Judging from the number of parents making enquiries as to how to best treat nits and the letters from a number of primary schools informing parents that nits are on the circulation, it would appear that we are suffering something of an epidemic attack of head lice since Christmas.

While colds and flu may be the bane of school healthcare, nits have become the curse of it and the back to school period can become a tortuous time for some parents as this unwelcome pest shows its ugly head.

The past decade has witnessed something of a resurgence of nits and few of us with children in primary school have been lucky enough to escape the nuisance of having to clear this pest from our childrens'heads.

Thankfully head lice are no longer the taboo subject they once were and we no longer associate head lice with a lack of hygiene. Head lice are equally at home in all heads and have no respect for social class, race or the frequency of hair washing.

However having said this, there still exists a lot of confusion among parents as to exactly what nits and head lice are, and how they can be best treated and prevented.

What are head lice?

Head lice are small six legged insects, about 2 to 3mm long that vary in colour from greyish-white to brown. They are white when the have just hatched but turn more brown when the have fed on blood. They live on or very close to the scalp and survive for around 30 days. Their only food source is human blood.

While this is not a pleasant thought head lice are rarely a threat to physical health. They are most certainly not a serious medical problem. Head lice have no wings and therefore contrary to common belief they cannot fly. They also cannot jump or swim.

They spread from head to head by crawling when heads touch and this explains why head lice are more prevalent in primary than secondary school. Children in Playgroups, nursery schools and in the lower classes of primary are the more likely to become infested because these children are in regular head to head contact with one another.

Gyms and swimming pools present other occasions when children may have head to head contact. It is also important to remember that once head lice enter a household it is necessary to check all the family members hair for infestation, adults included.

The lifecycle of the head louse

To understand how to best treat head lice it is necessary to appreciate something of its lifecycle. An adult louse entering a head through head to head contact will lay approximately six eggs per day.

These eggs take 7-10 days to hatch and each releases a young louse into the scalp. It takes a further 7-10 days for the young louse to mature into an adult louse when it too starts laying about six eggs per day. From this information it can be appreciated that it does not take that long for widespread infestation of the scalp to occur.

What are nits?

Nits are the eggs laid by the head lice. The nits are cleverly glued to the hair shaft and can only be removed from the hair by "nit picking" or using a fine toothcomb. There is no chemical treatment, natural or otherwise, that will remove nits from the scalp. So you cannot "catch nits ", only the lice. Nits are white in colour if already hatched and black if live.

How do I detect head lice?

An itching scalp is often the first symptom that signals to a parent that their child may be infested. The itch is caused by the lice piercing or nipping the scalp to suck blood. However not all sufferers present with an itchy scalp and moreover it may often be at a more advanced state of infestation that the itching takes place on a regular enough basis for parents to notice.

The best way to detect head lice is by regular head checking. This is particularly important if you know your child has been in contact with someone with headlice or you have received notification from your child's school or playgroup that head lice are about. Under these circumstances check your child's head every 3-4 days for two weeks.

The best way to check a child's hair is by ombing the hair either wet or damp with a fine toothcomb. Keep the comb close to the scalp at all times and wipe the comb regularly onto white tissue paper to examine for the presence of live lice.

Combing may be made easier by smothering the hair with conditioner, especially a conditioner that is active against lice as it will numb or immobilise the lice making them easier to remove.

Treating head lice

A head should only be treated for head lice if live lice have been detected. Treating a clean scalp cannot prevent head lice.

Moreover using head lice treatments prophylactcally, i.e. for prevention, has only served to help lice develop a resistance to these treatments rendering them less effective. This is the reason why health authorities recommend the rotational use of the various treatments available so that head lice get less opportunity to build up a resistance to a chemical that is in continuous use.

The conventional way to treat head lice is using a chemical insecticide lotion. These insecticides known as organophosphates are harsh chemicals and many parents have become increasingly concerned about using them on their children's scalps.

There have been recent concerns in particular about the long-term effect of these chemicals on the central nervous system. Children have an immune system that is still developing and needs support rather than bombardment.

As a result some parents have looked for a more natural approach to treating head lice.

Several natural treatments are available and one of the most effective I have come across is a product called Biz Niz.

This 100% natural treatment contains a blend of six essential oils that act as a natural antiseptic insecticide. The Biz Niz lotion should be applied to the hair four times over a ten-day cycle, on days one, three, seven and ten. This works to break the life cycle of the head lice, allowing all the live eggs present to hatch and be acted upon by the treatment before they are old enough to reproduce.

The Biz Niz treatment should be applied liberally to the scalp of shampooed hair and left in the hair between applications. It should not be washed out. This presents no threat to general health as the treatment is not toxic and is safe to be left in overnight. Biz Niz has a strong but pleasant aroma.

Nits can only be removed by fine combing and the hair should be thoroughly combed from root to end after each of the four applications of Biz Niz. This also helps to draw the treatment down through the hair thoroughly.

Unlike conventional treatments Biz Niz can be used for the prevention of head lice. The essential oils in Biz Niz are pleasant to humans but repellent to lice. Biz Niz can help prevent infestation by utilising aromas that plants have developed naturally to protect themselves from insect pests.

The Biz Niz treatment is accompanied by a tea-tree and Quassia shampoo. It is recommended that in an attempt to keep head lice away from your front door you wash your children's hair with this shampoo two to three times per week followed by applying a little of the leave in treatment.