What are the further treatment options for head lice in children?
Insecticide lotion
Treatment with insecticide lotions has been used for many years. Insecticides are chemicals that kill insects. Research studies show that lice can be cleared in about 7-8 in 10 cases by using an insecticide lotion. You can buy an insecticide lotion from pharmacies. There are various brands. The active ingredient is usually malathion or phenothrin. You can also get these on prescription. Carbaryl is another insecticide lotion that is only available on prescription. (Shampoo, mousse and creame rinse preparations of these insecticides are not recommended as they do not work as well as lotions.) Insecticide lotions come in water or alcohol bases. In general, water based lotions are usually recommended as they are safer, and some people with asthma, eczema, or broken skin cannot use alcohol based lotions. Note: if you do use an alcohol based lotion, remember it is flammable. Therefore, do not use near naked lights, cigarettes, fires, or flames. Be careful to keep children who have alcohol lotion in their hair away from fires. Follow the instructions on the packet. This may include the following: *Apply the lotion to dry hair. *Part the hair near the top and pour a few drops onto the scalp. Rub well into the hair. Part the hair again a little further down and repeat. Repeat this until the scalp and roots of the hair are saturated. Apply down to where a pony tail band would be. Leave on for 12 hours (overnight) and then wash off. Each person needs about 50ml of lotion, and up to 150ml if the hair is long and thick. *Do not use a hairdryer to dry hair after applying lotion. *Re-apply the same lotion after seven days. Although lice are usually killed by one application, not all eggs may be. The second application makes sure that any lice that hatch from eggs which survived the first application will be killed before they are old enough to lay further eggs. This advice - to use two applications seven days apart - may be different to what some manufacturers state on the lotion packet. However, it is current advice from UK experts on head lice to give the best chance that the treatment will work. *Inspect the hair by detection combing 2-3 days after the second application. If you find any live head lice, despite treatment, then see a doctor or nurse for advice. One problem with insecticide lotions is that some lice are now resistant to some insecticides. This is one reason why the treatment is not successful in every case. Some areas of the country have policies which advise on which insecticide to use based on the known 'resistance pattern' of the lice in the area. In addition, there is a possible small risk that repeated use of insecticides may be harmful. Therefore, some parents are not happy to use repeated applications of insecticides on their children. However, one course of two applications, seven days apart, is thought to be very unlikely to cause any harm.
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lynn, about 1 year
my daughter has head lice, we have tried every treatment on the market and they just wont go. would you be able to give me some advice. daughteris six years old. thahkyou lynn roberts
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