The condition is diagnosed by finding live lice in the hair. Finding empty eggs is not enough. This is made easier by using a magnifying glass or running a comb through the child's hair. In questionable cases, a child can be referred to a health professional. However, the condition is overdiagnosed, with extinct infestations being mistaken for active ones. As a result, lice-killing treatments are more often used on noninfested 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. One way of determining the nit is to squeeze it between two fingernails; it gives a characteristic snapping pop sound as the egg bursts. Children with nits on their hair have a 35–40% chance of also being infested with living lice and eggs. If lice are detected, the entire family needs to be checked (especially children up to the age of 13 years) with a louse comb, and only those who are infested with living lice should be treated. As long as no living lice are detected, the child should be considered negative for head louse infestation. Accordingly, a child should be treated with a pediculicide only when living lice are detected on their hair (not because he/she has louse eggs/nits on the hair and not because the scalp is itchy).

Body lice frequently lay their eggs on or near the seams of clothing. They must feed on blood and usually only move to the skin to feed. They exist worldwide and infest people of all races and can therefore spread rapidly under crowded living conditions where hygiene is poor (homeless, refugees, victims of war or natural disasters).

The number of diagnosed cases of human louse infestations (or pediculosis) has increased worldwide since the mid-1960s, reaching hundreds of millions annually. There is no product or method which assures 100% destruction of the eggs and hatched lice after a single treatment. However, there are a number of treatment methods that can be employed with varying degrees of success. These methods include chemical treatments, natural products, combs, shaving, hot air, silicone-based lotions, and ethanol (ethyl alcohol).

The pharmacological treatment of pediculosis include the use of crotamiton applied twice at 24 hour interval and washed off day after that. Benzyl benzoate also can be used when combined with lindane, it is applied once and then washed off after 24 hours.

Examination of the child's head at regular intervals using a louse comb allows the diagnosis of louse infestation at an early stage. Early diagnosis makes treatment easier and reduces the possibility of infesting others. In times and areas when louse infestations are common, weekly examinations of children, especially those 4–15 years old, carried out by their parents, will aid control. Additional examinations are necessary if the child came in contact with infested individuals, if the child frequently scratches his/her head, or if nits suddenly appear on the child's hair. Keeping long hair tidy could be helpful in the prevention of infestations with head lice.

Clothes, towels, bedding, combs, and brushes, which came in contact with the infested individual, can be disinfected either by leaving them outside for at least two days or by washing them at 60 °C (140 degrees F) for 30 minutes. This is because adult lice can survive only one to two days without a blood meal and are highly dependent on human body warmth. An insecticidal treatment of the house and furniture is not necessary.

A body lice infestation is treated by improving the personal hygiene of the infested person, including assuring a regular (at least weekly) change of clean clothes. Clothing, bedding, and towels used by the infested person should be laundered using hot water (at least ) and machine dried using the hot cycle.

Sometimes the infested person also is treated with a pediculicide (a medicine that can kill lice); however, a pediculicide generally is not necessary if hygiene is maintained and items are laundered appropriately at least once a week. A pediculicide should be applied exactly as directed on the bottle or by a physician.

Delousing can also be practically achieved by boiling all clothes and bedding, or washing them at a high temperature. A temperature of for 5 minutes will kill most of the adults and prevent eggs from hatching. Leaving the clothes unwashed, but unworn for a full week, also results in the death of lice and eggs.

Where this is not practical or possible, powder dusting with 10% DDT, 1% malathion or 1% permethrin is also effective.

Oral ivermectin at a dose of 12 mg on days 0, 7 and 14 has been used in a small trial of 33 people in Marseilles, but did not result in complete eradication, although there was a significant fall in the number of parasites and proportion of people infected. At the moment, ivermectin cannot be routinely recommended for the treatment of body lice.

Medication, insecticide or burning of clothing and bedding is usually not necessary, as the problem normally goes away with daily bathing, weekly (or more frequent) laundering and drying of clothing, bedding, towels, etc. in a hot clothes drier.

Cattle infested with bovine pediculosis are generally treated chemically, by drugs like ivermectin and cypermethrin.

At the start of each wrestling meet, trained referees examine the skin of all wrestlers before any participation. During this examination, male wrestlers are to wear shorts; female wrestlers are only permitted to wear shorts and a sports bra. Open wounds and infectious skin conditions that cannot be adequately protected are considered grounds for disqualification from both practice and competition. This essentially means that the skin condition has been deemed as non-infectious and adequately medicated, covered with a tight wrapping and proper ointment. In addition, the wrestler must have developed no new lesions in the 72 hours before the examination. Wrestlers who are undergoing treatment for a communicable skin disease at the time of the meet or tournament shall provide written documentation to that effect from a physician. This documentation should include the wrestler’s diagnosis, culture results (if possible), date and time therapy began, and the exact names of medication for treatment. These measures aren’t always successful, and the infection is sometimes spread regardless.

