The head louse is a small wingless insect that lives on the scalp of humans. It has six hooked legs for a proper hair grip. It feeds on blood by biting its victims at the scalp. The intense itching is from the saliva after the bite. That's why children scratch so hard.

The louse lays eggs, called nits, on hair very close to the scalp, approximately 1-2 cm from the skin. The female louse lays between 3 and 5 eggs per day, for a total of 200-300 eggs during their 2-3 months of life. These eggs hatch after 7-8 days. After hatching, the empty shell of the egg remains attached to the hair. The louse becomes an adult after 10 days.

Head lice only infest humans. Pediculosis is the infestation of head lice. It is not the same species that invades pets. It is therefore unnecessary and even dangerous to use anti-lice products for veterinary use in humans. Conversely, it is unnecessary to treat pets in case of invasion of lice among the family members.

How does one catch head lice?
Lice easily spread primarily by direct contact of a head with another. That is why they are so common on the heads of children and those in close contact with children.

Head lice are fast walkers. Contrary to what one might think, they do not jump. They cannot fly nor swim.

They pass easily from one head to another when the heads of the children touch. Contamination can also be done through clothing or fashion accessories such as collars, scarves, caps, hoods, combs or brushes. At home, we must also think of the cushions, pillows and teddy bears.

Lice: a question of hygiene?
That hair is clean or dirty does not make any difference when it comes to lice infestation. It is therefore unnecessary to accuse a child, who has lice, of being filthy or having poor hygiene.

How to recognize lice?
Lice are insects whose size varies between 0.5 and 3 mm. They are dark in color, which can make them difficult to see on a dark haired.

Nits are small white dots attached firmly enough near the base of the hair. They are sometimes confused with dandruff. However, the films can be irregularly shaped and mostly they are easily removed. Nits, meanwhile, remain firmly attached to the hair, even if we try to remove them with fingers.

Infestation of lice or not?
Lice can be spotted throughout entire head. However, they have a preference for the neck and behind the ears.

A visual examination of the hair is less reliable than using a lice comb.

The most reliable system is to get a lice comb. There are all plastic (beware of teeth that break) or other models where the teeth are made of metal (a bit more robust).

Simply pass the lice comb in the hair, strand after strand. After each passage, tap the comb on a white sheet. This will quickly highlight the dark spots and try to locate the legs. If the infestation is more advanced, you'll often see adult lice move on the white sheet.

If a member of the family has lice, it is important to check the head of all members of the house and treat the same day. It is quite unnecessary to apply a preventive treatment to those who do not have lice.

How to get rid of lice?
The simplest and most radical is to remove what lice love so much, the hair. The easiest thing to do is to shave the child's hair. Lice go with the hair. No hair no lice. The problem is solved.

Obviously, for girls, it's a little tricky and probably too radical. We must turn to a more subtle, and therefore also less effective. Most chemical products available do not address the lice problem instantly. That is why the treatment must be applied a second time after 7-8 days when all eggs have hatched.

The easiest is to start the lice comb. Even if the method is rarely sufficient by itself, it is by far the most cost effective technique to remove lice. To improve efficiency, one can soak in a jar containing vinegar between each strand.

You can of course use an insecticide (pyrethrin based or malathion). All toxic warnings are far from having shown that these products are harmless. In addition, failing to properly apply the products, some strains of lice have become extremely resistant to insecticides. In this case, needless to persevere, you should try another strategy. It is very important to follow the instructions accompanying product. Insecticides are applied as shampoo or lotion.

If you do not like chemicals or that you are facing lice resistant to insecticides, turn to more natural products.

There are silicone that are used to physically drown lice. The product is applied to dry hair, strand by strand. We must let the hair dry naturally, overnight. Must reapply because the product does not kill eggs.

Other products act mechanically blocking the breathing holes of the lice. Lice die by asphyxiation. This type of product only works on adult lice, so do not forget to reapply after 7 to 8 days. Typically, the product contains a mixture of coconut oil and aniseed. Beware, the product has a very strong smell.

Also, we must remember to wash everything that may be at a minimum temperature of 60 ° C. For fabrics that can not be washed too hot, it is possible to spray with an insecticide spray.

Equally effective and less toxic, simply enclose the garment in a sealed plastic bag for 48 hours minimum. After this time, the lice die from lack of food.

