Head lice are a common, treatable nuisance — not a hygiene issue and not a sign of anything you did wrong. Here is the short version of how to identify, treat, clean up, and prevent. For deeper reading, the New York Times piece on lice treatment covers similar ground.
Identifying head lice
Adult lice: grayish white, about the size of a sesame seed, hide from light, move quickly.
Nits (eggs): tiny tan or off-white teardrops cemented to single hairs within a quarter inch of the scalp, often behind the ears or at the nape of the neck.
Not lice: dandruff and lint flake off easily. If you can flick it away, it is not a nit.
Treating head lice
Check the whole household. Treat anyone with live lice. Do not preemptively treat clean heads.
OTC pediculicide. Permethrin (Nix) or pyrethrin (RID) per package directions, repeated at day nine.
Comb out the nits. Metal nit comb on damp conditioned hair, every two to three days for two weeks. This is the step that finishes the job.
If OTC fails twice: ask your pediatrician about spinosad (Natroba) or ivermectin lotion (Sklice).
Professional help: a professional lice removal service can compress the two-week home program into a single sitting if you would rather pay than comb.
Cleaning your home
Hot wash and high heat dry any sheets, towels, hats, and brushes that contacted an infested head in the last two days.
Bag unwashable items in sealed plastic for two weeks. Stuffed animals are the obvious one.
Vacuum once on the couch, carpet, and car seats. You do not need to deep-clean the whole house — lice cannot live more than a day or two off a human scalp.
Preventing future infestations
No reliable preventive shampoos. Tea tree oil and other essential oils are popular but not strongly supported by evidence — and can irritate young scalps.
Tie up long hair in a bun or braid for school. Lice transmission needs head-to-head contact, which long loose hair makes much easier.
Stay calm. Most kids exposed to lice do not get an active infestation. A school notice is not a crisis.
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