Permethrin

Information Leaflet

Lyclear is a Trade mark of

The Wellcome Foundation Ltd.

Please read this leaflet carefully before you start to use Lyclear Creme Rinse. it contains important information about your treatment. It you have any questions, or if you are not sure about anything, ask your doctor or pharmacist.

The pack consists of a single 59 ml bottle of Lyclear Creme Rinse which contains permethrin (1% w/w) in a creme rinse base, and a fine toothed comb which can be used to remove dead lice and eggs. Other ingredients are: isopropanol, stearalkonium chloride, cetyl alcohol, Cetech-10 polyoxyethylene (10) cetyl ether, hydroxyethytcellulose, hydrolysed animal protein, methyl parahydroxybenzoate, balsam fir canada, propyl parahydroxybenzoate. fragrance 06.070, propylene glycol, sunset yellow (E110). anhydrous citric acid and purified water.

The product licence holder and manufacturer is The Wellcome Foundation Limited, London NW1 2BP. The product authorisation holder is Wellcome Ireland Ltd, Dublin. The product is distributed by Warner Wellcome Consumer Healthcare, (in the UK) Lambert Court, Chestnut Avenue, Eastleigh, Hants S053 3ZG, (in Ireland) Pottery Road, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland.

Lyclear is intended for the treatment of head lice infections and, used as directed, a t 0 minute application of Lyclear Creme Rinse will kill both head lice and their eggs.

Lyclear Creme Rinse is suitable for most people but a few people should not use it. Ask yourself the following questions to check whether Lyclear Creme Rinse is suitable for you:

• Are you pregnant or breastfeeding?
• Are you allergic to pyrethroids, pyrethrins or to Lyclear Creme Rinse or any of the ingredients listed above?

If you answer yes to any of these questions, consult your Doctor or Pharmacist before taking this medicine.

Lyclear Creme Rinse may be used as normal in asthmatics, however contact your doctor or pharmacist before commencing treatment d you have any particular concerns.

Lyclear Creme Rinse is for external use only and is suitable for use in adults and children over 6 months of age. The use of Lyclear Creme Rinse in children below the age of 6 months should only be on the advice of a doctor.

One bottle of Lyclear Creme Rinse is usually sufficient to treat one person with shoulder length hair of average thickness, a little more may be required d the persons hair is especially thick or long. It is unlikely that more than two bottles will be required for any one course of treatment.

If one member of the family needs treatment, it is important to check the rest of the family and treat them if necessary.

Please follow these instructions carefully:

Neither Permethrin or Lyclear Creme Rinse should irritate the eyes, although care should be taken when applying. If accidental contact with the eyes does occur, rinse immediately with plenty of water. if Lyclear

Creme Rinse is accidentally swallowed by a child a doctor must be consulted immediately.

The active ingredient of Lyclear Creme Rinse (Permethrin) is unaffected by the chlorine in swimming pools, so normal swimming activities may continue after use. There is no reason to change your normal hair washing routines following treatment.

The effects of Lyclear Creme Rinse on artificial hair colourants and perms has not formally been studied Although complaints are extremely rare, it is good practice to try Lyclear Creme Rinse on a small proportion of hair lice (e.g. on the ends of some strands of hair) before applying it over the entire head and scalp.

In most cases (97-99%) a single treatment is sufficient to eliminate head lice. Lice may continue to move/twitch up to 24 hours after treatment but this is usually a sign of paralysis caused by Lyclear Creme Rinse and not a sign of treatment failure. Clinical work has shown that Lyclear Creme

Rinse may continue to have activity for up to 6 weeks following a single application.

Nursing staff who routinely use Lyclear Creme Rinse may wish to wear gloves to avoid any possible irritation to the hands.

Side-effects to Lyclear are infrequent, mild and short-lived and are generally similar to those often associated with an infection with head lice e.g. skin irritation/mild tingling or stinging. Consult your doctor of these symptoms persist or worsen, or if you have any other unusual effects, during or following the use of Lyclear Creme Rinse.

• Keep the medicine tightly closed in the original container Store below 25°C and keep away from direct heat and light
• Remember. as with all medicines, keep Lyclear Creme Rinse well away from children
• Do not use after the last day of the expiry date shown on the pack. Return any out-of-date medicine to your pharmacist

For further information please contact Warner Wellcome Consumer Healthcare, Lambert Court, Chestnut Avenue, Eastleigh, Hampshire, S053

3ZQ, or Pottery Road, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin, Ireland.

Revision date: August t 995

It is estimated that up to halt a million children catch head lice each year. Also, as with the common cold, anyone can catch head lice. So if someone in your family catches head lice, they are not alone, and it is certainly nothing to be ashamed about.

Head lice are small insects (their size can vary depending on the stage of their development, but adults are usually between 2-3 mm long when fully grown) which vary in colour from greyish white to brown. They like to set up home in a warm head of human hair and have no preference for the type of hair, be it brunette or blonde, straight or curly, head lice are not fussy. One preference they do show is contrary to common belief, they prefer clean hair to dirty hair.

There is only one way for head lice to pass from one individual to another and this is by head to head contact. Head lice cannot jump, hop or fly from one person to another, and it is also not possible for them to be passed on things like towels, combs and chair backs. A louse off the head will die very quickly.

Head lice spend most of their time on or near to the scalp as they need warmth to survive. They grip on to the hair by means of special claws and feed on the scalp by sucking up blood.

The female louse will lay up to 8 oval shaped eggs every night, gluing them to the base of individual hairs. After about seven days a young louse (nymph) emerges leaving behind it a white egg shell. These white egg shells remain glued to the hair and are known as nits. The nymph will begin feeding in the same way as the adult and within about ten days will be mature and capable of breeding

Due to their size, colour and rapid movement head lice are very difficult to see. The eggs (creamy brown) are a little bit easier to spot and will be found attached to individual hairs near to the scalp. In contrast the white nits can often be seen further from the scalp, this is because as the hair grows the nits (which are still glued to the hair shaft) move with it. The best way to find head lice and their eggs is to run a tine-toothed comb (the detection comb found in each pack of Lyclear Creme Rinse is ideal) through damp parted hair looking carefully for evidence of lice. Signs to look for include faeces, cast skins, or dead lice Louse faeces appears in black flecks like dust, often this is rubbed onto collars, or the pillow at night resulting in shirts and bed clothes becoming dirty more quickly than usual.

Steps that can be taken to reduce the possibility of an infection include:

1. Check children s hair on a regular basis for any signs of head lice. If evidence of an infection is found it is important to check the rest of the family and treat them if necessary.
2. Comb or brush hair frequently. Combing with an ordinary fine-toothed comb after washing the hair can assist prevention. as this may damage any lice present which will then die.
3. If a member of your family is found to have lice, please inform the local school, other parents, Health Visitor and School Nurse.