Whenever you talk to any customer, remember WWHAM:

Who is it for?

The whole family might need treatment. You should find out the ages of any children.   

What are the symptoms?

Customers with head lice don’t normally have symptoms, but you need to find out if nits or lice have been found. Remember, treatments should only be used by people with live head lice.   

How long have the symptoms been present?

Customers can easily be re-infected, so it is important to establish the source of the head lice. 

Action already taken?

Find out whether the customer has already tried a product that hasn’t helped. This will help you to establish whether there is resistance to the product they used, if they didn’t apply it correctly, or if they have simply been re-infected. 

Medication?

It is important to refer customers who are taking any other medicines or who have an established medical condition.

You don’t have to ask these questions in order, and a customer might give you some of this information without you asking. As long as you get them into the conversation, you should be able to find out the information you need in order to make a recommendation. The golden rule to remember is: if in doubt, refer to the pharmacist. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for their advice as they have a lot of information about products and symptoms to hand that you may not be aware of.