecaughtlice.Headlicespreadeasily,soifonepersoninthehouseholdhaslice,othersmayhaveittoo.Check everyoneinthehouseholdonthesameday.

Check for head lice once a week.

How to Check for Head LiceWhat you need

• brightlight

• regularcomb

• licecomb,aspecialfine-toothcombavailable atanydrugstore

• hairconditioner—whiteisbest

• papertissues—whiteisbest

• plasticbagforgarbage

What to look for

Youarelookingforbothliveheadlice,calledclimbers, andtheliceeggs,callednits.

• Adultliceare2to4mmlong,oraboutthesizeofasesameseed.Licemovequicklyandcanbedifficulttosee,soit’smorelikelythatyou’llseenits.

• Nitsareshapedliketinyteardropsandhave abrownishwhitecolour. Theyareaboutthesizeof apoppyseed.Theyarestuckfirmlytoindividualhairsandwillnotmoveunlessyoupullthemfromthehairwithyourfingernailsoranitcomb.

adultlouse

“Conditioner stuns lice for 20 minutes. So once the hair is properly covered with a layer of conditioner, do not delay in combing those little suckers out!” RickSpeare,TropicalHealthSolutions.

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What to do when checking for head lice

Startbehindtheearsandchecktheentirehead,hair byhair.Check all hair from roots to tips.

Aneasywaytofindliveliceistouseconditionerand alicecomb.Whiteconditionermakesiteasiertoseelice.

• Applyconditionertodryhair,soakingthehairfromthescalptoendsofthehair.

• Removetanglesfromthehairusingaregularcomb.

• Immediatelycombwithalicecomb.Pickaplacetostart.Besureyoucombthroughallhairoverthewholehead.

• Placethelicecombagainstthescalpandpullitto theendofthehair.

• Aftereachpullthroughthehair,checktheteethofthecombforlice.Wipetheconditioneroffthecombontoapapertissueandlookforliceagain.Placeusedtissuesinaplasticbag.

• Repeatthecombingforeverypartoftheheadat least5times.

If you find head lice

• Ifyoufindlivelice,youhaveaconfirmedcasethatshouldbetreated.

• Ifyoufindonly nitsandtheyareclosetothescalp, youhaveaprobablecaseofheadlice.Ifyourchildhasnotbeentreatedwithinthelastmonth,youshouldtreatforheadlicenow.

• Checkeveryoneelseinthehouseholdforlice, eveniftheydonotfeelitchy.

• Treateveryoneinthehouseholdwhohasliceonthesameday.

“Conditioner stuns lice for 20 minutes. So once the hair is properly covered with a layer of conditioner, do not delay in combing those little suckers out!” RickSpeare,TropicalHealthSolutions.

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How to Treat Head LiceWhat you need

• head lice treatment PublicHealthServicesrecommendsusingtreatments

withthefollowingingredients:– permethrin,foundinproductssuchasNixor

Kwellada-P OR – pyrethrinswithpiperonylbutoxide,foundin

productssuchasR&C,Pronto,Equate,orLicetrol

Otherproductsmaybeavailable,butsomedonothavetheingredientsthatPublicHealthrecommendstokillheadlice.Pleasecheckfortheaboveingredients.

• lice comb,aspecialfine-toothcombavailable atanydrugstore

• regular comb

• cleantowel

What to do—10 steps

1 Comb hair with a regular comb to remove tangles.

2 Apply the treatment as follows:

– Shakethebottle.– Applythetreatmenttodry

hair,eveniftheproductdirectionssays,“toweldriedhair.”Thiswillmakesuretheproductisnotwatereddown.

– Putthelicetreatmentalloverthescalpand rubinwell.

– Besurethatthetreatmentcoversallofthehair,fromthescalptotheends.

– Leavethetreatmentonthehairforaslongasthepackagerecommends.

3 Rinse out the treatment over the sink. Don’trinseinabathtubwheretheproductcouldgetontootherpartsofthebody.Drythehairwithacleantowel.

4 Comb the hair with a regular comb to remove tangles.

5 Comb for lice with a lice comb.

6 Continue daily lice combing everydaybetweenthefirst andsecondtreatment.Itisdescribedinthenextsection. Donotskipthisstep!

7 Use the lice treatment a second time, 9 to 10 days after the first treatment.Usethesameproduct,andfollowthesamestepsyouusedforthefirsttreatment.Thefirsttreatmentkillstheliveliceandthesecondtreatmentkillsanylicethathavehatchedsincethefirsttreatmentwasdone.Noproductcurrentlyavailablewillkillallofthenits.

8 Continue checking household members at least once a week for 3 weeksafterthesecondtreatmentisdonetomakesureeveryoneisfreeoflivelice. SeeHow to Check for Head Licesectionof thispamphlet.

There are no short cuts to getting rid of Head Lice!

