How to Get Rid of Head Lice
Head lice are a common problem among school going children. Seeing your child scratching head often is not a healthy sign. Parents panic a lot when they find their kids bothered by head lice. Most of the children get head lice at some or the other point of time. Head lice are also a problem for many adults. But how do you get these head lice?
What causes Head Lice?
If you think having head lice means you have dirty hair, it’s not true. Lice doesn’t see if your head is clean or dirty, they just need human blood to survive and they get this from any head- clean or dirty!
Head-to-head contact causes lice. This allows the lice to crawl from the head where they already are to the head that comes in its contact. Usually, children have head to head contact in different environments, for instance, in the school, while playing outdoors with friends, at friends’ home, tuition centre, etc. Mostly, children aged 4 to 13 years are affected by head lice.
Head lice doesn’t cause any disease but lead to extreme itchiness of scalp. Too much itchiness sometimes causes infection of the scalp.
Head lice can create a lot of other troubles, physically and emotionally. As soon as you notice the moving lice or nits in the hair, you should take appropriate steps to remove it immediately. If you wish to get rid of head lice, remember that it is a long term process. It is impossible to get rid of head lice overnight, though, you can find a certain degree of relief from head lice after trying a remedy for even the first time.
Facts about Head Lice and Lice infestation
On what and how long do head lice survive?
They survive on human blood. Without human blood they don’t survive. Even if they fall off the hair, they will find the hair and try to stick to it. However, they don’t survive for more than 2 days without blood.
Head lice is not a disease but lead to discomfort
Head lice are neither a disease nor cause any disease. Head lice can make you feel too itchy, embarrassed and uncomfortable. It creates a lot of discomfort and disturbs you a lot due to itchiness of scalp.
Head lice make the scalp itchy, dry and prone to wounds
Constant scraping and scratching makes the scalp very dry and itchy. This damages the scalp and leads to wounds, flaky scalp, etc. If not treated, this may also cause scalp infection.
Head lice infests even the clean hair
Having head lice doesn’t mean you are dirty. Neither your hygiene is compromised nor is your environment dirty. Head lice may develop even in the cleanest environment. Lice don’t care whether your hair is dirty or clean. So, don’t feel bad about yourself when you notice lice on your kid’s hair!
Head lice and nits
Even though you can eliminate the matured ones, it takes a lot of time to get rid of nits. Matured head lice and baby lice can be removed effectively in a few weeks. However, it is very difficult to get rid of the nits as they get struck to the hair and hair roots.
Head lice have high re-infestation rate
Head lice infest at a rapid pace. It is somewhat difficult to control the infestation quickly. If they fall off the head, they immediately rush for another head or hair for survival. Apart from this, without removing the nits, you cannot totally get rid of the head lice. If you don’t remove the nits, the nits hatch into baby eggs, grow, and breed on hair. It is a cyclic process and unless you kill and remove all the nits, you cannot completely get rid of head lice.
Using Anti-lice Products for Head Lice
When it comes to treating head lice, many people opt for anti-lice haircare products to get rid of the lice quickly. Some of these anti-lice products include,
Medicated anti-lice shampoos
Medicated anti-lice oils
Medicated lotions and cream rinses (cream rinses are not suitable for younger children)
Hair sprays
These products come handy to remove head lice. You can buy any lotion or spray recommended by the local pharmacist. Remember, you can use a lotion or spray only when you find the living louse. Otherwise, the sprays or medicated oils aren’t really needed. They are not much effective for nits removal.
However, to make it more effective you should use the product precisely, as instructed.
Use the product once a week or once in 10 days. Since it may contain chemical based ingredients or toxins, you can try it sparingly and on a holiday so that it doesn’t affect other kids negatively.
After applying the cream or lotion, tie the hair and wrap in a towel. It prevents lice from falling off and finding a new shelter.
It is recommended to stay away and remain idle until all the lice die and fall off into the wrapped towel. This is strongly recommended in case of severe lice infestation. This might take a few hours. Therefore, it is good to use such anti-lice products at night so that the dead lice may get collected into the wrapped towel and you may clean your child properly in the morning.
If you or your child doesn’t have nits on hair, you can remove the lice easily in two or three applications of such anti-lice shampoos, oils or other products.
Keep a watch and check for nits or any living lice after every 3 to 5 days. If there are nits or tiny lice, they may hatch and grow. So, using the OTC lotions may not be helpful to prevent the lice infestation.