Prevention
It is advisable to tie the long hair, which reduces the risk of touching another head. 2 drops of lavender essential oil seem to deter a few lice.

Related topic: "Head Lice Home Remedies"

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REMEDY FOR HEAD LICE
GETTING HELP TREATMENT FOR HEAD LICE ARE. 
This type of lice cannot survive on animals like cats or dogs and other home pets. Their tiny bites can cause severe itchiness that lead to skin irritation and swelling, in some rare cases. The head lice can be seen on the hairs of the head, the body lice on clothes, and pubic lice on hairs near the groin. They feed more than once a day. Body lice provide as sources of individual pathogens. A lesser amount of body lice is known in the United States. 
BEHAVIOR OF LICE
Only those inseminated eggs by the female will be hatched. Some nits are yellowish and it is approximately 0. An adult louse looks most likely the size of a sesame seed. The eggs are put together by a sticky liquid produced by the louse. Furthermore, lice compose primarily of young nymphs, which is hard to notice because of their small size. 
LICE HISTORY
Approximately 6-12 million public, mostly children, are given treatment every year for head lice in the United States. The females are 2-4 times more often affected by lice than the males. Each clade has its own exceptional geographical distribution. Caucasians are normally attacked than other cultural factions. 
SYMPTOMS AND DIAGNOSIS
The non-stop itching intervenes your sleeping. If you observe that your child is persistently scratching his/her head and tells you that this tremendous itch won't stop, bring the child to the doctor. Do this for five minutes regularly. For some kids, rashes may also occur. Various pests and insects may temporarily settle in a person and may not be noticed if not for the bites. Other people believed that they are infested even without seeing or capturing a single louse. 
TREATMENT
There's no need to spend so much in treating head lice because they do not live long enough after being removed from the scalp. Improper use of these things may become unsuccessful or may even lead to injury. Treatment for lice should be concentrated on the areas of the body infected and not on the surroundings. Methods for eradicating head lice are referred to as "Delousing". 
THESE ARE THE ESSENTIAL WAYS TO REMOVE LICE AND NITS AND TO KEEP THEM FROM COMING BACK:
Children's stuffed toys should also be dry cleaned if not placed inside a bag for two weeks then it will die
Carpets, sofas and couches should be vacuum cleaned
Rinse and soak thoroughly hair instruments in hot water and soap for ten minutes or place them outside the house for 3 days. Nurses in school are normally the best performers in finding signs of head lice infestation. Cleanse all the clothes, bed covers, pillows, sleeping bags used by the person infested using extremely hot water and hot dry for about 20 minutes. Without having assurance of lice detection and appropriate knowledge it is hard to tell apart these insects from other objects present in the hair. Carpets, rugs, car seats and any other fabric materials that might get into contact with the lice vacuum cleaned. It is an effective way to kill the lice
Clothes which cannot be machine washed should be dry cleaned. Even though the lice and nits can be seen without using certain instruments, the possibility of the nits cannot be judged without really magnifying it. 
PREVENTION
It is important to educate the children to stay away from head lice. There are certain places where lice are widespread, adults, not only children are regularly checked up. Obtaining these lice can be very embarrassing, but it doesn't make you look unclean. These lice really are not easy to bring to an end. Everybody is prone to acquire these lice. 
Head Lice Get the Answers You're Looking For. Pictures of head lice.

This video was designed for school administrators, nurses and parents offering the basic knowledge needed to combat head lice infestation. See also our video "How to Use Licefreee" For more information on our product, visit www.licefreee.com.
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It's an all-too-common problem for parents and getting rid of them can prove a difficult task. It can become an infestation, if missed and not diagnosed properly. It's called head lice – a problem that can plague any community or family. Fortunately, effective treatments and preventative measures exist for head lice.

Head Lice 101

Parasitic insects that live in the hair and scalp of humans cause pediculosis, commonly known as a head lice infestation. Women and girls tend to get head lice more often than men and boys. School-aged children represent the most susceptible population to this common condition.

Head lice develop in three stages – nits, nymphs and adults.

People often mistake nits, or head lice eggs, for dandruff or hairspray droplets.  These yellow or white, oval-shaped eggs firmly attach to the hair shaft.

Nits hatch into nymphs -- immature adult head lice. Nymphs mature roughly seven days after hatching. They feed on human blood.