Specific helminths can be identified through microscopic examination of their eggs (ova) found in faecal samples. The number of eggs is measured in units of eggs per gram. However, it does not quantify mixed infections, and in practice, is inaccurate for quantifying the eggs of schistosomes and soil-transmitted helmiths. Sophisticated tests such as serological assays, antigen tests, and molecular diagnosis are also available; however, they are time-consuming, expensive and not always reliable.

For basic diagnosis, specific helminths can be generally identified from the faeces, and their eggs microscopically examined and enumerated using fecal egg count method. However, there are certain limitations such as the inability to identify mixed infections, and on clinical practice, the technique is inaccurate and unreliable.

A novel effective method for egg analysis is the Kato-Katz technique. It is a highly accurate and rapid method for "A. lumbricoides" and "T. trichiura"; however not so much for hookworm, which could be due to fast degeneration of the rather delicate hookworm eggs.

According to the NCAA Wrestling Rules and Interpretations, used by all high schools in the United States: "Infection control measures, or measures that seek to prevent the spread of disease, should be utilized to reduce the risks of disease transmission. Efforts should be made to improve wrestler hygiene practices, to utilize recommended procedures for cleaning and disinfection of surfaces, and to handle blood and other bodily fluids appropriately. Suggested measures include: promotion of hand hygiene practices; educating athletes not to pick, squeeze, or scratch skin lesions; encouraging athletes to shower after activity; educating athletes not to share protective gear, towels, razors or water bottles; ensuring recommended procedures for cleaning and disinfection of wrestling mats, all athletic equipment, locker rooms, and whirlpool tubs are closely followed; and verifying clean up of blood and other potentially infectious materials." More ways of prevention include wearing long sleeve shirts and sweatpants to limit

the amount of skin to skin contact. A wrestler should also not share their

equipment with other teammates and should regularly check their skin for any lesions or other signs of outbreaks. Body wipes are also common to see Coaches must also enforce the disinfecting and sanitary cleansing of the wrestling mats and other practice areas. This can greatly limit the spread of skin infections that can infect an individual indirectly.

One high school wrestling coach from Southern California described his methods of prevention using three simple procedures. “Keep the mats [clean]…you’ve got to bleach and mop them every day before practice. Along the same lines, gear should also be washed regularly, especially headgear…Most importantly, the wrestlers need to shower immediately after practices. If one kid doesn’t, and he gets [infected], it can spread to everyone else on the team within a week. I’ve had it happen before, to the point where some schools won’t allow any of our guys to wrestle in a meet. When this happens, it’s a huge blow to the school’s record and reputation. In the future, we are less likely to be invited to exclusive tournaments in the coming year.”

Infection can be prevented by immersing vegetables in boiling water for a few seconds to kill the infective metacercariae, avoiding the use of untreated feces ("nightsoil") as a fertilizer, and maintenance of proper sanitation and good hygiene. Additionally, snail control should be attempted.

As "Bartonella" spp. infect at low levels and cycle between blood and tissues, multiple blood draws over time may be necessary to detect infection.

Prevention and control measures to prevent soil-transmitted helminthiasis are the following: availability of clean water for personal and domestic uses, improved access to sanitation which includes the use of properly functioning and clean toilets by all community members, education on personal hygiene such as hand washing and hygienic and safe food preparation; eliminating the use of untreated human faeces as fertilizer.

"Bartonella" growth rates improve when cultured in an enrichment inoculation step in a liquid insect-based medium such as "Bartonella" α-Proteobacteria Growth Medium (BAPGM) or Schneider’s Drosophila-based insect powder medium. Several studies have optimized the growing conditions of "Bartonella" spp. cultures in these liquid media, with no change in bacterial protein expressions or host interactions "in vitro". Insect-based liquid media supports the growth and co-culturing of at least seven "Bartonella" species, reduces bacterial culturing time and facilitates PCR detection and isolation of "Bartonella" spp. from animal and patient samples. Research shows that DNA may be detected following direct extraction from blood samples and become negative following enrichment culture, thus PCR is recommended after direct sample extraction and also following incubation in enrichment culture. Several studies have successfully optimized sensitivity and specificity by using PCR amplification (pre-enrichment PCR) and enrichment culturing of blood draw samples, followed by PCR (post-enrichment PCR) and DNA sequence identification.

Keeping the skin clean and dry, as well as maintaining good hygiene, will help larger topical mycoses. Because fungal infections are contagious, it is important to wash after touching other people or animals. Sports clothing should also be washed after use.

Praziquantel is the drug of choice for treatment. Treatment is effective in early or light infections. Heavy infections are more difficult to treat. Studies of the effectiveness of various drugs for treatment of children with "F. buski" have shown tetrachloroethylene as capable of reducing faecal egg counts by up to 99%. Other anthelmintics that can be used include thiabendazole, mebendazole, levamisole and pyrantel pamoate. Oxyclozanide, hexachlorophene and nitroxynil are also highly effective.

In regions where helminthiasis is common, mass deworming treatments may be performed, particularly among school-age children, who are a high-risk group. Most of these initiatives are undertaken by the World Health Organization (WHO) with positive outcomes in many regions. Deworming programs can improve school attendance by 25 percent. Although deworming improves the health of an individual, outcomes from mass deworming campaigns, such as reduced deaths or increases in cognitive ability, nutritional benefits, physical growth, and performance, are uncertain or not apparent.

