If you discover that your children have head lice you need to look at head lice treatments immediately.
There are a few things you need to consider as well as actually treating your child's hair.
It is important that you also treat whatever your child has had contact with when they got lice.
But treating the hair is the first step.
You can find a wide selection of over the counter lice killing shampoos as well as prescription shampoos, lotions and cream rinses.
In order to ensure that the treatments work correctly it is extremely important to follow the directions on the product exactly.
Lice shampoos usually need to be applied to dry hair and then after ten minutes lathered and rinsed off in the shower.
After you have used the shampoo you will have to use a dedicated fine-toothed lice comb to remove the dead lice and nits completely.
You will find this much easier if you do it when the hair is still wet.
To destroy any eggs or lice that may have been missed, this process needs to be repeated again in around seven to ten days.
Lice cannot survive very long once they fall off the host but it will still be necessary to treat any parts of your home that your child may have come into contact with during the time they had the head lice.
Begin by washing all of your bed linen on a very hot wash.
Any loose lice can also be killed by placing the bed linen in a hot dryer for 20 minutes or more.
If you don't want to put things like pillows in the washing machine you can put them in the dryer on a very hot temperature also.
Anything else that is not washable can be dry cleaned instead.
Things like fluffy toys that are not suitable for putting in the washer can be sealed for 2 weeks in an airtight bag.
If it's the time of year when it is cold outside you can also kill the lice by storing the bag in a cold place such as a garage for a two weeks.
Next, carpets and any upholstered furniture need to be thoroughly vacuumed.
Your car should also be thoroughly vacuumed.
Hair care items such as hair ties, headbands or combs and brushes should be soaked in rubbing alcohol or surgical spirit to completely clean them.
Or if you prefer you could just throw them away.
Even if only one of your children has got head lice, you should go through the process as if all of your children have got them.
Lice are wingless and are not able to fly and although they can not jump either, they can crawl.
They spread from person to person or host to host by direct contact.
Due to the way they spread by direct contact it is extremely likely that your other children could already have lice even though they may have not yet been detected.
Treating head lice needs to be taken seriously.
If you don't get rid of them properly from your children and from your home, the lice will continue to thrive and rather than it just being one or two head lice you could end up dealing with an infestation.
When it comes to the treatment of lice and nits you need to be diligent.
Be sure to wash your bed linen everyday.
Coats also need to be washed but if it is too time consuming they can be thrown into a dryer on high temperature everyday for 20 minutes instead.
Do not let your children share anything that could come into contact with their hair and scalp such as combs or hats.
Girls can also ideally wear their hair up in the day at school.
There are a few things you need to consider as well as actually treating your child's hair.
It is important that you also treat whatever your child has had contact with when they got lice.
But treating the hair is the first step.
You can find a wide selection of over the counter lice killing shampoos as well as prescription shampoos, lotions and cream rinses.
In order to ensure that the treatments work correctly it is extremely important to follow the directions on the product exactly.
Lice shampoos usually need to be applied to dry hair and then after ten minutes lathered and rinsed off in the shower.
After you have used the shampoo you will have to use a dedicated fine-toothed lice comb to remove the dead lice and nits completely.
You will find this much easier if you do it when the hair is still wet.
To destroy any eggs or lice that may have been missed, this process needs to be repeated again in around seven to ten days.
Lice cannot survive very long once they fall off the host but it will still be necessary to treat any parts of your home that your child may have come into contact with during the time they had the head lice.
Begin by washing all of your bed linen on a very hot wash.
Any loose lice can also be killed by placing the bed linen in a hot dryer for 20 minutes or more.
If you don't want to put things like pillows in the washing machine you can put them in the dryer on a very hot temperature also.
Anything else that is not washable can be dry cleaned instead.
Things like fluffy toys that are not suitable for putting in the washer can be sealed for 2 weeks in an airtight bag.
If it's the time of year when it is cold outside you can also kill the lice by storing the bag in a cold place such as a garage for a two weeks.
Next, carpets and any upholstered furniture need to be thoroughly vacuumed.
Your car should also be thoroughly vacuumed.
Hair care items such as hair ties, headbands or combs and brushes should be soaked in rubbing alcohol or surgical spirit to completely clean them.
Or if you prefer you could just throw them away.
Even if only one of your children has got head lice, you should go through the process as if all of your children have got them.
Lice are wingless and are not able to fly and although they can not jump either, they can crawl.
They spread from person to person or host to host by direct contact.
Due to the way they spread by direct contact it is extremely likely that your other children could already have lice even though they may have not yet been detected.
Treating head lice needs to be taken seriously.
If you don't get rid of them properly from your children and from your home, the lice will continue to thrive and rather than it just being one or two head lice you could end up dealing with an infestation.
When it comes to the treatment of lice and nits you need to be diligent.
Be sure to wash your bed linen everyday.
Coats also need to be washed but if it is too time consuming they can be thrown into a dryer on high temperature everyday for 20 minutes instead.
Do not let your children share anything that could come into contact with their hair and scalp such as combs or hats.
Girls can also ideally wear their hair up in the day at school.