Two adorable little sisters laughing and hugging each other on warm and sunny summer day in italian town

YOU’VE BEEN TREATED & ARE NOW LICE-FREE!

Here’s what you need to know & do once you get home

HEAD & HAIR

  • Itching after treatment is common for 10-14 days. Lice bites are the same as mosquito bites, but much smaller.  Therefore, itching is an after-effect of lice bites, and applying heat to those bites during treatment causes the itching to increase for some time.
  • Since itching is a lingering symptom of lice bites, post-treatment itching is NOT a symptom of active lice. Unless you see LIVE lice bugs in the hair (not nits/eggs), it's safe to assume that the itching is left over from before the treatment.

Option 1):   Wash hair several times with regular shampoo to get the oil out.  If you think it’s not coming out, keep trying – it WILL come out.

Option 2): Add some dishwashing soap.  This should get the oil out with a single wash, when a small amount is added to shampoo. *Note: Dish soap will also strip hair dye. Use at your own risk, or if hair is not dyed.

Option 3): Head and Shoulders.  We have been told by many customers that Head and Shoulders shampoo is very good at getting the oil out AND helps with post-treatment itching due to hydrating the scalp.

Option 4): Use a clarifying shampoo. This helps to break down the grease in just one wash.

  • It is expected that you will have some nits left in your hair after treatment. The focus of our treatment (and our guarantee) is to KILL all the nits and lice on the head.  To completely remove every nit from the head typically requires a multiple hour comb-out, which is not part of our treatment process.  Therefore, unless you see LIVE bugs in the hair, you can assume that all the nits are no longer viable (dead).
  • There are several ways you can facilitate removing the dead nits: 1) Continue to use a nit comb over the next ten days throughout the entire head. 2) Every time you shampoo, rub your scalp vigorously; this will help break apart and dislodge the nits.
  • NOTE: Nits/eggs that “pop” when  squeezed between fingernails does NOT indicate that the nits/eggs are “alive.”  This is a widely perpetuated lice-myth or Wive's Tale.
  • The ONLY reason a re-check would be necessary is in the event you are seeing live bugs.  It is NOT necessary to come back to the clinic for a re-check “just to make sure” the treatment worked.
  • Girls: wear hair as high & tight as possible. Tight hair equages to less surface area for a louse to latch onto your head.
  • Be aware of any situation where you may have head-to-head contact with others, or if you use things that may have touched other peoples’ heads/hair. Do your best to avoid those situations.
  • DO NOT, under any circumstances, put anything in your hair or on your head that has touched someone else’s head.
  • Do periodic combing with a nit comb.
  • Spray essential oil spray on your head anytime you go into a situation where there may be a high risk of lice exposure.

HOME CLEANING

  • Head lice CANNOT survive without a human host for more than 24 hours.
  • Lice CANNOT fly, jump, burrow, swim, and cannot even crawl very well, once dislodged from hair.
  • Therefore, it is ONLY necessary to treat items in your house that have come in contact with an infested person's head within 24 hours.

All clothing and bedding that may have touched an infested person's head in the last 24 hours should either be:

      • Washed in HOT water and then dried on high heat for 2 cycles OR
      • Placed DIRECTLY into a hot dryer for 30 minutes or more (NOT necessary to wash before putting into the dryer, if already clean)
  • Items with hard surfaces such as leather, plastic, or vinyl may be wiped clean with a paper towel.
  • All other items made of cloth should be vacuumed (or lint rolled). You can cover furniture with a clean sheet or blanket for 48 hours.
  • Throw pillows can be put in a hot dryer for 30 minutes.
  • Don’t forget to vacuum (or lint roll) child car seats.
  • Lastly, floors can either be vacuumed, swept, and/or mopped.
  • Vacuum rugs and carpets.
  • Sweep and mop non-porous, hard surface floors.
  • Place items in a freezer bag for 3 hours.
  • Store items in a plastic bag for 24hours or they can placed in a dryer for 30-45 minutes on high heat.  All other non-porous toys may be wiped clean or kept isolated in a plastic bag for 24 hours.
  • Vacuum, lint roll, or wipe down backpacks and helmets or isolate in a plastic bag for 24 hours.