head-lice-treatment-san-diego

How to screen for Head Lice?

How to screen for Head Lice?

How to screen for head lice is probably one of the most common asked questions we hear at our clinics. You are supposed to screen your child once a week between the ages of 6-11 but, what’s the best way to do it?

There are different ways to properly screen for head lice:

Sectioning the hair

Sectioning the hair in small pieces will help you be more precise at making a right diagnostic. We want to start on one side of the hair and use a wood stick, fine comb or pen to section the hair. We will start from top to bottom creating vertical lines, and looking for nits (lice eggs).

Looking for moving louse will be very difficult as they crawl and move really fast. Instead we look for their eggs which are white-brownish close to the scalp, attached to the hair shaft and look like a small sesame seed.

Once we have visually examined the first section, we create another vertical line with the aid of the tooth pick about an inch apart of the first one and we examine again top to bottom. We repeat this until we have gone from side to side. Then, for an extra layer of caution, we can re-examine the areas that are usually the most humid where head lice will lay more eggs: behind the ears, on the bottom of the neck and the crown of the head.

How to screen for head lice? Sectioning

Using a Lice Comb

Using a Lice comb is a very effective way to screen for head lice. Please make sure every time you use the comb, there is no debris (especially if there was an infestation previously) so that we don’t confuse ourselves with dead and old eggs.

Start combing the hair – dry or wet- from top to bottom. We recommend to comb the hair on top of a white sink or a clear colored furniture so that we can see clearly if anything falls off. In addition, have a white paper towel handy to wipe the comb every so often and see if there’s anything coming out.

How to screen for head lice? Lice comb

If you see nits or lice don’t hesitate to call us so we can help you find the best treatment option for your child. We have a treatment option for every budget and are professionals when it comes to head lice removal. At LCA San Diego we will kill head lice and their eggs in just one treatment using our medical device, the ! Find out more at: lcasandiego.com/treatment