Information about headlice

There are some cases of headlice going round Kate Greenaway at the moment. I know that some parents have checked their child’s hair and treated the headlice – only to find that their child has picked them up again a few days later. Unfortunately headlice are a fact of life in all schools in England – there is only one solution, which is for everyone to check their child’s hair every day, looking carefully for lice or eggs.

Head lice are tiny grey-brown, wingless insects, which live by sucking blood from the scalp. Their eggs are known as nits and they are laid glued to the base of hairs, and look like tiny white specks. Infestation often causes itching of the scalp, but may also go unnoticed. If you suspect head lice, check the base of hairs for eggs and comb the hair over a piece of white paper to see if you can spot any dark mature lice.
If you or your children have head lice you should check the rest of the family, and tell close friends and your child’s key person.
We recommend two approaches to treating lice: either over-the-counter medication, from a chemist, or using the “bug-busting” approach with conditioner and use of a nit-comb.

Bug busting

Wet combing, or ‘bug-busting’ is used to remove lice without using chemical treatments. This method can be helpful because head lice are growing increasingly resistant to the insecticides used to remove them. The best procedure is as follows:
• wash the hair as normal,
• apply lots of conditioner (this causes the lice to lose their grip on the hair),
• comb the hair through with a normal comb first,
• with a fine tooth nit comb, comb from the roots along the complete length of the hair and after each stroke check the comb for lice and wipe it clean. Work methodically over the whole head for at least 30 minutes,
• rinse the hair as normal, and
• repeat every three days for at least two weeks.
Do not use medicated lotions or rinses ‘just in case’, for example in close friends or family members. They should only be used if live lice are found. Regular combing of hair using the bug-busting method can help with early detection as well as treatment.
If you want more help or guidance then the best thing to do is to make an appointment to see the practice nurse at your GP surgery, or speak to the pharmacist at the chemist’s.