Systemic mycoses due to opportunistic pathogens are infections of patients with immune deficiencies who would otherwise not be infected. Examples of immunocompromised conditions include AIDS, alteration of normal flora by antibiotics, immunosuppressive therapy, and metastatic cancer. Examples of opportunistic mycoses include Candidiasis, Cryptococcosis and Aspergillosis.

Disease cures are almost always more expensive and less effective than simple prevention measures. Often precautions involve maintaining a stable aquarium that is adjusted for the specific species of fish that are kept and not over-crowding a tank or over-feeding the fish. Common preventive strategies include avoiding the introduction of infected fish, invertebrates or plants by quarantining new additions before adding them to an established tank, and discarding water from external sources rather than mixing it with clean water. Similarly, foods for herbivorous fish such as lettuce or cucumbers should be washed before being placed in the tank. Containers that do not have water filters or pumps to circulate water can also increase stress to fish. Other stresses on fish and tanks can include certain chemicals, soaps and detergents, and impacts to tank walls causing shock waves that can damage fish.

In some cases the causes of an infection or disease will be obvious (such as fin rot), though in other cases it may be due to water conditions, requiring special testing equipment and chemicals to appropriately adjust the water. Isolating diseased fish can help prevent the spread of infection to healthy fish in the tank. This also allows the use of chemicals or drugs which may damage the nitrogen cycle, plants or chemical filtration of a properly-functioning tank. Other alternatives include short baths in a bucket that contains the treated water. Salt baths can be used as an antiseptic and fungicide, and will not damage beneficial bacteria, though ordinary table salt may contain additives which can harm fish. Alternatives include aquarium salt, Kosher salt or rock salt. Gradually raising the temperature of the tank may kill certain parasites, though some diseased fish may be harmed and certain species can not tolerate high temperatures. Aeration is necessary since less oxygen is dissolved in warm water.

There are a number of effective treatments for many stains of bacterial infections. Three of the most common are tetracycline, penicillin and naladixic acid. Salt baths are another effective treatment.

When physical examination of the newborn shows signs of a vertically transmitted infection, the examiner may test blood, urine, and spinal fluid for evidence of the infections listed above. Diagnosis can be confirmed by culture of one of the specific pathogens or by increased levels of IgM against the pathogen.

Exothrix refers to Dermatophyte infections of the hair that infect the hair surface. This is in contrast to Endothrix, where a Dermatophyte mainly invades the hair shaft. Using an ultraviolet Wood's lamp, endothrix infections will not fluoresce whereas exothrix infections will.

Each type of vertically transmitted infection has a different prognosis. The stage of the pregnancy at the time of infection also can change the effect on the newborn.

Zygomycosis is the broadest term to refer to infections caused by "bread mold fungi" of the zygomycota phylum. However, because zygomycota has been identified as polyphyletic, and is not included in modern fungal classification systems, the diseases that zygomycosis can refer to are better called by their specific names: mucormycosis (after Mucorales), phycomycosis (after Phycomycetes) and basidiobolomycosis (after Basidiobolus). These rare yet serious and potentially life-threatening fungal infections usually affect the face or oropharyngeal (nose and mouth) cavity. Zygomycosis type infections are most often caused by common fungi found in soil and decaying vegetation. While most individuals are exposed to the fungi on a regular basis, those with immune disorders (immunocompromised) are more prone to fungal infection. These types of infections are also common after natural disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes, where people have open wounds that have become filled with soil or vegetative matter.

The condition may affect the gastrointestinal tract or the skin. In non-trauma cases, it usually begins in the nose and paranasal sinuses and is one of the most rapidly spreading fungal infections in humans. Common symptoms include thrombosis and tissue necrosis. Treatment consists of prompt and intensive antifungal drug therapy and surgery to remove the infected tissue. The prognosis varies vastly depending upon an individual patient's circumstances.

The 2007 guideline “Official American Thoracic Society (ATS) and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) statement: diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of non-tuberculosis mycobacterial diseases”, notes that M. fortuitum isolates are usually susceptible to multiple oral antimicrobial agents, including the macrolides and quinolones, doxycycline and minocycline, and sulfonamides. Isolates of this mycobacterium are susceptible to the beta-lactam antibiotics, belonging to the carbopenam subgroup, such as Imipenem. Imipenem is a broad spectrum antibiotic produced by the bacteria Streptomyces cattleya. Ondansetron HCL (Zofran) is an antiemetic often given to offset the nausea and vomiting that are a common side effect of Imipenem. Severe infections require IV treatment combined with oral antibiotics for a prolonged period, up to several months. The guideline recommends “for serious skin, bone, and soft tissue M fortuitum disease, a minimum of 4 months of therapy with at least two agents with in vitro activity against the clinical isolate is necessary to provide a high likelihood of cure. Surgery is generally indicated with extensive disease, abscess formation, or where drug therapy is difficult.”