How to Treat a Head Lice Problem

The presence of head lice is an annoying problem that is difficult to remove. However, by carefully following certain procedures, you can treat head lice. Thoroughly treat the affected person and his environment.

Instructions

Natural Treatments

1. Choose your weapon. Lice need to breathe. Cover their air holes and they smother to death. For non-chemical options, choose cooking oil, olive oil, or shortening (mayonnaise also works, but smells rancid by the end of treatment).

2. Cover the scalp and hair thoroughly with the product. You must plug every air hole of every louse, so be certain the hair and scalp are saturated completely.

3. Put on a shower cap. Wrap the head in an old towel like a turban. Leave the product on the hair overnight. As the product becomes heated by the skin, it will drip, which causes the scalp to itch. Tolerate this unfortunate side effect. Do not remove the product ahead of schedule. Lice can shut down their systems for hours! They survive if you remove the product too soon.

4. Wash the hair with a grease-cutting dish washing liquid. Several washes will be necessary to remove the greasy residue.

5. Comb out the hair, removing all dead lice and eggs, or nits. A lice-removal comb works best. The scalp must be meticulously searched and every nit removed from the hair.

Chemical Treatments

1. Purchase a lice-killing shampoo. Be aware that head lice are slowly developing immunity to pediculicides, and success with these products is often limited. Two treatments are required.

2. Read the directions on the package carefully. You must not deviate from the instructions; lice are difficult to kill with chemical shampoos.

3. Repeat the treatment seven full days later. These shampoos kill only hatched lice, not nits. Nits must be killed after hatching and before reproduction.

4. Comb out all lice and nits. A single nit left behind can grow, hatch, and lay hundreds of eggs. Be certain you remove every one!

Nit Removal

1. Examine the treated hair under bright daylight.

2. Scrutinize every hair. Nits are normally cemented to the hair shaft within three inches of the scalp. Use a pencil to part the hair.

3. Cut each nit from the hair. Sliding them off pushes nits away from the scalp. This makes them difficult to find. You must not miss even one!

4. Stick each removed nit to a piece of duct tape. When you are finished, fold the tape in half and dispose of in the garbage. This ensures no lice hatch and find their way back into your home.

5. Repeat the nit-picking process several times a day for the next week to ensure all nits are gone.

Evicting Lice from your Home

1. Treat every member of the family at the same time. If one has head lice, odds are good the others do too.

2. Wash all bedding, throw pillows, and washable stuffed animals. Wash all outerwear including hats, scarves, and coats. Dry on 'high' for at least 30 minutes.

3. Bag up non-washable stuffed animals and set them aside for two weeks. Lice, and any of their offspring that hatch, cannot survive without the ability to feed.

4. Spray all cloth covered furniture, carpets, and car interiors with lice deterrent. You can buy over-the-counter sprays or make your own.

Tips & Warnings

• To save on laundry expenses, dry items for 30 minutes without washing them. The washing machine does not kill lice. Heat from the dryer does.

• Head lice feed on human blood. They cannot live on any pets in your home.

• Toss all outerwear into the dryer for 30 minutes after your child returns from school. This can eliminate tiny hitchhikers they may have picked up on the bus.

• Lice cannot survive without food. Concentrate your efforts on eliminating every single nit from the scalp, and any lice in the environment will starve on their own.