Many people do not feel comfortable in talking about head lice treatment but the fact is most of them need to know about it. Humans suffer from three types of lice according to the part of body they affect. There are pubic lice living around the genitalia, body lice and hair lice. But the people suffering from the problem the head lice or hair lice are comparatively large in number.

Although people are often embarrassed by having a lice infestation on the scalp, this has nothing to do with being dirty or lacking in personal hygiene. These tiny insects are very mobile and can easily jump from one person to another just by sitting very close together, or sharing a brush, comb, scarf or hat.

Lice need contact with human beings to feed and will die within a few weeks if removed from a host. As head lice treatment includes cleaning other items that may harbor lice such as pillows or clothes, it is good to know that there is an alternative to washing items in very hot water. Sealing items in plastic bags for several weeks will kill lice and their eggs.

Due to the minuscule size of lice, it might be difficult even to know if you need to begin a head lice treatment. Often, the search for head lice will be triggered by a note from school. Although the insects are so small as to be hard to see, the discovery of nits on the base of hair shafts is an important clue. These eggs are glued to the hair and look like tiny grains of rice. For a head lice treatment to be complete, each must be removed or killed.

After the treatment, the scalp has to be checked daily. To remove the nits and any dead or alive lice a special fine toothed comb is used. Though products like lice spray or lotion or shampoo generally kill the adults, but in some cases a stronger product has to prescribed, you should always check with your doctor for the same. For success, other household items like clothing, furniture, bedding, carpet and even stuffed toys must also be treated.

Insecticide head lice treatment products can be replaced with nontoxic herbal ones. These are generally available online or at health food stores. Messy, multi-use home remedies exist as well as store bought ones and though they are not as recommended, mayonnaise, petroleum jelly or oil can be used to kill lice. The head of the infected person is covered in a shower cap overnight and then the nits are combed out. Sometimes multiple shampoos are required but it is still considered a cheap and effective method.