How To Handle Headlice

26th August 2022

Headlice and nits are very common in young children as well as their families, as it can be passed on via head-to-head contact . With kids going back to school some of you are bound to be faced with headlice and we don’t want it to be a taboo topic! We have put together a little guide that covers everything related to headlice whether that be how to spot them, treatment and how to prevent getting them.

How to know if you or your child has headlice?

The most obvious symptom of headlice is an itchy, irritated scalp. However, you may be able to physically feel or even see the headlice moving on the scalp. If you’re noticing that your child is excessively itching their scalp, then we recommend following the advice below.

Treatment for headlice

Check everyone in the house to know how many people you are dealing with and start treatment on the same day.

The first method of treatment should always be wet combing. This involves using a specialist comb to remove headlice and their eggs from the hair and scalp. You can find nit combs or detection brushes in your local pharmacy or online.

How to use a detection comb

· Wash your hair with a sensitive shampoo to help reduce the scalp irritation.

(We recommend the Davines's Calming Shampoo)

Apply a generous amount of conditioner, as this will make the comb glide through the hair with a lot more ease.

(We recommend Davines's DEDE Conditioner)

Comb your whole head of hair from roots to the ends.

(When done correctly wet combing should take 10mins for short hair, and 20 - 30 minutes for long hair.)

Repeat these steps on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any remaining live or newly hatched lice. If you are still finding live headlice after day 17 then you will need to use a medicated lotion.

Our local ‘Quadrant Pharmacy’ recommend that the best medicated lotion is “Hedrin Spray Gel.”

Prevention

We recommend regularly wet combing your children’s hair to catch headlice and nits early enough before they become a real problem.

Medicated sprays and lotions SHOULD NOT be used as a prevention, using them unnecessarily will make the scalp extremely sensitive.