Does Your Child Have Head Lice? Find Out How To Check For Head Lice

By Louise Hodges
Does your child have head lice? How can you know? Find out how to check for head lice and learn what to do to treat them.
The United States has up to 12 million infestations of these irritating monsters every year on children aged 3 to 11. They do not hop or fly, but crawl and are passed by head-to-head contact as opposed to sharing items. Opportunities to spread them are when jackets and back packs are bunched together or when students sit close to each other during story time. They feed on humans only and can live for 1-2 days on surfaces.

If your child is complaining of an itchy scalp or a feeling of bumps or bites on the head, it is a good idea to inspect for lice. If you get the dreaded memo from school saying they have been found on a student in your child's class, it is certainly best to check your child daily until the threat has passed.
Lice are small creatures no more than 1/8 inch long that remain close to the scalp. They can be clear/white and run the gamut through light brown. You will be looking for live lice as well as the 'nits' or eggs that are laid along hair shafts. Nits are very small and transparent so they look like tiny flecks of dirt or dandruff attached to the hair shafts. But a nit will be attached to the hair shaft and be very difficult to remove. The lice are more likely to hide underneath hair as opposed to being near the face. Get your child underneath a very bright light and it helps to have a magnifying glass.
Create a single part in the hair and inspect along the scalp and hair shafts looking for adults and nits. Move across the head in 1/4 inch sections. One adult head lice is defined as an infestation but expect many if your child is complaining of symptoms. The presence of nits does not define an infestation as they may not be viable eggs. However, nits in the first inspection would definitely warrant a treatment.
School nurses often make the diagnosis and depending on school policy, students may or may not be sent home. Historically, over-the-counter shampoos and treatments have been the first step. However, these are losing effectiveness due to Pesticide Resistance and are well documented to cause health issues themselves. If unsuccessful, families then go to the pediatrician for stronger pesticide treatments. Common sense tells us that is not a reasonable solution.
There are safe and effective pest control products that wipe out lice and their nits but cause no harm to humans or the environment. Obviously, a safe, green and effective treatment is preferred and savvy parents are figuring that out.
Now that you know how to check for head lice, you can diagnose and treat the problem yourself with excellent results.
Louise Hodges is the owner of Greenbug which offers effective, safe and green pest control products. You can now safely eliminate pests without using toxic chemicals!
Greenbug products kill and repel all the pests you don't want such as Head Lice, Mosquitoes, Ants, Bed Bugs, etc. but cause no harm whatsoever to beneficial creatures.
They offer the Greenbug Injector System to integrate with an irrigation system to safely create pest-free areas wherever water is directed.
For more information, go to http://www.greenbugallnatural.com or watch safe pest control solutions at http://www.youtube.com/greenbugallnatural
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