What to Do About Head Lice: A Complete Guide to Treating and Preventing Head Lice

Head lice are small insects that parasitize the human scalp and hair, feeding on blood from the scalp. Their bites often cause scalp itching and a red rash, and severe scratching may lead to broken skin or a secondary infection. They neither jump nor fly, and spread mainly through direct head-to-head contact; they can also be transmitted indirectly by sharing combs, hats, hair accessories, pillows and towels. Head lice are most common in school-age children, but people of any age can become infested, and it has no direct connection with whether the hair is clean or not. Lice eggs look like small white dots and are usually firmly glued to the hair shaft near the root; they are easily confused with dandruff, but the difference is that dandruff falls off with a shake, whereas lice eggs cling tightly to the hair shaft and are hard to dislodge.

If you discover head lice, there is no need to panic. You can first see a dermatologist and, under the guidance of a doctor or pharmacist, use proper anti-lice medication or anti-lice shampoo, and stick with the full course as instructed to avoid a recurrence caused by stopping the treatment early. In addition to medication, you should comb through the hair strand by strand with a fine-toothed comb, removing as many lice and eggs as possible; anyone else in the household who is also infested should be treated at the same time to avoid cross-infection.

Bed sheets, pillowcases, towels and clothing used by the patient can be washed in hot water and hung in the sun to dry thoroughly, while combs and hair accessories that are hard to wash can be soaked to disinfect them or sealed away for temporary storage. In everyday life, avoid head-to-head contact with others and do not share combs, hats, pillows or other personal items; parents can regularly check their children's scalp and hair roots so that problems are found and dealt with early.

It should be noted that head lice are insects that specifically parasitize humans, survive only a very short time after leaving the scalp, are not the same kind as the lice on livestock, and are completely different from pests such as aphids and psyllids on crops, so there is no need to panic excessively. Some folk remedies lack reliable evidence; dealing with head lice should still be based mainly on proper medication and a clean environment, and you should seek medical attention promptly if the itching is severe or the skin is broken.