They are unpleasant, but easy to treat, and having head lice does not mean the sufferer is in any way unhygenic or 'dirty'. Lice feed from human blood and lay eggs nightly. The eggs (nits) can often be mistaken for dandruff, or flakes of dry skin. The only sure way of confirming the presence of head lice is by seeing adult lice or their eggs. The lice stay close to the scalp and the nits stick to the individual hair. The best treatment is the careful removal of the lice by wet combing hair that has been washed with conditioner. There are two good reasons for this - first that in wet, conditioned hair, lice lie doggo and are easy to catch - and secondly you don't have to use any insecticides which could be potentially harmful. To get rid of them you need to ensure you are working on clean hair, in good light and use a special 'nit-picking' comb available through chemists. Begin at the root of the hair and remove the lice from the teeth of the comb as soon as you find any. Repeat the process at 3-5 day intervals for two weeks as the nits can take 10 days to hatch. If a child has lice, they can spread to adults in the household. Remember, though, that the symptons - an itchy head or neck might be caused by something other than lice, so if in doubt consult a doctor or pharmacist.