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

Head lice: how to treat them - notes for families

Notes

• Please read "Head lice: have you got head lice? - notes for families".
• Don’t treat unless you are sure you have found a living, moving louse.
• Don’t ever use head louse lotions on your family "just in case". It’s never a good idea to use chemicals if they aren’t really needed.

If you are sure you have found a living louse:

• check the heads of all the people in your home.
• only treat those who have living, moving lice.
• treat them all at the same time with a head louse lotion (not shampoo).
• ask your local chemist, school nurse, health visitor or family doctor which lotion to use, and how long to leave it on.
• put the lotion on to dry hair.
• use the lotion in a well ventilated room or in the open air.
• part the hair near the top of the head, put a few drops on to the scalp and rub it in. Part the hair a bit further down the scalp and do the same again. Do this over and over again until the whole scalp is wet.
• you don’t need to put lotion down long hair any further than where you would put a pony-tail band.
• use enough lotion - at least one small bottle for each head, more if the hair is thick. Use all the lotion up.
• keep the lotion out of the eyes and off the face. One way is to hold a cloth over the face.
• let the lotion dry on the hair. Some lotions can catch fire, so keep well away from flames, cigarettes, stoves, and other sources of heat. Don’t use a hair dryer.
• treat all of them again seven days later in the same way with the same lotion.
• check all the heads a day or two after the second treatment. If you still find living, moving lice, ask your local chemist, health visitor, school nurse, or family doctor for advice.

(This document was originally appendix 4 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