What Advice Can Community Pharmacy Offer?

General information about head lice and the treatment options will be the most useful to customers. Some customers may believe the myths about headlice so dispelling these is important.

1. Children with head lice can still attend school

2. There is no evidence that head lice have a preference for clean or dirty hair

3. There is no need to wash/treat bedding that has been in contact with head lice

4. No treatment is 100% effective but following the manufacturer’s instructions will increase the chance of treatment’s working

5. You cannot prevent head lice but regular checks will catch infestations early

6. Repeated use of head ice treatments when there are no live lice is not recommended

7. Essential oil and herbal treatments should be avoided as there is limited evidence of their efficacy or safety

Customers may wish to talk about their options after a treatment has failed. Checking a few things to work out why the treatment failed will make this conversation more productive and improve any recommendations you make for further treatment.

1. Check they used a complete treatment course, correct application technique, correct application time and sufficient volume of product to cover the hair completely – long or thick hair may require more than one bottle of product

2. Advise the customer to check all household members for sources of reinfestation

3. If they have done all of the above correctly advise repeating the treatment or trying a different method

4. If the customer has used malathion as the first treatment, consider the possibility of the lice being resistant and recommend wet combing or a physical insecticide such as dimeticone

Some customers may be worried about the cost of the treatments. You can advise them that there are a number of head lice products that can be prescribed by the NHS. They are listed in the drug tariff as appliances NHS Electronic Drug Tariff.