Back To School – Head Lice

Published: 2nd September, 2014 in: Health Advice

It’s that time of year again: summer is almost over and kids are going back to school. You might have all their stationery and books ready, but are you prepared for the head lice, verrucas, coughs and colds that get passed around in schools?

Weldricks Pharmacy has put together a series of blogs with information on different ailments children may get during term time, and how you can prevent and treat them.

Head lice are tiny insects that live in human hair. They’re popular in school and can easily be passed from one child to another whilst on the playground. Head lice cannot jump or fly, they simply move from one head to another when they come into contact.

How to prevent head lice

It’s easy to prevent your child from catching head lice, there are sprays and solutions that you can use daily to ensure your child has the best chance at avoiding the pesky insects.
Ensure that your child uses head lice prevention every day before school. Weldricks Pharmacy offers a range of head lice prevention solutions, including Full Marks and Hedrin.

How to get rid of head lice

• Split the child’s hair into small sections
• Use a fine toothed comb from the root to the tip, one section at a time. See all combs.
• After each section, rinse the comb in a sink of water (the sink should be white or as near to white as possible to be able to see any lice) 
• This process should be done each day until no lice can be seen in the sink afterwards

Don’t forget that some of our branches also offer the Minor Ailments scheme, where you can get advice and treatment on several health conditions including diarrhoea, threadworm and chickenpox. Visit your local Weldricks Pharmacy for more information.