Dealing with head lice

Unlike many other countries, it is relatively rare for dermatologists in the UK to be confronted with a case of head louse infestation, unless it has specifically been referred because other practitioners have failed to deal with it or there are complications arising from it. However, knowing what to do, if asked, is difficult in a field that has changed more rapidly in the past decade than during the previous 50 years. Head lice have not, themselves, changed, but human activity has influenced their epidemiology in various ways that seem to have made management more difficult.