About the size of a sesame seed, an adult head louse has six legs and a tan to grayish- white color. To survive, adult lice must feed on human blood. If a louse falls off a person, it dies in approximately two days.

Where to Find Head Lice

Not only annoying, head lice tend to spread like wildfire. Head lice infestations occur worldwide and across all socio-economic lines.  Head lice only live on humans; therefore, your family dog cannot contribute to the infestation.

Here are a few ways your child may contract a head lice infestation:

Contact with another child who has head lice. This can occur on school buses and in classrooms where children sit close together or in groups.
Sharing head lice-infested clothing, such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms or hair ribbons.
Using infested combs, brushes or towels
Laying on a bed, sofa, pillow, carpet or stuffed animal infested with head lice or nits.

Diagnosing Head Lice

Look closely at your child's hair and scalp to easily detect nits. They often appear "glued" to the hair shaft and do not glide down the hair strands or come off easily.

You may find it a bit more difficult to spot nymphs and adults, as they can move quickly from searching fingers.  If you do see them, finding nits close to the scalp confirms infestation.

When not sure whether an infestation exists, a pediatrician, school nurse, or agricultural extension service worker should make the diagnosis.

Avoiding Head Lice

Taking steps to prevent infestation in the first place can save parents much frustration, work, and time. Consider these tips when faced with the possibility of a head lice infestation.

Examine your children for lice periodically and teach them not to share hairbrushes and combs or hats.
Frequently examining the scalps of your school-age child may help you discover and treat lice before they spread to the rest of your family. Avoiding prolonged close contact with a people who have head lice also reduces your risk.

Treating Head Lice

Pediatric physicians often advise treating the entire family as well as the infested child to prevent transmission to other family members. Use an over-the-counter or prescription lice-killing medication. Keep in mind that all lice-killing products contain pesticides. Follow these simple steps to rid your household of head lice:

Remove all clothing.
Apply lice-killing medicine, according to label instructions. If the affected person has extra-long hair, you may need a second bottle. (Do not use a cream rinse or combination shampoo/conditioner before using lice-killing medicine. Do not re-wash hair for 1-2 days after treatment.)
Have the affected person put on clean clothing after treatment.
Remove nits and lice from the hair shaft using a nit comb, often found in lice-killing medicine packages. You can also use flea removal combs designed for cats and dogs.
After treatment, check, comb and remove nits and lice from the hair every two or three days. Re-treat your child in one week.
Machine-wash all washable clothing and bed linens the infected child touched during the time before diagnosis and treatment. Wash clothes and bed linens in hot water and dry items on the hot cycle for at least 20 minutes.
Place non-washable items, such as stuffed animals and comforters in a plastic bag for two weeks or spray with insecticide included in the lice removal kit.
Soak hair brushes and combs for one hour in rubbing alcohol or a disinfectant liquid. Washing with soap and hot water also works.
Vacuum the floor and furniture, making sure not to use lice spray when doing so.  Inhaling these sprays can cause toxic effects.
Consult with a professional at your pediatric clinic before using lice-killing products if your child has allergies, asthma or any other chronic medical condition.

Remember – anyone can get head lice. Take extra precautions to ensure your child receives effective treatments if he becomes infested. If you think your child is suffering from a case of head lice and it has not gone away in one or two weeks, call your child's pediatrician. If left untreated, you child may develop a painful scalp rash or infection.

Lice. The word is enough to make your head itch. And like it or not, all children are at risk of getting lice, no matter how good their hygiene. Mayo Clinic has some advice on ways to get rid of head lice if your kids bring the bugs home from school
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Head lice are a common, controversial and frustrating problem for parents. And the controversy isn't usually about where they got infected, but instead revolves around how you are going to get rid of the lice.

On one side of the debate are the people who believe that head lice have developed resistance to regular treatments, so that they no longer work. Other experts believe that resistance is not a big problem, and treatment failures are because parents didn't remove the nits or that the child was misdiagnosed.

Head Lice Symptoms

The main symptom of a head lice infestation is an itchy scalp from the bites of the lice. These bites can then become infected, and may appear red or crusty, and may lead to your child developing swollen lymph glands in his neck.

Diagnosis of Head Lice

In addition to having the symptoms listed above, children with head lice will have gray or reddish brown live head lice scurrying around their scalp. Lice are small, about the size of a sesame seed, and although they don't fly or hop, they can crawl very fast, making them hard to spot.

