Head Lice and Nits

Head lice and nits are very common in young children and their families. They do not have anything to do with dirty hair and are picked up by head-to-head contact. If there is an instance of head lice in your child's class you will receive a message via School Spider. 

If we observe visible head lice in your child's hair we will contact you directly and ask you to treat your child overnight before they return to school the next day. After your child has been treated we strongly advise you to wet comb your child's hair as per the instructions below.

Important Head Lice Information

Head lice can make your head feel:

• itchy
• like something is moving in your hair

The only way to be sure someone has head lice is by finding live lice.

You can do this by combing their hair with a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb).

Treat head lice as soon as you spot them.

You should check everyone in the house and start treating anyone who has head lice on the same day.

Wet combing

Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You should try this method first.

You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits. We also sent every child home with one before Christmas and have some more spare if you need one. 

There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you:

• wash hair with ordinary shampoo
• apply lots of conditioner (any conditioner will do)
• comb the whole head of hair, from the roots to the ends

It usually takes about 10 minutes to comb short hair, and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.

Do wet combing on days 1, 5, 9 and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice. Check again that everyone's hair is free of lice on day 17.

Medicated lotions and sprays

Ask a pharmacist for advice if you have tried wet combing for 17 days, but your child still has live head lice.

They may recommend using medicated lotions and sprays. These kill head lice in all types of hair, and you can buy them from pharmacies, supermarkets or online.

Head lice should die within a day. Some lotions and sprays come with a comb to remove dead lice and eggs.

Some treatments need to be repeated after a week to kill any newly hatched lice.

Check the pack to see if they're OK for you or your child and how to use them.

If lotions or sprays do not work, speak to a pharmacist about other treatments.

Some treatments are not recommended because they're unlikely to work.

For example:

• products containing permethrin
• head lice "repellents"
• electric combs for head lice
• tree and plant oil treatments, such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender oil herbal remedies