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Even the thought of it is enough to make you itch. Head lice can be one of the most annoying and prolific problems we face as parents. You just think you have outwitted the little mites and they pop up again. Before you know it, everyone in the house has to be treated, which is expensive and not exactly fun for the family. But what can be done to catch and kill head lice and more importantly, how do we get rid of the eggs and stop the reproduction cycle in its tracks?

Head lice are tiny grey or brownish insects about the size of a sesame seed. They love living in your child’s hair because it is nice and warm and they feed from the scalp. This is why having head lice can be so darn itchy. Usually they will lay their eggs along the hair shaft close to the warmth of the scalp. After a week or so, these eggs hatch and ten days later they start to lay eggs as well. The egg cases known as nits stay attached to the hair shaft and can be very difficult to remove as they are fixed on by a strong glue-like substance.

It is easy to see how it is possible for a child to become infested with head lice in a very short time if it isn’t dealt with swiftly. Clearly, checking your child’s head regularly is the first port of call. However, just having a close look often isn’t enough. Head lice tend to be a similar colour to a child’s hair and are sometimes so small you won’t see them. Using a comb with very close-together teeth is the best way to check and this should be done on wet hair at least once a week. These combs can be bought at any pharmacy and the more you spend, the better the results.

Often, people associate head lice with children who have unwashed or dirty hair. This, however, is not the case. Head lice do not discriminate; they simply jump or crawl from one poor victim to the next. They will live quite happily for a few hours on towels, hats, scarves and coat hoods and will be constantly on the lookout for a nice warm head of hair.

The infection itself is not usually a problem for children; simply an annoyance for us parents. However, for some children, having head lice can become a real issue if they develop an allergy to the insects. This will cause intense itching and can lead to the scalp being red and inflamed. If this has become an issue then head to your doctor or pharmacist for some free advice on what to do.

If you have had the misfortune of having to treat your whole family for head lice, you will know what a strain this can place on your family finance. One bottle of head lice treatment can cost as much as £10 and is usually only enough for one course of treatment for one person. Clearly this will be very expensive for the whole family.

There are different types of lotions available with different chemicals added. Dimeticone kills the lice by suffocating them and should be left on the head overnight, while isopropyl myristrate and cyclomethicone kill the lice in around ten minutes. It is really your preference as to which you choose, but the time factor may well be an issue. Both are regarded as safe for use on children, although those with asthma may want to take care.

If you do decide to use shop-bought remedies then ensure that you follow the instructions very carefully. In most cases, two treatments are required; the second designed to catch any head lice that hatch after the first treatment. The two treatments need to be around seven to ten days apart and it is very important to complete both.

While many of these remedies claim that they kill the eggs as well, this is unfortunately not always the case. Removing the eggs can be a tiresome and slow job. It requires going through the hair with a fine-tooth comb, literally. The comb will often not catch all the eggs and so it may be necessary to pull them out with your nails.

If you want to avoid putting chemicals on your child’s hair, there are a few methods that you can use as an alternative. The wet combing method has been proven to be quite successful if carried out diligently.

You need to wet the hair and coat it in plenty of conditioner. The conditioner prevents the head lice from moving around the head too much and may even suffocate them. Then, section off the hair and go through each section with a lice comb, moving around the head as you go. This is not foolproof as you will miss lice that are very close to the scalp or too small to be caught. For this reason, you need to repeat this every two days for at least a week. Doing it this often means that the lice won’t have a chance to reproduce.

So, once you are head lice free, you might want to try some of the tee-tree oil shampoos and conditioners that are on the market to prevent a further infection. Apparently, head lice don’t like the smell and it is worth a go!

The fact is that kids get head lice; you can’t do very much about it other than always treating your child as soon as you realise they have them. Other children in contact with your child are likely to have them as well, so you may find you are treating your kids on a regular basis. The good news is that it tends to stop once your child gets older and has less head-to-head contact with other children.

Try not to let this common issue become a cause for upset in your family life. Be prepared, do the work and before you know it you and your kids can be back to life as normal.