Another sign that can help you make the diagnosis, is finding nits, or lice eggs, attached to your child's hair. Nits are small, oval shaped and usually a yellowish-white color and are firmly attached to the side of hair shafts. If you confirm that your child does have live lice or nits, it is important that you don't panic about your child's head lice.

Head Lice Treatments

The main treatments for head lice usually involve using a head lice shampoo, like: Head Lice Dr, and then patiently and diligently removing nits with a lice comb. Be sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions for whatever products you choose to use.

For light infestations or if you are uncomfortable using an anti-lice shampoo, you can try to simply remove the live lice and nits manually or use a full-service company that is dedicated to the detection and removal of head lice.

As there are often a lot of nits on a child and they are hard to find and remove, you may continue to find nits for days after treatment. This doesn't mean that the treatment didn't work. If you continue to find live lice after treating with a anti-lice shampoo then that likely does mean that it didn't work or your child was reinfected.

Also be sure to wash your child's clothing and bedding in hot water and vacuum to remove lice and nits from furniture, carpets, stuffed animals, etc. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you really only have to clean "items, clothing, furniture, or carpeting that have been in contact with the head of the person with infestation in the 24 to 48 hours before treatment," and not everything in your house though. And you can put anything that you can't wash in a large plastic bag for a few weeks if you are really concerned that it is infested.

What You Need To Know Don't Panic About Head Lice - Unfortunately, the first reaction for many parents in dealing with head lice is to panic. Panicking is not going to kill the head lice though and will likely lead to over-treatment and anxiety in your child who may be concerned that they have "bugs" in their hair. Nits hatch in 7 to 10 days and develop into an adult in another 7 to 10 days which can then lay more (up to 100) eggs. So it is important to remove all of the nits to break this cycle. Also, since anti-lice shampoos don't usually kill nits, you have to usually retreat the child in 7 to 10 days to kill any newly hatched lice. Children are often misdiagnosed with head lice because they have hair casts that resemble nits, or they have dead or empty nits that are far away from the scalp. If you think your child has lice but you don't actually see any live lice, see your Pediatrician to confirm the diagnosis. Be careful before trying 'alternative' treatments, like mayonaise, vaseline, olive oil or Tea tree oil. Although they are 'natural' treatments, they are untested, and products like mayonaise can be hard to get out of a child's hair (dishwashing is supposed to make it easier though). Alternative medications for resistant lice might include Ovide (malathion, an insecticide), Lindane, the antibiotic Bactrim (which kills symbiotic bacteria inside the lice), Ivermectim, or using Elimite, a stronger version of Nix which is usually used to treat scabies. Viq (Benzyl Alcohol Lotion 5%) was recently approved to treat children over six months of age with head lice. Unlike other head lice shampoos which are mostly pesticides, Viq is a water-soluble gel that works to suffocate head lice. Do your homework or see your pediatrician before treating your child with multiple remedies. please visit Head Lice Dr, this is a great sources of detailed information on head lice infestations and treatments.

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The Facts of Lice  

Every parent needs to know the facts of lice. Why?  Millions of North Americans will get head lice this year. Will you know what to do?
 WHAT ARE HEAD LICE?

Head lice are small grey or reddish brown bugs (1mm to 4mm Long) depending on their age.  Baby lice are called Nymphs.  Lice live on the human head.  They do not live on pets or on other parts of the body.  They feed on blood and cannot survive off the head for more than 24 to 48 hours without a blood meal.  They also do not hop, jump or fly.  Thank God!  Lice lay eggs.  These are tear-drop shaped and are glued to the hair shaft on an angle.  They are also only glued to one side of the hair shaft.  The viable eggs are typically brownish,yellow to caramel in color.  Empty egg cases or dead eggs are called nits.  These are clear, opaque, almost see through.  Do not rely on a product that claims to kill lice and their nits as it is the eggs that need to be killed or removed.  Viable lice eggs are never white in colour.  Female lice lay 3 to 5 eggs per day and live for 30 days.  They need a male to mate with.  Lice eggs take 7 to 10 days to hatch and another 7 to 10 days to be mature enough to mate.