General precautions when using OTC anti-lice products for hair
Some general precautions for using the over-the-counter products to remove head lice include the following
Follow all the instructions provided in the product leaflet, namely, quantity of the lotion, procedure to apply, how long you can stay with the product applied on the head, frequency of usage, etc.
Close the eyes (or if you are applying on your kid, let the child close the eyes) while applying such anti-lice treatments. You can also place a cloth over the eyes as an additional precaution to prevent the shampoo or lotion from entering into the eyes.
Make sure to wash or clean your hands properly with a disinfectant after applying anti-lice products to your hair or after removing the nits with hands.
Most of the head lice topical lotions carry an unpleasant smell. Your hair may retain the odor even after washing. So, you can wash the hair with regular shampoo or conditioner the next day, following the head lice treatment. Washing your hair with regular shampoo may not let the anti lice product work effectively.
Don’t use any topical application to remove head lice in case of,
Babies under the age of 2 years
Pregnant women
People with skin infection, allergy and asthma.
If you aren’t sure about using any head lice product, consult with a dermatologist and get the prescription. In fact, you may think of using home remedies to get rid of head lice as these products are not very effective in dealing with lice and nits.
Why the OTC anti-lice products aren’t really effective to get rid of head lice?
Most of the over the counter medicines as well as prescription hair care products doesn’t work effectively to remove head lice completely. These anti-lice shampoos as well as medicated oils meant for lice treatment give a symptomatic relief only. They can only kill the live lice and cannot damage the nits that become a menace. Although you can get rid of head lice by regularly using the OTC shampoo or prescription product, it is not a permanent solution to get rid of head lice. They cannot prevent the recurrence of lice. These solutions chemically react on the lice, which cannot prevent their infestation too.
In addition, these medicines contain toxic elements and chemicals that may harm your child. It can cause allergic reaction on your scalp and skin. Using the medicines also make the hair extremely dry and prone to infection of scalp.
However, you can try the OTC products to get rid of head lice initially when it is not that severe an issue. You can proceed with home remedies or natural solutions to get rid of head lice when and if you see one or two application of these products are not giving you the desired result of complete recovery. You may, in fact, use home remedies in the very beginning and forgo these chemical products altogether, especially in case of small kids.
The best way to get rid of head lice is using the home treatments and natural remedies.
Head lice are a common problem among school going children. Seeing your child scratching head often is not a healthy sign. Parents panic a lot when they find their kids bothered by head lice. Most of the children get head lice at some or the other point of time. Head lice are also a problem for many adults. But how do you get these head lice?
What causes Head Lice?
If you think having head lice means you have dirty hair, it’s not true. Lice doesn’t see if your head is clean or dirty, they just need human blood to survive and they get this from any head- clean or dirty!
Head-to-head contact causes lice. This allows the lice to crawl from the head where they already are to the head that comes in its contact. Usually, children have head to head contact in different environments, for instance, in the school, while playing outdoors with friends, at friends’ home, tuition centre, etc. Mostly, children aged 4 to 13 years are affected by head lice.
Head lice doesn’t cause any disease but lead to extreme itchiness of scalp. Too much itchiness sometimes causes infection of the scalp.
Head lice can create a lot of other troubles, physically and emotionally. As soon as you notice the moving lice or nits in the hair, you should take appropriate steps to remove it immediately. If you wish to get rid of head lice, remember that it is a long term process. It is impossible to get rid of head lice overnight, though, you can find a certain degree of relief from head lice after trying a remedy for even the first time.
Facts about Head Lice and Lice infestation
On what and how long do head lice survive?
They survive on human blood. Without human blood they don’t survive. Even if they fall off the hair, they will find the hair and try to stick to it. However, they don’t survive for more than 2 days without blood.
Head lice is not a disease but lead to discomfort
Head lice are neither a disease nor cause any disease. Head lice can make you feel too itchy, embarrassed and uncomfortable. It creates a lot of discomfort and disturbs you a lot due to itchiness of scalp.
Head lice make the scalp itchy, dry and prone to wounds
Constant scraping and scratching makes the scalp very dry and itchy. This damages the scalp and leads to wounds, flaky scalp, etc. If not treated, this may also cause scalp infection.
Head lice infests even the clean hair
Having head lice doesn’t mean you are dirty. Neither your hygiene is compromised nor is your environment dirty. Head lice may develop even in the cleanest environment. Lice don’t care whether your hair is dirty or clean. So, don’t feel bad about yourself when you notice lice on your kid’s hair!
