All clothing, bedding and towels used by the infested person should be washed in hot, soapy water to kill lice. Non-infested family members should not share towels, combs, hairbrushes and similar items with an infested person. Notify your child's school, camp, childcare provider or others who may come into close contact with him or her. It may be possible to eliminate an infestation of head lice by daily hair washing and nit removal without the use of insecticidal shampoos. Nit combs are available from your pharmacy.
Some products require a physician's prescription, but others are available without one.
It is essential to follow the label instructions carefully since you will be applying an insecticide directly to your skin. After washing hair, a special nit-removal comb should be used to help remove eggs and dead adults from the hair. Non-infested family members and others who have close contact with the infested person should be closely monitored for head lice infestations. However, they should not receive treatments of insecticidal shampoo unless they are infested, also. Do not spray homes with insecticide since head lice do not survive away from a host for very long.