WHAT DO I LOOK FOR

Look for lice and lice eggs in the hot spots.  These are around the ears, at the crown of the head and at the nape of the neck.  It is best to use bright lights and proper magnification when looking.  Sunlight is best.  Look for red scabs caused by scratching, lice eggs and lice crawling through the hair or sucking blood from the scalp.  Lice lay their eggs close to the scalp but look along the whole hair shaft.  Do not confuse DEC plugs, hair casts or other hair debris with lice eggs.  Remember if it is white like paper or snow.  It is not a lice egg. 

HERE IS AN EXAMPLE  

As you can see, the lice egg is clearly attached to one side of the hair shaft.  The DEC plug and hair cast surrounds the hair shaft.   This dandruff like skin debris also sticks to the hair shaft like a nit but the difference is they are white and they slide easier.  You need not concern yourself if you find these during a head check.   Before you treat for lice or if you are uncertain, call for our free nit diagnosis.  If you do discover live lice and eggs, don't panic.  Before you run to the drug store call our hotline or visit our website.  We can direct towards safer and effective treatment options.  We are also available to assist you with in home head lice removal.  Help is available.

A TYPICAL LICE EXPERIENCE

Most head lice sufferers have tried every product on the market, spent countless hours cleaning and have wasted both time and money on treatments and nit picking.  They have torn out their hair with lousy nit combs and fried their hair with the use of chemical treatments.  They have bagged up toys for weeks, missed work and social functions and have felt great stress and frustration.  Especially if weeks and months go by without relief.  You are not alone in your struggle.  Scientific studies have shown that lice are building a resistance to most pesticide head lice products.  Over use and abuse of these can also be potentially dangerous to young children and those administering treatment to them. It is our opinion that to be successful at eliminating lice one must take a systematic approach.  This meaning that you must combine an effective topical treatment with thorough manual removal over the course of a two week period. If you're at your NITS END with head lice call our info line or visit our web site to learn more about how you can eliminate head lice safely and quickly without the frustration and the use of potentially harmful pesticides.

 
LIFE CYCLE OF THE HEAD LOUSE

LICE FACTS
Female head lice lay lice eggs.
One female louse lays 3 to 5 eggs per day on the hair shaft.
To succeed at eliminating a head lice infestation, one must remove all lice eggs and lice from the hair.
The lice eggs are tear-shaped, usually brown in colour, and are attached to only one side of the hair shaft. Lice egg look-alikes, are white, they surround the hair shaft and are often misdiagnosed as lice eggs.  Nits are empty or dead lice eggs.  They are see-through and will stick to the hair shaft on one side. 
Most mothers waste both time and energy doing countless washing of bed sheets and clothes. Lice are not living in your environment.  They are living on your head.  See our 3 easy steps to cleaning your environment below.
Pesticide sprays & treatments should be used with caution or in our opinion, not at all.
Don't rely on products that claim to kill nits.  Lice eggs must be removed by hand.
We provide a Free Nit Diagnosis Service. Call us for details.

For lice pictures visit http://www.licesquad.com/pictures.htm

For lice removal and prevention products visit http://www.licesquad.com/products.htm

3 EASY STEPS TO CLEANING & ENVIRONMENTAL CARE

Head lice are not living in your home, on your furniture or in your bedding.  They prefer to be on your head.  The good news is a louse will die within 24 to 48 hours without a blood meal from you.

HERE IS HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOME OR ENVIRONMENT

#1 Place all items that can safely be dried on high heat in a dryer for 20 to 30 minutes.

#2 Vacuum items that cannot be dried

#3 If an item can not be dried or vacuumed, set it aside for 24 to 48 hours.

That is it!  Remember, the focus of head lice elimination should be on the manual removal of all lice eggs and nits from the head.  Remember lice are not living in the environment, they are living on you.  Cleaning should be done initially after your first big nitpick and treatment.  It can be repeated every 4th to 5th day after follow up nitpicks and treatments.  See our web site for effective treatment and prevention products.

Lice Squad Canada Inc.®

888-LICE SQUAD (542-3778)

www.licesquad.com

© 2010

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Head Lice Prevention tips by Lice Squad Canada

If you want to avoid getting head lice there are some easy things that you can do.  The following steps will help.

