head lice

• are you looking for something for yourself?

• what symptoms have you been experiencing - can i take a look

• how long are the symptoms been present

• have u experienced this before

• have u tried anything to treat this

• do u have any medical conditions

• are u taking any medications or any vitamins or supplements at the moment

• do u have any allergies

• To pick the best treatment for you or since your going to be touching this product is there a possibility that you may be pregnant or breastfeeding?

WHAMMA

• have u found the lice any where else on the scalp besides what you have showed me?

• have you found any lice near the nape of the neck or the ears

• have you found any white peaks or eggs

• if they have tried treatment, what treatment did you use and how did you use it

• did you notice any lice after the treatment, how long did you use the treatment for?

symptom based questions

• have you noticed any pus or bleeding of the scalp

• has the skin become extremely red

referral based questions

• have you been around other that have you know have lice

• does anyone at home have lice?

• do you share hair brushes, accessories or bedding with out people

• have the school reported an outbreak

trigger based questions

• It looks like you may have a case of head lice, this is a common condition especially for school aged children,

• this condition has nothing to do with hygiene or bad parenting, and dont need to treat others in the house hold, so please dont be hard on yourself, the lice really like the warmth of the scalp and need this warmth to survive, they usually found in near the ears, back of the neck. I understand this does sound a bit gross

• the most common symptoms that is associated with this is itching, this itching is caused by a reaction to the lice saliva, this can take up to 4-6 weeks to develop

• this is common caused by head to head contact, which is common in school aged children who tend to play together and rub their heads, it can also be transmitted by sharing hair brushes or bedding, keep in mind the lice crawl they dont fly or jump, so it is uncommon for them to be transmitted this way but it is still possible.

• in terms of treatment, what are you looking for?

NELT

• dimethicone (safe in pregnancy and breastfeeding and kills the eggs) or isopropyl myristate - (will not kill the eggs) - this will help to suffocate the lice on day 1 and day 7, day 14( if benzyl alcohol) - this is done to catch any eggs that have hatched after the first day

• wet-combing method - if they dont want to use insecticides - sectioning the hair in to pieces 3-4 cm in length, apply conditioner to dry hair this will help to immobilise or paralyse the lice, then detangle the hair and use the lice comb to comb from the scalp to the tip of the hair, after each comb, wipe the comb on a tissue and inspect for lice, you want to repeat this proccess to each hair section twice, repeat for 10 days or every 2nd day until no lice are found, the eggs can be removed with the comb

• only treat those with live lice

• benzyl alcohol (does not kill the eggs) - suffocates the lice - not pregnancy or breastfeeding safe

• dont wash your hair before or after treatment or use any hair dryers or straighteners

• adverse effects - benzyl alcohol - irritation to the eyes and skin, others are well tolerated

• referral - if you experience any pus, intense redness, irritation, bleeding, I would recommend seeing the doctor, if it doesnt work you can come back and we can try a different treatment option

• I would recommend taking some time off school and informing the school, I would try to limit any head to head contact, and prevent sharing hairbrushes or bedding

• explaining to child how it spreads and checking regularly to prevent spread or getting it again

• is this something you can follow and do you have any questions

IDARL

• they fly or jump

• hygiene issue

• bad parenting

• eco-friendly - no evidence

• no preventatives

common myths