Once you have resolved that your son or daughter has the parasite, it is time to begin the head lice treatments right away. Not only must you treat your son or daughter's hair, but there are additional steps that must be fulfilled as well.

Anything that your child may have come in contact with while infested must also be treated. But, the first step in head lice treatments is your child hair.

In addition to prescription shampoos there are several over the counter shampoos and topicals that will destroy the lice. It is important to follow the directions on the bottle precisely to be sure that the head lice treatment will work properly. With most lice shampoos you apply the shampoo to dry hair, wait ten minutes then lather in the shower and rinse. The next procedure is to use a fine tooth comb and comb out the expired lice and the nits. This is easier to do if your son or daughter's hair is wet. This part will need to be repeated in about seven to ten days to be positive that any eggs that may have gotten past the first treatment and hatched are also treated and killed.

Although lice do not survive long if they become separated from their host, but you will need to treat various parts of your home and what your son or daughter has come into contact with while they had the lice. You should begin in their bedroom and wash all of the bedding in hot water. Tossing them in the dryer for at least 20 minutes on the hot cycle with also kill loose lice. You can put items like pillows in the dryer if you do not want to run them through the washer machine. As added insurance you should also dry clean things that you cannot run through the washing machine. Things like plush toys that cannot be washed can be placed in an airtight bag for two weeks.

If the infestation occurs during the winter months and it is cold outside, you could also place such items outside or in the garage for a couple of weeks.

Be sure to run the vacuum thoroughly over the furniture and carpets. A frequently forgotten area is the family car... be sure to completely vacuum it as well if your child has ridden in it. Then ensure that you soak your hair care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands and brushes in rubbing alcohol or just dispose of them.

Even if your other sons or daughters didn't seem to become infested, they should also receive the same head lice treatments too. Lice have no wings so they cannot fly and they cannot jump but they can crawl, and are spread from host to host through contact. Because of this it is extremely likely that other children in the family do have lice as well but have not been detected yet.

Head lice will not just eventually die out on their own. They must be seriously dealt with else they will continue to propagate and escalate within your home making the removal process extremely more troublesome. Be dogged when it comes to head lice treatments.

As a reminder... be certain to wash bedding everyday and you can place coats and items that are too time consuming to wash everyday into the dryer for 20 minutes everyday instead. Do not allow your children to share thing like hats and combs that come into contact with their scalp with anyone and make sure girls wear their hair up when at school during the day.