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15th August 2019
10:00am BST

Can head lice be avoided?
The thing about children is that they play all the time. And a lot of that play involves them being in close proximity to one another, something that obviously increases the risk of being infested with head lice if whoever they are playing with at the time happen to have it.
However, there are measures you can take to at least try to limit your kids' chances of catching it. These are:
1. Make sure they know not to share any 'touch the head' items, like combs, hair ties, ribbons and clips, hats, bike helmets, headsets, earplugs or even towels.
2. If someone they play with has head lice at present, try to make sure they avoid games and activities that lead to head-to-head contact.
3. Keep belongings, especially upper body clothing, away from shared areas like coat closets.
4. If you have a child with long hair, tying it up can to a certain extent help protect them from catching head lice.
5. Use Hedrin Protect and Go Conditioning spray. This clinically-proven conditioning spray works by killing lice before an infestation can take hold, and is perfect for things like play dates, parties and sleepovers when you can actively protect your child's hair by just giving it a spritz of this before they go.
Head lice: all your questions answered
Symptoms
Lice cause an itchy scalp. If your child is scratching, especially check areas like their scalp, behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.
Transmission
Lice are transmitted by direct contact, and can also be indirectly transmitted by objects like hats, hair bands, headsets and even towels.
Treatment
There are a wide variety of lice-treating products available in pharmacies. Ask your pharmacist or doctor about the formulas and brands available (shampoos, lotions, sprays etc) and follow the directions for use on the package leaflet carefully.
Make sure to wash all bed linens and towels on at least 60 degrees, and disinfect all combs, brushes etc.
Note: Many commercially available products contain an insecticide and/or an ovicide (to kill the eggs) and are contraindicated in children under 30 months of age and pregnant women.