Pubic lice are most often spread by sexual contact with an infested person. Body lice can be found on clothing and they are not known to burrow into the skin. Diagnosis
The condition is diagnosed by finding live lice and unhatched eggs in the hair. Finding empty eggs is not enough. Dandruff, lint, sand,  hair casts, and dried hairspray, can be mistaken for eggs and nits. This is made easier by using a magnifying glass or running a comb through the childs wet hair, the latter of which is the most assured method of diagnosis and can be used to monitor treatment. In questionable cases, a child can be referred to a health professional. However, head lice infestation is commonly overdiagnosed, with extinct infestations being mistaken for active ones. Infestations are only considered extinct if nits are more than 0.25 inches away from the scalp and nymphs and adult lice are absent. As a result, lice-killing treatments are more often used on non-infested than infested children. The use of a louse comb is the most effective way to detect living lice. With both methods, special attention should be paid to the area near the ears and the nape of the neck. The use of a magnifying glass to examine the material collected between the teeth of the comb could prevent misdiagnosis.The presence of nits alone, however, is not an accurate indicator of an active head louse infestation. Generally, white nits are empty egg casings, while brown nits may still contain viable louse larva.
The letter said, in part, that the materials "are misleading in that they omit and/or minimize the most serious and important risk information associated with the use of Lindane Shampoo, particularly in pediatric patients; include a misleading dosing claim; and overstate the efficacy of Lindane Shampoo. "California banned the pharmaceutical lindane, effective 2002, and the Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill in 2009 to restrict its use to doctors offices. A recent analysis of the California ban concluded that a majority of pediatricians had not experienced problems treating lice or scabies since that ban took effect. The study also documented a marked decrease in lindane wastewater contamination and a dramatic decline in lindane poisoning incidents reported to poison control centers. The authors concluded, "The California experience suggests elimination of pharmaceutical lindane produced environmental benefits, was associated with a reduction in reported unintentional exposures and did not adversely affect head lice and scabies treatment. "The Persistent Organic Pollutants Review Committee of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants considers the use of lindane in agriculture as largely redundant, with other, less toxic and less persistent pesticides. In the case of pharmaceutical use, the committee noted, "alternatives for pharmaceutical uses have often failed for scabies and lice treatment and the number of available alternative products for this use is scarce. For this particular case, a reasonable alternative would be to use lindane as a second-line treatment when other treatments fail, while potential new treatments are assessed." Other uses
Pest repellent
Lindane is a bird repellent.