Home Remedy For Head Lice
How to Treat Head Lice
The easiest home remedy for head lice, getting rid of lice and the symptoms of head lice treatment.
Getting lice is one of the most unfortunate, frustrating experiences a person can have. It seems that even with the best of precautions, most children end up bringing home lice at some point in their lives.
Derek Gavey
As an adult, getting lice can be even more frustrating and disturbing, and sometimes even harder to get rid of. Luckily, lice are more of an annoyance than a danger, as lice do not spread diseases. Still, the sooner action is taken, the easier the problem will be to resolve.
Many people are rightfully afraid of putting harsh chemicals on their heads to get rid of lice. Natural home remedies for lice abound, but some can seem more like superstitions than cures. For instance, putting gasoline on one’s hair is clearly not a good idea.
Does Mayonnaise Treat Head Lice?
Leaving mayonnaise on hair overnight might work, but it’s likely to be very unpleasant and may lead to salmonella, particularly if used on a child who might be more likely to ingest it. A good home remedy for head lice gets rid of all the stages of lice in one fell swoop without endangering humans or pets.
Lice live in three stages. Their eggs, called nits, are the most difficult to get rid of. The living adults and nymphs can usually be removed by vigorous hair washing and sometimes leave-on remedies, but the eggs stay glued to the roots of the hair and can survive many chemicals.
While lice can’t live without blood for more than two days, it’s also important to get rid of any that may have gotten on clothes, toys, or other household items. Making sure the household is lice-free is just as important as making sure they’re off the head.
Some treatments, such as a Listerine or alcohol wash for the hair, are meant to be left on the head for multiple hours. While some people recommend leaving tea tree oil on the hair overnight, this can be dangerous, so it is important to follow the directions on the bottle for this product.
Olive Oil Lice Treatment
Other products used this way include eggs, peanut butter, vinegar, castor oil, olive oil and pine oil. All of these home remedies work by massaging the product into the scalp, brushing or smoothing it through the hair, and then sticking all the hair under a shower cap for the night. In the morning, the product is washed out and a nit comb is used to get rid of any remaining bugs. Vegetable oil is often the best home remedy for head lice.
Beth Rankin
On a side note, almost anyone who has ever used a nit comb will tell you to spring for the slightly more expensive metal comb rather than the plastic one, because metal combs work significantly better than their plastic counterparts. The comb may be kept for years, and investing in the metal comb may reduce frustration from egg removal.
Some people claim that leaving Vaseline on the hair overnight gets rid of all the stages of lice, and this may be a very successful treatment. It should definitely be combined with a detailed nit combing to ensure that all the eggs and lice are gone. This is one of the most highly recommended treatments out there with a very high anecdotal success rate.
Unfortunately, as anyone who has ever gotten a spot of Vaseline in their hair knows, this product can be very difficult to remove completely. One recommended way to get Vaseline out of hair after this thorough lice treatment is to blow dry the hair to liquefy the Vaseline, then wipe and squeeze it away with paper towels.
How to Treat Head Lice Permanently
After most of it is out, shampoo the hair as normal and it should all be gone. This is an especially good way to get it out, as the heat from the blow dryer may kill off any lingering lice.
While all these remedies work to get rid of lice, they don’t necessarily work to keep them from coming back. The only way to avoid getting lice again is to prevent contact with the lice. This means keeping hair pulled back, not sharing brushes or hats, and keeping the head away from communal furniture where other people rest their heads. Prevention is the best home remedy for head lice, and may help keep them out of your hair for good!
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