Preventing head lice in children can be difficult, but the same strategies for preventing head lice in adults will work for children as well. Typically, avoidance is the most effective strategy, but catching the lice early can sometimes prevent a full infestation. If one person in the household has head lice, preventing head lice in other members of the household is sometimes possible when action is taken quickly.
Once someone understands how head lice are spread, preventing head lice becomes much easier. Head lice can travel on objects that have touched a person's head or can be transferred directly from head to head. Sometimes, objects that are near the scalp are close enough to carry lice. This means that combs, hats, pillows, and other similar items should never be shared with anyone who could possibly be carrying head lice. Sometimes, people do not know that they are carrying lice and inadvertently spread them to other people on shared items.
Children are not always as cautious as adults about keeping their own hats and other items separate from those of other children. When at school, children may place their own hats or coats near those of other children who may have lice, or they may even share hats or other clothing items. Making sure that children understand how lice are spread can be an essential step in preventing head lice in children.
While it is extremely difficult to prevent head lice once lice have landed on the head, checking hair regularly for lice can help make an infestation easier to fight off. Also, checking every member of the household can help prevent the infestation from spreading. Keeping an eye out for itching is easy, but visually identifying the lice before symptoms become obvious is essential. For this reason, inspections with a comb are the best solution.
When attempting to prevent lice from spreading throughout a household, the most important part to remember is that all items that have touched the infected person's head can potentially carry lice. Getting rid of lice from the infected person's head is not enough to prevent lice from spreading throughout the household. All clothing should be washed, as should all bedding. If possible, couch covers and other fabric items that the person's head could have touched should be cleaned as well. Once lice have taken hold, it can be extremely difficult to prevent them from spreading, so it is usually better to just treat all members of the household as though they already have lice.
