The most important piece of advice I can give anyone dealing with head lice is... Before using any lice treatment make sure your child actually has head lice Once you determine your child has head lice follow the instructions on the lice shampoo carefully Don't fall into the trap of thinking that if a little lice treatment is good then a lot is better. The only thing you will accomplish by over medicating is making the scalp very sensitive.

 Adie Horowitz, LICENDERS

     Head lice are a very common problem, second only to the common cold among communicable diseases affecting schoolchildren. Head lice are tiny, wingless, parasitic insects that live and feed on blood from your scalp.
   Getting head lice isn't a sign of bad personal hygiene or an unclean living environment. This itchy infestation, also called pediculosis capitis, most commonly spreads through close personal contact and by sharing personal belongings.
   Both over-the-counter and prescription medications are available to treat head lice. Following the directions properly and taking necessary steps at home are important to prevent head lice from recurring.
   Common signs and symptoms of head lice may include:
Intense itching. An allergic reaction to the saliva that lice inject during feeding may result in itchy red bumps on your scalp, neck and shoulders. Some people, particularly if this is their first infestation, don't experience itching.
   The most common spots to find adult lice are behind your ears and along the back of your neck. Lice are tiny, about the size of a strawberry seed, but they can be up to 1/8 inch (3 millimeters) in size.
Lice eggs (nits) on hair shafts. Nits resemble tiny pussy willow buds. Nits can be mistaken for dandruff, but unlike dandruff, they can't be easily brushed out of hair. To remove nits effectively, you need a good lice comb!

   Before you choose a head lice treatment for your child you should really check that it doesn't contain any pesticides. As a mother, I am very concerned about the dangers of using pesticides on young children. In Israel, permethrin was made available as a lice killer ten years before it was available in the US. Therefore, resistance began to develop there before it was recognized in the US. Besides treating children for lice you must clean the environment. Comb out the lice and nits. Check for nits regularly.
If you are visually challenged, you may want to consider getting one of these binocular magnifiers. They magnify 2 1/2 times at 8" and help you see the nits, while leaving your hands free to pick nits. They look like goggles and you can wear them with or without glasses. We find that wearing this gives us confidence in determining what we’re seeing.
Remember, over the last several years, more and more evidence has come to light that head lice are developing resistance to pediculicidal products. This is not surprising since insects usually develop resistance to pesticides. It's just a matter of time. There's a reason why cockroaches have been around longer than humans and will probably be around long after we're gone.
If you are uncomfortable using a pesticide, don't do it. Personally I wouldn't use a chemical based product on my kids head. If you choose to use a permethrin or pyrethrin product like RID or NIX work at a sink, not in a tub or shower so the pesticide only goes on the child's head. Cover the child's eyes with a wash cloth. Use a timer, leave the pesticide on the head for the amount of time directed on the package and no longer. My products use natural enzymes to kill the bug. This lice treatment disrupts the life cycle of the louse and maximizes your chances of eliminating all the lice. Put your brushes away until the infestation is over. Vacuum or use a lint remover anyplace where infested heads have rested. Don't forget your car seats. Use clean towels each time you wash the hair.
Use the clothes dryer on high for 30 minutes on any items that will not be harmed in the dryer. Anything else can be vacuumed or you can use a lint remover. Don’t go crazy cleaning the environment, and don't strip your child's room of every beloved toy. You can see live lice or hairs and can remove them. Lice are not invisible.
Clean the environment once, then stop. Excessively and obsessive cleaning will not have any effect on head lice, but it will make you too tired to focus on the important areas-- your family's heads.

   6–12 million people in the U.S. are infected with head lice each year. Nobody wants head lice, and outbreaks can menace schools. But pesticides in most head lice treatments have been linked to neurological and other health problems, especially in children.
Head lice, or Pediculus humanus capitis, cause an estimated 6 to 12 million infestations per year in the U.S., most commonly affecting children 3 to 11 years of age. Despite common perceptions, head lice crawl, and cannot hop or fly. For this reason, transmission occurs most often by human head-to-head contact, and much less commonly by the sharing of personal items such as hats, coats, combs, or towels. Because head lice feed on human blood, they cannot live on pets and are only viable 1-2 days on surfaces other than the human head.
Head lice affect all socio-economic groups. Infestations spread regardless of the cleanliness of a home or school, or of personal hygiene. The most common symptoms are itching, but those affected are commonly asymptomatic as well. Head lice are most commonly found close to the scalp, usually behind the ears and near the nape of the neck. Despite perceptions otherwise, infestations are not a public health hazard, as they are not responsible for spreading any disease. Diagnosis occurs most often by the school nurse, who routinely conducts lice screenings and recommends treatment, which is most commonly carried out by a parent or guardian. In most cases, only when a first treatment is unsuccessful would a pediatrician's visit be sought.
The most common treatments are pesticide-based, over-the-counter remedies.Non-pesticide-based "home remedies" include mayonnaise, olive oil, Cetaphil lotion and essential oil blends.
Pesticide-based treatments are coming under increasing scrutiny, as super bugs and pesticide resistance grows. Repeat treatments of traditional pesticide-based products, especially on immune-compromised children has been linked to leukemia and even death. With the decreasing efficacy of traditional treatments on the rise, there is increasing need for effective and safe pesticide-free treatments