Step 1.  Educate your children.  Have a talk about head lice with your kids.  Let them know the things that they can do to avoid getting head lice.  Children are most susceptible to getting lice and usually bring them home from school, camp or day care.  Use tools such as an educational coloring book or web site to show pictures and share information.  Lice Squad Canada can provide you with both.

Step 2.  Avoid head to head or hair to item contact.  Keeping the hair up and away from other people's heads is the best thing that you can do to avoid getting head lice.  Sharing hats, combs, towels, and other hair items is not advised.  Keep in mind that you may also get head lice from car seats, bus, plane and train head rest.  Never try on hats in department stores and don't share head gear for sporting events.  If you must share then use a hair net or do a visual inspection first.  Wiping, vacuuming and blowing the item off before use is also a good measure to take.  There are some prevention products available that will leave a scent on the hair but these are not 100% effective.  They do help but must not be completely relied on. 

Step 3.  Take a peak once a week.  Catching a head lice infestation early is key.  It helps to avoid a sever infestation, the spread to others  and makes getting rid of lice much easier.   This will also stop others in the family from getting lice.  Build a regular head check into your family's weekly hygiene practice.  Check-A-Head and avoid the spread.      

Step 4.  Report a head lice infestation ASAP.  Tell your school, camp, day care or other families that you have been in contact with so that they too can check and treat if necessary.  If you don't speak up lice may spread and continue to go around and eventually you may get it back too.

Step 5.  No Nit Policy.  Ask your school if they do regular head lice screening or education.  Checking children after any school break upon return from summer holiday, winter break and March break is essential to stopping and lowering lice cases in most schools.  Camps and day care centers can also benefit from this as well and can modify their screening times to suit.  Does the organization allow children with lice to attend?  What is their protocol or reporting like?  Another helpful thing to do is hold a head lice education day.  If your school, camp or organization does not do these things suggest that they consider it as this will help avoid and decrease lice infestations in the general population.

A preview of the award-winning video, "Head Lice to Dead Lice." This hilarious video, straight from the Lice Ladies at HeadLicetoDeadLice.com, is informative and entertaining. It features the time tested olive oil protocol, the only way to eradicate head lice. To view the second half go here: www.youtube.com To view with Spanish Subtitles: www.youtube.com and www.youtube.com
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• An Infestation Of Head Lice

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Every parent needs to know the facts of lice. Why?  Millions of North Americans will get head lice this year. Will you know what to do?   WHAT ARE HEAD LICE?

Head lice are small grey or reddish brown bugs (1mm to 4mm Long) depending on their age.  Baby lice are called Nymphs.  Lice live on the human head.  They do not live on pets or on other parts of the body.  They feed on blood and cannot survive off the head for more than 24 to 48 hours without a blood meal.  They also do not hop, jump or fly.  Thank God!  Lice lay eggs.  These are tear-drop shaped and are glued to the hair shaft on an angle.  They are also only glued to one side of the hair shaft.  The viable eggs are typically brownish,yellow to caramel in color.  Empty egg cases or dead eggs are called nits.  These are clear, opaque, almost see through.  Do not rely on a product that claims to kill lice and their nits as it is the eggs that need to be killed or removed.  Viable lice eggs are never white in colour.  Female lice lay 3 to 5 eggs per day and live for 30 days.  They need a male to mate with.  Lice eggs take 7 to 10 days to hatch and another 7 to 10 days to be mature enough to mate. 

WHAT DO I LOOK FOR

Look for lice and lice eggs in the hot spots.  These are around the ears, at the crown of the head and at the nape of the neck.  It is best to use bright lights and proper magnification when looking.  Sunlight is best.  Look for red scabs caused by scratching, lice eggs and lice crawling through the hair or sucking blood from the scalp.  Lice lay their eggs close to the scalp but look along the whole hair shaft.  Do not confuse DEC plugs, hair casts or other hair debris with lice eggs.  Remember if it is white like paper or snow.  It is not a lice egg. 

A TYPICAL LICE EXPERIENCE

Most head lice sufferers have tried every product on the market, spent countless hours cleaning and have wasted both time and money on treatments and nit picking.  They have torn out their hair with lousy nit combs and fried their hair with the use of chemical treatments.  They have bagged up toys for weeks, missed work and social functions and have felt great stress and frustration.  Especially if weeks and months go by without relief.  You are not alone in your struggle.  Scientific studies have shown that lice are building a resistance to most pesticide head lice products.  Over use and abuse of these can also be potentially dangerous to young children and those administering treatment to them. It is our opinion that to be successful at eliminating lice one must take a systematic approach.  This meaning that you must combine an effective topical treatment with thorough manual removal over the course of a two week period. If you're at your NITS END with head lice call our info line or visit our web site to learn more about how you can eliminate head lice safely and quickly without the frustration and the use of potentially harmful pesticides.