Head lice and nits
Even though you can eliminate the matured ones, it takes a lot of time to get rid of nits. Matured head lice and baby lice can be removed effectively in a few weeks. However, it is very difficult to get rid of the nits as they get struck to the hair and hair roots.
Head lice have high re-infestation rate
Head lice infest at a rapid pace. It is somewhat difficult to control the infestation quickly. If they fall off the head, they immediately rush for another head or hair for survival. Apart from this, without removing the nits, you cannot totally get rid of the head lice. If you don’t remove the nits, the nits hatch into baby eggs, grow, and breed on hair. It is a cyclic process and unless you kill and remove all the nits, you cannot completely get rid of head lice.
Using Anti-lice Products for Head Lice
When it comes to treating head lice, many people opt for anti-lice haircare products to get rid of the lice quickly. Some of these anti-lice products include,
Medicated anti-lice shampoos
Medicated anti-lice oils
Medicated lotions and cream rinses (cream rinses are not suitable for younger children)
Hair sprays
These products come handy to remove head lice. You can buy any lotion or spray recommended by the local pharmacist. Remember, you can use a lotion or spray only when you find the living louse. Otherwise, the sprays or medicated oils aren’t really needed. They are not much effective for nits removal.
However, to make it more effective you should use the product precisely, as instructed.
Use the product once a week or once in 10 days. Since it may contain chemical based ingredients or toxins, you can try it sparingly and on a holiday so that it doesn’t affect other kids negatively.
After applying the cream or lotion, tie the hair and wrap in a towel. It prevents lice from falling off and finding a new shelter.
It is recommended to stay away and remain idle until all the lice die and fall off into the wrapped towel. This is strongly recommended in case of severe lice infestation. This might take a few hours. Therefore, it is good to use such anti-lice products at night so that the dead lice may get collected into the wrapped towel and you may clean your child properly in the morning.
If you or your child doesn’t have nits on hair, you can remove the lice easily in two or three applications of such anti-lice shampoos, oils or other products.
Keep a watch and check for nits or any living lice after every 3 to 5 days. If there are nits or tiny lice, they may hatch and grow. So, using the OTC lotions may not be helpful to prevent the lice infestation.
General precautions when using OTC anti-lice products for hair
Some general precautions for using the over-the-counter products to remove head lice include the following
Follow all the instructions provided in the product leaflet, namely, quantity of the lotion, procedure to apply, how long you can stay with the product applied on the head, frequency of usage, etc.
Close the eyes (or if you are applying on your kid, let the child close the eyes) while applying such anti-lice treatments. You can also place a cloth over the eyes as an additional precaution to prevent the shampoo or lotion from entering into the eyes.
Make sure to wash or clean your hands properly with a disinfectant after applying anti-lice products to your hair or after removing the nits with hands.
Most of the head lice topical lotions carry an unpleasant smell. Your hair may retain the odor even after washing. So, you can wash the hair with regular shampoo or conditioner the next day, following the head lice treatment. Washing your hair with regular shampoo may not let the anti lice product work effectively.
Don’t use any topical application to remove head lice in case of,
Babies under the age of 2 years
Pregnant women
People with skin infection, allergy and asthma.
If you aren’t sure about using any head lice product, consult with a dermatologist and get the prescription. In fact, you may think of using home remedies to get rid of head lice as these products are not very effective in dealing with lice and nits.
Why the OTC anti-lice products aren’t really effective to get rid of head lice?
Most of the over the counter medicines as well as prescription hair care products doesn’t work effectively to remove head lice completely. These anti-lice shampoos as well as medicated oils meant for lice treatment give a symptomatic relief only. They can only kill the live lice and cannot damage the nits that become a menace. Although you can get rid of head lice by regularly using the OTC shampoo or prescription product, it is not a permanent solution to get rid of head lice. They cannot prevent the recurrence of lice. These solutions chemically react on the lice, which cannot prevent their infestation too.
In addition, these medicines contain toxic elements and chemicals that may harm your child. It can cause allergic reaction on your scalp and skin. Using the medicines also make the hair extremely dry and prone to infection of scalp.
However, you can try the OTC products to get rid of head lice initially when it is not that severe an issue. You can proceed with home remedies or natural solutions to get rid of head lice when and if you see one or two application of these products are not giving you the desired result of complete recovery. You may, in fact, use home remedies in the very beginning and forgo these chemical products altogether, especially in case of small kids.
The best way to get rid of head lice is using the home treatments and natural remedies.
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