   Although eliminating lice from your home is essential, the most time consuming, yet the most important thing a parent or caregiver must do is comb the hair after it has been treated with a lice shampoo.

A metal comb should be used because plastic comb teeth are too wide and are too flimsy and break. You will feel a gentle "pull" with the comb against the hair when it comes into contact with a nit, you may not even be able to see it. Metal combs are designed specifically to help remove the lice and nits from the hair shaft. Metal combs can be cleaned and sanitized along with other combs and brushes. With a metal comb, you can separate tiny masses of hair which is the only way to find ALL the lice and nits.

Nits may be removed by sliding them off the hair shaft with your fingers or cutting them out with a pair of small scissors. Place the nits in a garbage bag, seal it or tie it in a knot and throw it outside in the garbage.

Here are some more helpful hints to help remove the lice and nits:

Olive oil may be helpful to loosen the nit or louse from the hair shaft. Separate a tiny mass of hair about the width of the metal lice comb. Insert the lice comb as close to the scalp as possible and gently pull through the hair strands several times. Check the hair carefully. Pin the hair against the head after it has been checked to keep it out of the way. You may want to section the hair off with rubber bands.Continue combing until all lice, and nits are gone. After combing, wash the hair again with regular shampoo to remove any oil you may have used.When the hair is dry, check for stray nits and remove them. Check all your family members!

   Lice are highly contagious and can spread quickly from person to person, especially in group settings (schools, childcare centers, slumber parties, sports activities, and camps).
   Though they can't fly or jump, these tiny parasites have specially adapted claws that allow them to crawl and cling firmly to hair. They spread mainly through head-to-head contact, but sharing clothing, bed linens, combs, brushes, and hats can also help pass them along.

   Kids are most prone to catching lice because they tend to have close physical contact with each other and often share personal items.

And you may wonder if Fido or Fluffy may be catching the pests and passing them on to your family. But rest assured that pets can't catch head lice and pass them on to people or the other way around.

   You may be able to see the lice or nits by parting your child's hair into small sections and checking for lice and nits on the scalp, behind the ears, and around the nape of the neck (it's rare for them to be found on eyelashes or eyebrows). A magnifying glass and bright light may help. But it can be tough to find a nymph or adult louse — often, there aren't many of them and they're able to move fast.
   If your child is constantly scratching his or her head or complains of an itchy scalp that won't go away that is usually a sign a child is infested with lice and needs to be treated.
  Also be sure to check with your child's school nurse or childcare center director to see if other kids have recently been treated for lice. If you discover that your child does, indeed, have lice or nits, contact the staff at the school and childcare center to let them know.

   Back when our son was in kindergarten a note came home: Someone in his class had lice. We should check behind his ears and alert the school nurse if we found anything. Since that day, I have had a little bit of what might be called "lice-quest obsession." I worry about lice. A lot. Sometimes, while I'm stroking my kids' sweet heads or the heads of one of their friends, I'm think, "Aw, I love this kid! Anyone alive in there? Hmm? What was that? And what was that?" I realize this can't be healthy.
If you've ever tried to keep your child from sharing hats, hair bows, or jackets, you have some idea of how well that warning must be working out. This is a tough and divisive issue: Parents of kids who don't have lice definitely want children with nits to go home for a thorough comb-out, while parents of those children who, through no fault of their own, keep getting nits just want their kids to get back to learning their colors and new math. Most of all, no one wants any child to be shamed with a public "Go home! You have lice!" Meanwhile, the US has anywhere from six to 12 million cases of head lice a year. That's a lot of hair crawlies. In the end all we can do is try to keep lice at bay as best we can, since that's best for everyone.

                                                       

  In realizing that lice make many people feel ashamed, afraid and outcast, we need to do our part to help banish the myth that there is something wrong, bad or dirty about having lice. We need to inject some humor, love and attention towards helping the head lice sufferer realize they are not alone, not to blame and certainly have nothing to be ashamed of. We need to lovingly help them get the lice and nits from their hair in a safe and non-invasive way without letting frustration build. Ridiculing, segregating and getting angry with those who have lice only further imposes the stigma of shame. Shaving a girl’s head and over- applying toxic chemicals can also be viewed as abusive and potentially dangerous to the physical and mental health of the person suffering with lice. Love can conquer all things and it can indeed conquer lice when partnered with the proper knowledge and tools for treatment.

