Head lice are usually found on young children; they often spread in schools like wildfires, jumping from the head of one child to the next one, laying their eggs in their hair and hiding there, and are a really serious problem no one wants to cope with.

The first symptom you will notice if you have head lice is an itchy scalp. You may feel things crawling around your hair. You may notice your child scratching his head. Lice are tiny insects that are difficult to get rid of.

The very first thing you will want to know if you or your child gets head lice is how to get rid of lice. This is not easy, but you need to jump on the task quickly before they get out of hand. What you will want to search for is the lice eggs. These are usually located close to the scalp. They look like dandruff but they do not brush away so easily.

It's most effective to organize your search for lice in your child's hair. Using a lice comb, a special fine-tooth comb that makes it easy to separate strands of hair, comb through one small section of hair at a time. Start by brushing all the hair to one side, and then pull the small sections back over one at a time making sure that the scalp is exposed each time. Be sure to comb carefully and very thoroughly.

You can kill a lot of eggs by using a specially-formulated shampoo which you can buy at most drug stores and discount houses. By following the directions on the label, you'll be able to help eliminate lice. Unfortunately, the shampoo only helps; it isn't the ultimate answer. You must still work to comb and pick the lice out if you want to get rid of them permanently.

Another important thing it to do is to wash all clothing and bed sheets. Hair care products and elastics should also be washed. You do not want you head to be infested again. Things that cannot be washed should be quarantined in a plastic bag for about a week. Although lice are difficult to get rid of, they can not live very long if they do not have a host to feed on.