How do I Know When All the Head Lice are Out of a Child's Hair?

Lice are easily spread through contact.

Head lice are a common childhood condition and are spread primarily through person-to-person contact of hair. They are also spread through the shared use of brushes, hats and other headwear.

No Live Lice

Special shampoos kills lice.

After the hair and scalp have been treated, there should be no live lice in the hair and the tickling feeling should be gone. Check the head and hair thoroughly to ensure the chemical treatment was successful, and continue checking for several weeks.

No Unhatched Eggs

Lice eggs attach to the hair shaft.

Chemical and other treatments only kill live lice. They do not kill the unhatched nit, or egg, that attach to the hair shaft. If the nit is alive, a nymph (baby lice) will soon emerge and start the cycle again. The nits should be "picked" before they hatch.

No Itching or Redness

Young female children contract lice more often than their male counterparts.

The lice bites cause itching and irritation that result in scratching and even scabbing. When the lice are gone, these symptoms will no longer be present.

References

• Bing Health: Head Lice
• CDC Department of Health and Human Services: Head Lice Fact Sheet
• CDC Department of Health and Human Services: Head Lice Diagnosis
• Identify US: Head Lice
• CDC Department of Health and Human Services: Head Lice Treatment

Resources

• KidsHealth from Nemours: Head Lice
• Healthy-Skin-Guide.com: Hair Lice
• Canadian Paediatric Society: When Your Child is Sick
• Patient UK: Head Lice and Nits
• The Washington Post: Got Lice? Get the Facts