It’s peak season for head lice, as the government reveals one in four kids have nits

Parents have been warned to check their child’s hair for nits, as NSW government warns of numerous outbreaks across the country.

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Parents are being warned it is peak head lice season, as the state government reveals nearly one in four primary school kids have nits at any one time.

Pharmacist George Malouf, from Malouf Manly Pharmacy, said head lice outbreaks tend to increase as the school term progresses and he had seen a heavy demand for treatments over the past few weeks.

He said lice were relatively easy to get rid of, as long as you follow the instructions.

“A lot of parents do a treatment which kills the majority of lice, but don’t follow it through properly, which means the child becomes re-infested,” said Mr Malouf.

“It can be quite a vicious cycle.”

A head louse under the microscope.

Dianne Zalitis, from Healthdirect Australia, said the wingless insects lay tiny white eggs called nits which stick to the hair and can be easily mistaken as dandruff. These tiny insects can only be spread through direct head to head contact.

Persistent itching is the main symptom.

She said children should not share combs, brushes or touch each other’s hair to help prevent the lice spreading.

You can treat the problem by wet combing with conditioner or by using medicated shampoos.

To wet comb, apply a large amount of regular conditioner to dry hair, detangle and section the hair using a regular comb. Then, use a fine tooth metal head lice comb and comb each section of hair and remove lice and nits.

Repeat every two to three days over a one week period.

For more advice on head lice go to healthdirect.gov.au.