Head Lice: a report for Consultants in Communicable Disease Control (CCDCs)

Head lice: have you got head lice? - notes for families

Detection combing - how to do it

You need;

plastic detection comb (from the chemist)
good lighting
ordinary comb

• Wash the hair well, then dry it with a towel. The hair should be damp, not dripping.
• Make sure there is good light. Daylight is best.
• Comb the hair with an ordinary comb.
• Start with the teeth of the detection comb touching the skin of the scalp at the top of the head. Draw the comb carefully towards the edge of the hair.
• Look carefully at the teeth of the comb in good light.
• Do this over and over again from the top of the head to the edge of the hair in all directions, working round the head.
• Do this for several minutes. It takes 10 to 15 minutes to do it properly for each head.
• If there are head lice, you will find one or more lice on the teeth of the comb.
• Head lice are little insects with moving legs. They are often not much bigger than a pin head, but may be as big as a sesame seed (the seeds on burger buns).
• Clean the comb under the tap. A nail brush helps to do this.
• If you find something and aren’t sure what it is, stick it on a piece of paper with clear sticky tape and show it to your school nurse or family doctor. There can be other things in the hair which are not lice.

Notes

• You can buy a plastic detection comb from the chemist.
• If you need help and advice, ask your local chemist, health visitor, school nurse, or family doctor.
• Don’t treat unless you are sure that you have found a living, moving louse.

(This document was originally appendix 5 of Head Lice: a report for Consultants in Communicable Disease Control (CCDCs).)

It is one of three appendices written for families:

Appendix 5: have you got head lice? - notes for families

Appendix 6: how to treat head lice - notes for families

Appendix 7: head lice; the truth and the myths - notes for families