Quick Guide: Head Lice Removal

quick guide to lice removal

Facts and general information about head lice removal: diagnosis, treatment m
methods, and cost.

I.     Basic Lice Facts

Head lice are small insects that live on people’s heads and feed on human blood. Head lice infestation is a widespread problem in children and causes concern among parents and childcare workers. However, they don’t transmit infectious diseases.

II.   Symptoms and spreading

You may get a tickling feeling on your head with itching and sometimes redness. Itchiness does not mean that a person has head lice and head lice don’t always produce symptoms.

Head lice spread through direct contact among children (head-to-head), or indirectly on items such as hats, combs, hairbrushes, headbands, and helmets. The head lice that live on people cannot live on pets or other animals and vice versa.

III. Head Lice Diagnosis

Carefully inspect each person’s hair and scalp. Look for head lice eggs (called nits), which are oval and about the size of a pinhead. You will find them firmly attached to the hair shaft and they cannot be brushed off easily.

A female louse may lay about three to eight nits per day. The louse attaches the nits to the hair fibers within 1.5 cm of the scalp and needs the warmth from the head to hatch. Head lice do not have wings or jumping legs, so they cannot fly or jump from head to head. They can only crawl.

The most effective way to find them is to use the conditioner and remove them with a comb weekly:

Step 1: Comb hair conditioner onto dry, brushed hair to make it easier to comb and slow the lice’s movement.

Step 2: Section the hair and go from root to ends with a fine-tooth head lice comb.

Step 3: Squeeze tightly around the comb and wipe it onto a paper towel.

Step 4: Look through the towel and comb for lice and nits.

Step 5: Comb through every part of the head at least four or five times in different directions.

Step 6: You must treat every person that shows signs infestation to eliminate head lice. That’s at a minimum. If you want to be certain it’s gone, you should treat everyone that has come into head to head contact as that is how lice spread.

IV. Lice Treatment

There are three basic self-treatment options for head lice:

• topical pediculicides

• wet combing, and

• oral medication.

Some lice clinics offer head lice removal services. The only downside is the price. This services will cost you good money (it can cost a few hundred dollars per children), and you’ll have to go there more than once. Rates aren’t fixed, but the price for this service is about $100 per hour.

Another alternative is a head lice treatment specialist, found in some areas of the country.

Topical pediculicides

Head lice products can be divided into four groups based on the active compound:

• pyrethrins

• synthetic pyrethroids

• organophosphates, and

• herbal products.

Effective pediculicides should kill both lice and eggs. The pediculicide should be applied to dry or wet hair, left for the advised time, then rinsed thoroughly with warm water. No treatment kills 100% of eggs. Therefore, the procedure must be repeated 7–10 days after the first treatment to kill any nymphs that have hatched from remaining eggs.

If over-the-counter products containing pyrethroids do not work, it is unlikely that prescription strength (5%) permethrin will either. For children 2–12 years of age, preparations containing permethrin or pyrethrins are safe. All infected members of the patient’s family should be treated simultaneously.

Wet combing

Pediculicides are not recommended for children under two years of age. Therefore, mechanical removal of lice on wet hair with a hair conditioner and a fine-tooth comb is a DIY alternative.

Oral Therapy

 A recent trial of oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim) in addition to permethrin rinses, only increased the cure rate marginally (89–95%).

Ivermectin has also been investigated for the treatment of lice resistant to conventional pediculicides but is not approved for the treatment of head lice.

Post Lice Treatment

The scalp might become itchy after the lice treatment. This does not mean that the treatment didn’t work. Anti-itch medicine, such as Benadryl or another antihistamine, may help.

Read about the History of Lice Removal

References

Center for Disease Control

Healthline: How to kill head lice

WebMD: Lice Treatment

Johns Hopkins Medicine

Katie Fuller
Hillary was a literal godsend. So professional but also warm and friendly. We caught lice on our child very early. Went the next day (after treating at home— because of course we discovered around 8 pm) to make sure we didn’t need to treat again, and also for the peace-of-mind to have a professional check all of us. Hillary was so kind and fun to chat with! Also, I should note when I called the night I discovered lice on my child, Lice Charmers answered the phone and set us up with a next day appointment! This place is literally such a lifesaver. Thank you for what you all do!!!
Katie Fuller
Hillary was a literal godsend. So professional but also warm and friendly. We caught lice on our child very early. Went the next day (after treating at home— because of course we discovered around 8 pm) to make sure we didn’t need to treat again, and also for the peace-of-mind to have a professional check all of us. Hillary was so kind and fun to chat with! Also, I should note when I called the night I discovered lice on my child, Lice Charmers answered the phone and set us up with a next day appointment! This place is literally such a lifesaver. Thank you for what you all do!!!
Jamie Snook
Very knowledgeable and walked us through the process.
Jamie Snook
Very knowledgeable and walked us through the process.
Julia Thompson
Margaret was super awesome, kind, knowledgeable, gentle and thorough. Thank you for making that so painless!
Julia Thompson
Margaret was super awesome, kind, knowledgeable, gentle and thorough. Thank you for making that so painless!
Stephanie Berg
Hillary was the best! She is friendly, informative, and well worth it even if you end up just getting checked and not having anything. We will definitely share her info!
Stephanie Berg
Hillary was the best! She is friendly, informative, and well worth it even if you end up just getting checked and not having anything. We will definitely share her info!
amber luttrell
My step daughters ended up with lice and I had never delt with them before. The experience with lice charmers was absolutely fantastic. The technician was professional and a great conversationalist and got done with both of my stepdaughter's Checks and treatments and my check within 3 hours. They were fantastic! I absolutely would recommend!
amber luttrell
My step daughters ended up with lice and I had never delt with them before. The experience with lice charmers was absolutely fantastic. The technician was professional and a great conversationalist and got done with both of my stepdaughter's Checks and treatments and my check within 3 hours. They were fantastic! I absolutely would recommend!
Alisha Krause
My experience with Lice Charmers was great (considering it was dealing with lice lol). They were extremely knowledgeable. Melanie was super friendly. Definitely recommend them!
Alisha Krause
My experience with Lice Charmers was great (considering it was dealing with lice lol). They were extremely knowledgeable. Melanie was super friendly. Definitely recommend them!
Ethan Neff
They got the whole family in quickly and were incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Thank you!
Ethan Neff
They got the whole family in quickly and were incredibly friendly, knowledgeable and helpful. Thank you!
Angelina
I discovered lice in my daughter's hair yesterday and Lice Charmers was able to get us in within a day. I did a Nix home treatment kit when I discovered it but I was worried about how well I did it or how effective it would be. June was our technician and she was amazing. She was warm and friendly and very informative. My daughter is 6 and she was scared, she didn't know what to expect. June made her feel comfortable and she was very gentle with her. She treated her hair and examined me as well. She also provided something like a doctor's note to provide to school. I understand not everyone can afford professional treatment but if you can, I highly recommend this place. It gave me so much peace of mind.

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