Combing is an important part of good personal care, but head lice are not easily damaged by it. Good hair care may help to spot lice early and so help to control them. There is no evidence that the old slogans "Break its legs, so it can’t lay eggs" or "A legless louse is an eggless louse" have any truth in them.
The best way to stop infection is for families to learn how to check their own heads. This way they can find any lice before they have a chance to breed. They can then treat them and stop them going round the family.
The way to check heads is called "detection combing". It can be done as often as families want to. The way to do it is in the sheet "Have you got head lice? Detection combing - how to do it." (No link provided)
If a living, moving louse is found on one of the family’s heads, the others should be checked carefully. Then any of them who have living lice should be treated at the same time.
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