 LICE FACTS
Female head lice lay lice eggs.
One female louse lays 3 to 5 eggs per day on the hair shaft.
To succeed at eliminating a head lice infestation, one must remove all lice eggs and lice from the hair.
The lice eggs are tear-shaped, usually brown in colour, and are attached to only one side of the hair shaft. Lice egg look-alikes, are white, they surround the hair shaft and are often misdiagnosed as lice eggs.  Nits are empty or dead lice eggs.  They are see-through and will stick to the hair shaft on one side. 
Most mothers waste both time and energy doing countless washing of bed sheets and clothes. Lice are not living in your environment.  They are living on your head.  See our 3 easy steps to cleaning your environment below.
Pesticide sprays & treatments should be used with caution or in our opinion, not at all.
Don't rely on products that claim to kill nits.  Lice eggs must be removed by hand.
We provide a Free Nit Diagnosis Service. Call us for details.

 3 EASY STEPS TO CLEANING & ENVIRONMENTAL CARE

Head lice are not living in your home, on your furniture or in your bedding.  They prefer to be on your head.  The good news is a louse will die within 24 to 48 hours without a blood meal from you.

 HERE IS HOW TO CLEAN YOUR HOME OR ENVIRONMENT

#1 Place all items that can safely be dried on high heat in a dryer for 20 to 30 minutes.

#2 Vacuum items that cannot be dried

#3 If an item can not be dried or vacuumed, set it aside for 24 to 48 hours.

 That is it!  Remember, the focus of head lice elimination should be on the manual removal of all lice eggs and nits from the head.  Remember lice are not living in the environment, they are living on you.  Cleaning should be done initially after your first big nitpick and treatment.  It can be repeated every 4th to 5th day after follow up nitpicks and treatments.  See our web site for effective treatment and prevention products.

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If you or one of your children gets infected with lice, it can be a frustrating problem to try to eliminate.  Many families try to use shampoos and other popular treatments and they think they have killed off all of the lice only to find a resurgence of the lice treatment in the hair within a week or two.  The reason for that is that once lice get into the hair, they basically live to reproduce.  That means that female lice will be laying eggs in the hair twice a day and those eggs will gestate and begin to produce new lice even if you killed off the first generation that has taken up residence in the hair.

The eggs that female lice lay are called nits get attached to the hair and that adhesion is quite strong.  Any one adult female lice can lay down dozens of eggs a week and if you have many lice in your hair, that means that thousands of nits may become part of the structure of the infected hair and each of them will hatch out into another generation of lice that are ready to reproduce and start the cycle all over again.

The first job is to kill the adult lice that are getting the process moving.  You can use natural remedies or more severe lice shampoos which will destroy living lice.  One important note about applying these remedies is that light application of the treatment is not going to be sufficient.  You must work the treatment into the scalp deeply and in many cases leave it in place for a while to assure that all adult lice are killed.  Many treatments even call for putting the application in and then sealing the head in a plastic bag to allow the treatment to work over night.  In the morning the lice killing substance is thoroughly washed out. 

No matter what treatment you use, you should plan to comb the infected hair at least twice a day and for as long as half hour to an hour with a quality lice comb.  A good lice comb has tiny enough teeth that it can reach the individual hair follicles to begin the process of removing the nits.  The eggs that are in the hair are the reason for all of our frustration because even with a all out effort to kill off the lice, the eggs will survive to hatch out in a week or two and then you have more adult lice and then more active eggs.

There is no high tech solution other than persistence and home treatment.  By sticking with the treatment every day for 2-3 weeks, you kill off the first generation and get them out of the hair.  Then each time a new batch of lice are born from the eggs, the daily treatment kills them before they can reproduce.  No eggs will last longer than 15 days so if you stay with the process for 3-4 weeks, you will kill all of the lice and stop the spread of eggs.  Then and only then will you be able to say for certain that you have cured that infected head of lice.  

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