Getting Rid of Head Lice

Emma Haud: Hello, I'm Emma Haud. I'm joined by Dr. Su Laurent who is a consultant pediatrician at Barnet Hospital at Hertfordshire. Hello Su. Dr. Su Laurent: Hello, Emma. Emma Haud: I've got a great question here. Any advice about head lines, we seemed to keep getting them because people listening to this, I'll do haven't got them will be interested won't really be prepared for the shock of it, but actually it's coming to us all, isn't it? Dr. Su Laurent: The messages you're not -- I think there are a lot of family that escapes head lines at some point and I think it's quite exciting with the men that having when I was kid -- but they certainly seem to be in every single family nowadays. The first thing to say is that there are lots of things out there to help you to treat them, but there is nothing, which is one hundred percent effective as a single shock treatment. Emma Haud: Yes, you have to keep going. Dr. Su Laurent: Is -- which is everything in just when you sorted it. You'll get another case school, and then it'll go round and round again. So, this is part of childhood, it's the normal part of childhood. Emma Haud: And it has to be -- it doesn't matter, if your child -- to the richest -- school in the land, or the grubbiest school in the land? Dr. Su Laurent: It not to do with that at all, it's just to do with these little creatures. And what they do is they live in your head and they can only live in your head, they can't live anywhere else, so they have to jump, they can't fly, they have to jump from head to head and because children are often playing very, very close together that's what's the younger children particularly they get the head lines. (Voice Overlap) And we as parents who will head to head with our children will get that because they'll jump across. Then they'll laid out little eggs, and then they'll hatch and you get another lot. Emma Haud: How long does it takes for them to have? Dr. Su Laurent: Well, about seven days. So, the important thing first of all to say is that any treatment you do is not going to be a one off, you're going to treat them, then you're going to treat them again, seven days later as a very minimum. And if you go to your chemist, you'll be offered what the latest thing that is out there and in fact, the chemists offer the best person to advice because the head lines develop immunity disease in sort of chemicals and so you'll - one day it'll be this that we're using and the next day it'll be that. Emma Haud: It's still a bigger ray (Voice Overlap) especially, if it's not happened in your family before you did in a way to stop (Voice Overlap) Dr. Su Laurent: It is essential to have a comb. So, whatever treatment you put on your child's hair, it has to be followed up by combing through with that it has to be the knit comb (Voice Overlap) very fine comb. Emma Haud: And you prefer the metal comb or the wooden comb where it doesn't matter? Dr. Su Laurent: I think it matters one bit and most of the kids that you get for treating head lines will come with a comb. The important thing is you need to - your child's hair conditioner, some people say that T3 oil contain a conditioner is good, I mean I think any old conditioner is probably fine, you -- and you go through every bit of that hair -- with your comb. And that, achieves two things one is it gets rid off that the head lines the adult lies and to some extent the little knits as well, the little eggs. Emma Haud: The little eggs consider slide up -- Dr. Su Laurent: But often, you'll actually need to do with your thumb nails -- as well as you pull them off like that. Emma Haud: Is they are sticky? Dr. Su Laurent: They're sticky and you're not going to get them all out, which is why you need to keep combing getting out all the adults, so they can't lay any more. And you need to do this at least every two days. So, when you've got an infestation at least every two days, and then you shall recommend at least once a week afterwards just to keep your child head lines afraid to check that you haven't got anymore. Emma Haud: Yes, especially when our child is in the school and there are some family suggest once -- we just go, so even if they've heard nothing and -- Dr. Su Laurent: Just get through. And actually, my children love it, they always say, take me for lunch, take me for lunch because they love the idea of having their hair sort of looked at, and then combed in condition, they actually find that quite -- Emma Haud: You have lovely parent child interaction. So, loss of positives for head lines, haven't way done well. Dr. Su Laurent: And also, just don't forget the parents as well, you call up just treat the children, you got to treat the whole family because otherwise it'll jump around from head to head. Emma Haud: Now, talking of latest treatment, which you've mentioned earlier. There is something out saying that this is the latest breakthrough, you should be trying it. What it is? Dr. Su Laurent: I think this is exciting, this is something called dynamic comb or it so -- something called headring and you can get it from your chemist over the counter. It don't work like an insecticide, which will relief lots of parents because lots of parents don't like the idea of putting something that's really a powerful chemical on your child's head. What it does is it, it coats the head lines and kill some of the different sort of way and it's looking good; the research is showing that it probably has least as effective -- insecticides are probably better and there is no evidence of resistance developing. Emma Haud: And is that in the shops now? Dr. Su Laurent: In the shops now. Emma Haud: Fantastic news. Su, thank you very much indeed. And if you have a similar problem, we hope -- some help, but remember, it's always best to go and see your own doctor for medical advice. Thanks for watching, we'll back with more health questions and answers.