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Lice, Head

Care at Home

Lice Shampoo:
- Buy an anti-lice shampoo. You won't need a prescription.
- Ask your pharmacist to help you select a product (e.g., Nix, Clear, A-200, Pronto, RID).
- Pour about 2 ounces of the shampoo into the hair. Follow the shampoo instructions carefully.
- Be sure to work the shampoo into all the hair down to the roots.
- Leave the shampoo on for a full 10 minutes or it won't kill all the lice.
- Rinse the hair thoroughly to remove shampoo, and dry it with a towel.
- Repeat the anti-lice shampoo in 1 week to kill any nits that survived.
Remove the Dead Nits:
- Remove the dead nits by backcombing with a special nit comb or pull them out individually.
- The nits can be loosened from the hair shafts using a mixture of half vinegar and half warm water applied for 30 minutes under a towel wrap. (Note: Wait at least 3 hours after the lice shampoo before applying this solution.)
- Even though nits are dead, most schools will not allow children to return if nits are present.
Contagiousness of Lice:
- Your child can return to day care or school after 1 treatment with the anti-lice shampoo.
- Check the heads of everyone else living in your home. If lice or nits are seen, or someone has the new onset of an itchy scalp, they also should be treated with anti-lice shampoo.
- Bedmates of children with lice should also be treated.
- If in doubt, have your child examined.
- Re-emphasize not sharing combs and hats.
- Also notify the school nurse or day care center director, so she/he can check other students in your child's class/center.
Expected Course: With treatment, all lice and nits will be killed. A recurrence usually means another contact with an infected person or the shampoo wasn't left on for 10 minutes or the treatment wasn't repeated in 7 days. There are no lasting problems from having lice, and they do not carry other diseases.
IF your child becomes worse: Review Should I Call? recommendations.