9 If you find live lice after the second treatment has been done,thenrepeatsteps1to8using adifferentproduct(withadifferentingredient)tokillthelice.Forexample,ifyouusedaproductwithpermethrin,thenchooseadifferentproductthathaspyrethrinswithpiperonyl butoxide.Makesuretodo 2treatmentswiththenewproduct.

10 If you continue to find live head lice after following these steps, contact Public Health Services.

Keys to controlling head lice

• Twotreatments,9to10daysapart,foreveryhouseholdmemberwhohaslivelice

• Daily lice combingbetweentreatments

• Carefulcheckingofeveryonewhohasbeeninclosecontactwithsomeonewhohasheadlice

• Cleaningpersonalandhouseholditemsthatthepeoplewithlicemayhaveused

Daily Lice CombingComb for lice every day between the first and second treatments.Thefirsttreatmentwillnotkillallofthenits.Dailycombingisneededtoremoveanylicethatwillhatch.Ifthenewlicearen’tremoved,they’lllaymorenitsin9to15daysandstartthecycleoveragain.This step is key to your success in getting rid of head lice!

1 Wetyourchild’shair.Itshouldbedamp,not drippingwet.

2 Combhairwitharegularcombtoremovetangles.

3 Partthehairintothin,narrowsections.Combwith alicecomb(finetoothcomb)onesectionatatime.

4 Placethelicecombagainstthescalpandpullitto theendofthehair.

5 Checktheteethofthelicecombaftereachpullthroughthehair.Rinseoffanyliceornitsunderrunningwaterorwipethemawaywithatissue. Dropeachtissueintoabag.

6 Repeatthecombingforeverysectionofhairatleast 5times.

7 Whenyoufinishlicecombing,washthecombunderthetap.Useanailbrushoroldtoothbrushtogetbetweentheteethofthecomb.Ifyou’vebeenusingtissuestowipethecomb,tiethebagclosedandthrowitaway.Soakthecombinveryhotwaterfor10minutesorstoreinthefreezerfor24hoursbeforeusingagain.

Daily lice combing is very important.

Household Clean Up• Wash combs, brushes, and hair accessories—such

asscrunchies,barrettes,andheadbands—withhot,soapywateruntilallliceornitsareremoved.Thensoaktheminveryhotwaterfor10minutes.Oryoucanputtheminthefreezerfor24hours.

• Use very hot, soapy water to wash clothing, sheets, towels, pillowcases, and so forth,usedbyanyhouseholdmemberswithheadliceinthelast3days.

• Treatitemsthatyoucan’twash,suchasblankets,coats,andstuffedtoys,inoneofthefollowingways:

– Putitinaclosedplasticbagfor10days.– Putitinahotdryerfor20minutes.– Putitinthefreezerfor24hours.– Ironit.

• Vacuum mattresses, carpets, and furniture.Headlicecanliveoffthehumanheadforupto3days.

• Do not use lice sprayaroundyourhome.Thereisnoproofthatsprayingwillhelpcontrollice,anditmayharmfamilymembersorpets.

Other TreatmentsYoumayhaveheardofusinghouseholdproductssuchasvaseline,mayonnaise,hairgel,oroliveoiltotreatheadlice.Pleaserememberthatsuchmethodshavenotbeenproventowork.Applyingtheseproductsisthoughttoplugtheholesthroughwhichthelicebreathe.Butheadlicecanlivewithoutairforupto6hours.

Ifyouuseoneoftheseproducts,applyathickcoatingtothehairandleaveitonforatleast8hoursatatime.Youmaywishtoapplybeforebedtime,coverhairwithashowercapovernight,andwashhairwithregularshampoointhemorning.Thismaysuffocatethelive lice,butthenitswillnotbeaffectedandwillcontinuetohatch.Youwillneedtorepeatthesetreatmentsseveraltimesover2to3weeks.Remembertoalsouse daily lice combing.

Somepeoplehaveusednaturalproductssuchasteatreeoil,otheressentialoils,andaromatherapyproductstotreatheadlice.PublicHealthServicesdoesnotrecommendtheuseofsuchproducts,becausetheirsafetyandeffectivenessisnotyetknown.

Otherproductssuchasgasolineorkeroseneareflammable(easilysetonfire)andtoxic(poison).TheyarenotrecommendedbyPublicHealthServicesbecausetheyaredangerous.

Flammable

Toxic

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For More Information

Phone: 811

Websites:

• Speare,Rick.TropicalHealthSolutions.tropicalhealthsolutions.com/headlice

• Pollack,Richard.IdentifyUS,LLC: identify.us.com/idmybug/head-lice/index.html

• CanadianPaediatricSociety: caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/head_lice

• CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention: cdc.gov/parasites/lice/index.html

• 811headlice:811.novascotia.ca Clickon“SearchHealthTopics”,type“lice”intheSearchbar,thenclick“Search”.

This pamphlet was written and reviewed by Public Health Services, Nova Scotia Health Authority.