Head Lice Treatment
Ever dealt with head lice? It’s not an unusual problem in schools. I remember when my daughter was sent home with lice, along with half her class. The nurse gave us a fact sheet of instructions for treating the problem.
As directed, our entire family scrubbed our heads with a product containing lindane, a pesticide closely related to DDT. I spent the better part of three days combing nits (louse eggs, which adhere tightly to the hair shaft) from my daughter’s long hair, because of the school’s “no-nit” policy before allowing a child to return to school.
It was mid-January, and because we didn’t have a clothes dryer to run everything through on the “hottest possible setting,” I bagged up my daughter’s stuffed animals, hats, bedding, towels, and pillows, tossed them into a snowbank, and left them out for several days, calculating that the sub-zero nights would do in the adult lice, the nymphs, and the eggs.
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It all worked out.
Basic Facts About Head Lice (Pediculus humanus capitis)
- Lice are blood-sucking insects that inject saliva containing an anticoagulant to keep the blood from clotting while they feed. They complete their life cycle in about 30 days. The tan or gray adults grow to about â…› inch long, the size of a sesame seed.
- They can’t jump, hop, fly, or even walk very well on a flat surface.
- Lice spread from person to person by direct head-to-head contact. Because they play or sit close together, children are more likely to pick up lice. Rarely, adult lice may spread from an infected person’s comb, brush, hat, or pillow.
- They don’t cause diseases.
- It can take weeks for a louse infestation to show any symptoms; some people never do.
- “Getting” lice has nothing to do with poor personal hygiene or household cleanliness. Lice affects all socioeconomic groups.
- Dogs, cats, or other animals play no role in spreading head lice. Although some species of lice may infest companion or farm animals, these species don’t infect humans.
- Head lice, body lice, and pubic lice are three different species; pubic lice generally attach to pubic hairs and spread through direct sexual contact.
Lice Treatment
Don’t treat lice without a clear diagnosis from a knowledgeable health professional. An itchy scalp and debris in the hair may have another cause. Pregnant or nursing women should consult their doctors before using any pediculicide (louse-killing product).
Treat the person, not the surroundings. Spraying rugs, floors, walls, beds, furniture, and other household items won’t help control lice, and could cause harm.
Pediatricians no longer recommend lindane as a pediculicide. They also no longer recommend keeping healthy children out of school if they have lice or nits.
The Centers for Disease Control recommends using an over-the-counter, FDA-approved pediculicide as a first-line treatment. Follow package directions explicitly; follow up with your doctor if the treatment fails and you continue to find live lice.
Because the primary OTC/FDA-approved approved shampoos and lotions are insecticides (considered safe), lice in some areas may have developed resistance to one or another of them. Local doctors, nurses, and school officials should have this information.
Stubborn cases may require a prescription from a physician.
Ongoing research seeking natural, alternative products that kill lice and their eggs has shown some promising early results. However, public health experts warn that the products haven’t had adequate testing for both safety and effectiveness, so they should not be used to treat infants and children.
Folks who prefer not to use a standard pesticidal treatment can try the effective “wet-combing” (also called “manual removal”) method—running a fine-toothed comb through wet, well-conditioned hair.
A 2015 clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics had a section on manual removal that contains this nugget of wisdom, which gave me quite a chuckle. A novel definition of quality time with your young child.
There is an obvious benefit of the manual removal process that can allow a parent and child to have some close, extended time together while safely removing infestations and residual debris without using potentially toxic chemicals on the child or in the environment.
May you never have a louse-y day again!
Have dry, itchy scalp or skin? See our natural remedies for dry hair and skin.
Margaret Boyles
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Several years ago I got lice from one of my children's neighborhood friends. My hair is very long (hip length), and I had no intention of cutting it. There's no way I could even think about getting a nit comb through it, either, so the first thing I did was thoroughly rinse my hair with apple cider vinegar (which happens to be good for hair, but not for lice). After that, I liberally applied olive oil all over my hair/scalp and wrapped a towel around my hair/head (this treatment helps suffocate lice). I kept the towel on my head for a good hour. Afterward, I washed my hair enough times to get the oil out and then used a blow dryer to dry my hair. I read an article by an entomologist about killing lice, because he accidentally did it during one of his studies (he moved to a drier climate, and the dryness killed his lice). If you dehydrate the lice, which happens when using a blow dryer, they die. It also dehydrates their eggs (so they don't hatch) and renders any surviving lice sterile. You only have to blow dry your hair on the hottest setting you can stand for as long as you can stand (be sure to get as close to your scalp as you can, too). I only had to do this for 2-3 days and never again after that. In the meantime, I made sure to cover cloth furniture with plastic and sprinkle the carpet with baking soda (it dehydrates).
Over-the-counter products no longer work because the lice have grown resistant to those products. If you want to get rid of them in one 10 minute application with no nit combing, ask your doctor to prescribe Spinosad. It kills the live lice and the nits. It’s also very safe.
Every year, my neighbor (a elementary school teacher) shaves every head in her family of four!
She's tired of lice. It was stunning at first. This year they used colored dyes or Koolaid to add some fun. Or she'll have the barber shave fun designs or words. She wears scarves and bands and big earrings when going to work. The 2 kiddos never struggle to have friends either. Not for everyone but just an idea...
When my sons got lice, I was told to use the shampoo, then use the comb for a manual removal and then blow dry their hair because the heat would help kill rid of any residual eggs.
I have tried all OTC products,olive oil,tea tree oil,mayonnaise,petroeum jelly,lemon juice,household lice spray,a 300 dollar prescription and have suffered for 12 months.I keep plastic wrap on my head constanty and no longer see friends or pursue normal activities. Im thinking of shaving my head. Im a 60 y.o. female who doesnt even feel like a woman anymore. Can anyone suggest anything to help me???
I would like to send you my invention if you are still suffering from the lice? Maybe Margaret can give you my email adres, so you can send me your adres. Good luck! Nicolette
Head lice are tiny wingless insects that cannot jump or fly. They survive on the human head by sucking blood from the scalp. Lice are not dangerous, do not carry diseases and are not a sign of poor hygiene. During their life cycle, they also lay eggs in your hair. These eggs are called nits. Head lice are common in overcrowded places, especially in the schools.
My mother, who taught 2nd grade from 1949 thru 1956 (quitting only to raise 4 children of her own) told me, once, that it was normal, back in her teaching days, to utilize actual DDT powder, to kill head lice.
Mind you, this was long before it was banned for use, in the USA.
My friend actually used coal oil on her kids heada as that is what she heard was done yrs ago.. except she left on to long and burned their scalps.. poor kids
Yes I have always used the treatments when my kids had it always getting it at school I use to get so mad over that too people need to keep there kids at home when they have head love no go ahead and send them to school I had too clean everything pillows and blankets sheets clothes towels the entire home the best I had found when be the Nix it always worked. I know someone who used dog shampoo to get rid of it also RID that's no count.