                                                       

  The Licenders Treatment Kit provides you with the same products that our clinicians use in our treatment center. To identify head lice, you first have to inspect the head. Start by looking behind the ears, check the nape of the neck as well as the crown of the head. Separate the hair at its roots and look for tiny nits. (lice eggs) A nit is very small, it is oval in shape, and tightly glued to the hair shaft. If you try to pull it off the hair, it will not budge. When you touch it, it feels like a tiny grain of salt. It varies in color from off-white, to gray, to brown. Before applying the Licenders professional shampoo, shake it well and put on the applicator tip. Wet the hair very well with warm water, and apply half the bottle of Licenders shampoo. Massage the shampoo into the scalp to create a good lather all over the head. It is important for the lather to cover the entire scalp in order for it to kill all the lice. While the shampoo is in the hair, comb out the nits with the Licenders Comb. After 15 minutes, wash out the lather with your regular shampoo. Blow dry the hair. Use a regular comb to get out any knots in the hair.
Use hair clips to separate the hair into sections. Dip the Licenders Comb into the Combing Solution and comb through small sections of hair. Dip the comb into the activating powder. Comb through a small section of hair starting at the scalp to the end of the hair. Comb from underneath as well as from above. Wipe the comb off on a wet paper towel after each combing. Go through the hair repeating the process in each of the separated sections until all the nits are out. You must take your time. Combing should take about two hours for a girl with shoulder length hair and one hour for a boy with short hair. Re wash the hair with your regular shampoo and dry well. Now inspect the hair section by section for any stray nits. If you find any nits, pull them out by hand.
Apply Licenders Oil throughout the hair nightly, for one week. Apply your repellant daily for one week on wrists, behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.  Cleaning out lice is a process. Repeat these instructions of removing nits for two full weeks.

 Feel free to e-mail me with specific questions if you like. My e-mail address is Licenders@aol.com and in the subject just write "Help me Adie". I will get back to you as soon as possible.

                                                    

 You should check your children frequently for head lice. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on it. I would rather find out sooner than later that my child has a lice problem. Catching it sooner will take hours off the amount of time it takes to get completely rid of it. A single female louse can lay up to 150 eggs, or nits, in a short amount of time. The longer you leave lice in the head without treating them, the quicker lice will multiply across the scalp.
 Nits are silvery-white in color and oval in shape. To the naked eye, nits will appear as tiny grains of sand that seem cemented to the hair shaft. If you can flick it off with your nail it’s not lice, it’s probably dandruff or a protein deposit. Nits on the one hand are easier to find then lice because there are more of them,and they don’t move around. However nits are much smaller then lice which makes finding them difficult also.

 If every time you check your child you are finding more nits that means you still have live bugs! The infestation is getting worse! We recommend at this point you call in the professionals. Call LICENDERS: 1-888-LICENDERS

 It is vital that you begin treating the problem as soon as you discover it. Head Lice is a cycle, left untreated the bugs multiply and getting rid of it becomes more of a job. It takes much less time and effort to get rid of a light case which was detected early. You should check your children frequently for head lice.    

 Using an effective, safe lice shampoo is certainly very important. Many people seem to make the mistake however, of not focusing enough on the most important lice removal tool: the lice comb. When you use a shampoo for lice, it will kill lice on contact, if it is a good shampoo. However, the nits will remain behind. 

 Nits are eggs that are laid by mature head lice. Lice have a life span of 30 days and lay eggs, called "nits". Using a natural glue, the louse attaches one egg per strand of hair. Within 10 days after it reaches maturity, a female louse may already deposit more than 60 nits at a rate of about six eggs each day. As those nits hatch, the new lice start laying eggs at the same rate. If every nit is not combed out with a lice comb, the use of the lice shampoo will have been a waste. In order to prevent frustration of lice re-infestation, the child with lice must have his hair thoroughly and methodically combed out.

 There are so many different types of combs being marketed for removal of nits. Not all head lice combs are created equal! A proper nit comb must have teeth that are spaced closely enough together to catch the every nit. Nits are attached to the hair strand with a very strong glue. Although many lice shampoos claim to kill nits, this simply is not true. Nits are protected by a shell, and our experience at Licenders has shown us again and again, that nits survive even the most potent head lice shampoos. Even in the case of some shampoos that may in fact weaken the glue a bit, the only way to remove nits is to use a comb that catches the nits and literally scrapes them off the hair shaft.