How Can I Tell If I Have Head Lice?

Head lice can be a difficult pest to eliminate. However, by following a few simple precautions, you can reduce your risk of catching the illness. The first step is to ensure that you have no direct contact with a person who has lice. This means that you should avoid close contact with that person and do not share personal items. Once you have returned home, you can begin treatment. A professional treatment will often include the use of chemicals such as permethrin or pyrethrin. However, recent studies have shown that these chemicals are becoming increasingly ineffective in killing lice because they have developed a natural resistance to them through genetic mutation.

You can also check for lice eggs. These are hard to see and are often on the shafts of the hair. Unlike dandruff, lice eggs are stuck to the hair shaft and are more difficult to remove. They look like a small grain of rice stuck to the hair shaft.

Head lice symptoms are not always visible, but the symptoms can include sleeplessness, crankiness, and itchy scalp. Ask your child to get his or her head examined as soon as you notice any of these symptoms. Additionally, you may notice sores on the scalp. These sores can become infected with bacteria and need antibiotic treatment.