It s an age-old problem and one that haunts the parents of most preschoolers and primary school children. The ACT s Acting Chief Health Officer, Dr Shirley Bowen, has urged parentsto be vigilant about inspecting their children for head lice. Many head lice infections cause no symptoms, and probably less than half cause itching.
Eggs are fairly easy to see.
Use a strong light and look on the hair shafts. Newly hatched eggs are usually within 1.5cm of the scalp while older eggs are higher up the egg shafts. To find live lice, dampen the hair, apply conditioner and comb the hair with a fine tooth comb. Wipe the conditioner from the comb on to a tissue and look for lice. Also examine the comb for lice and eggs.