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 Head lice
or head-louse infestation is a human disease where the head
or scalp of the host is infested by the parasitic insect
called head louse. Head louse bites the scalp to draw human
blood and this resulted in itchy feelings. Besides head
louse, there are two other lice which infect humans, i.e.
the body louse and the crab (pubic) louse.
Head-louse infestation is one of the many concerns for American health issues.
Children between 3 to 10 years old are the most infected.
Head lice are spread easily through physical contact with an
infested individual. To prevent it from spreading, all the
head lice of an infested person must be killed and the nits
(eggs of the head lice) must be picked out. If the
nit-picking is not done thoroughly, new lice may hatch
around 5 to 10 days. Treatment of head-louse infestation
usually involved the application of topical insecticides
such as pyrethrin or permethrin. However, if you're worried
about the side effects of these treatments, you may also try
treating with home remedies.
Here are a few suggested head
lice home remedies to try:
Tea Tree Oil:
Put some oil in a spray bottle and add some water. Spray it on the hair and
scalp thoroughly and cover the hair for 20 minutes. It works with only one
treatment. You may also add a few drops of tea tree oil to shampoo to
prevent the outbreak of head lice.
Tea Tree Oil-Olive Oil:
Mix tea tree oil and olive oil in 1:1 ratio and apply. Then use a lice comb
to remove the dead lice. Repeat the application of oil and combing until
there are no more dead lice and nits.
Vinegar: Rinse
the hair with distilled vinegar and leave it on for a while to kill the
lice. Then, apply coconut conditioner thickly on the hair to help you comb
out the nits. After that, wash your hair.
Cider Vinegar:
Wash the hair using cider vinegar and left on for 30 minutes before rinsing.
Do this a few times a day to make sure all the lice and nits are removed.
 Mineral Oil and Vinegar:
Mix mineral oil and vinegar in 4:1 ratio. Apply and let it sit for 1 hour
and rinse lightly (don't wash with shampoo yet). Then, wear a shower cap
overnight. Rinse off in the next morning using vinegar and comb out the dead
lice and nits. This treatment is good for those who keep long hair. The oil
suffocates the lice and the vinegar loosens the glue that holds the nits on.
Listerine and White Vinegar:
Put Listerine antiseptic mouth wash on the hair and left overnight to kill
the lice. Rinse with cold water the next morning. For the nits, use white
vinegar. It works well.
Mayonnaise:
Apply mayonnaise thickly on the hair and massage until the whole scalp is
covered with it. Cover the hair with saran wrap and a shower cap and leave
it for 2 hours. This will suffocate the lice on the scalp and ungluing the
nits. Then, remove all the dead lice using a comb and the nits using hand.
After that, rinse off the mayonnaise from your hair using the hottest water
you can withstand. Use soaps to wash away the grease from the scalp. You can
also leave the mayonnaise overnight and rinse off in the next morning.
Coconut Oil:
Apply the coconut oil on the hair and cover with shower cap
for 1 hour or overnight to suffocate the lice and the nits.
Then, remove the cap and comb out all the dead lice and
nits. Wash the hair a couple of times to get rid of the oil.
You may also use the coconut oil conditioner to replace the
coconut oil for an easy clean-up.
Neem Oil: Heat
neem oil until it becomes liquid and applies to the scalp generously.
Massage gently to cover the whole scalp with the oil. Neem oil is good
for preventing head lice.
Essential Oil Mixture:
Prepare an oil mixture by mixing various types of essential oil in different
quantities:
- Citrus and Tea Tree
essential oil - 5 drops each,
- Eucalyptus and Geranium
essential oil - 10 drops each,
- Lavender and Rosemary
essential oil - 20 drops each,
- Vegetable oil- 100 ml.
Apply the oil mixture on dry hair and cover for 2-3 hours.
This will help in curing head lice.
Wintergreen Alcohol:
Wintergreen alcohol smelled good. Pour it on the hair or use a spray bottle.
Rub to make it gets into the scalp. Then, cover with a shower cap for about
2 hours. Wash the hair thoroughly using T-gel as the alcohol could dry out
the scalp. Also, carefully pick out all the nits which stick to the hair.
Almond-Lime Paste:
Grind about 8-10 almonds and add about 3 tsp of lime juice to make it
into paste. Apply the almond-lime paste on the scalp and leave it for 30
minutes. Then, wash your hair. This will help in reducing head louse.
Denorex Shampoo:
Choose the type which contains coal tar (salicylic acid one does not work).
Wash the hair using the shampoo and let it set for about 5 minutes. Then,
rinse it out and wash again for the second time. This will kill the live
lice. Continue doing this once a day for the next 2 weeks to make sure all
the lice and nits are killed.
Besides treating the hair, it is very important to wash
all clothes, towels, caps, bedding, sofa covers etc. in hot water to make
sure all the lice and nits hidden there are killed. For car seats, you may
do it with hot steaming vacuum.
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