The good news is that you can get rid of this often-persistent pest with proper treatment of the infested person's hair and home environment. Pre-school and elementary age children are infested most often. They most commonly get lice from contact with infested family members or friends. Lice do not fly, and transmission usually occurs through direct or indirect contact. Direct transmission can occur when articles of clothing such as ribbons, combs, brushes, hats, scarves, coats, or sports helmets are shared.
Indirect transmission can occur if a child shares beds and pillows with an infested person.
Most often, the failure of lice-killing shampoos has been traced to people's not using them correctly. To treat head lice successfully, it is very important to carefully read and follow all of the instructions to the letter. The time-consuming process of removing all nits and cleaning the home and car is just as important as treating the hair to kill head lice. Home remedies, such as using petroleum jelly, olive oil, or mayonnaise on the hair and wearing a shower cap overnight, operate on the idea that these substances cut off air to the lice, so that they suffocate and die. Most of these home remedies have not been scientifically tested or proven.