Hi all

In a university here in Australia (James Cook Univesity in Townsville) they have recently completely a huge amount of study on head lice.  I will briefly out line the lice treatments that are recommended by the Queensland Dept of Health and the schools (where lice is in plague proportions at all schools here).  And yes it does work and is much cheaper then chemical options and easier to wash than oils and other home based remedies.

On *dry* hair apply white thick conditioner. (White help you to see them.  lice make a protective shell around themselves with water.  Conditioner will stun them for 20 minutes - it does not kill them but does stun them so that thye can be removed safely and quickly.)

Comb conditioner through with a nit comb (preferable a metal one with square teeth.)  wipe comb clean on a white tissue so that you can indentify the nits and their eggs.  (yes this does remove the eggs).

Wash hair with shampoo.

Continue this treatment every second day until there are are no lice for 10 days.  This means that you will catch all the lice as the eggs hatch.  Chemical treatments may kill the lice but they will not kill the eggs and are very harsh on the hair. The conditioning treatment leaves hair soft, shiny and clean.   

They also strongly suggest contacting the source of the lice and encourage them to begin treatment so they do not reinfect your child.

The research also showed that lice do not jump but swing from one hair to another.  They are also temperature specific and die quickly after leaving the head so it is not necessary to wash bedding and clean the floor.

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