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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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nit
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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Aussi disponible en français
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.