Things You'll Need:
- Magnifying glass
- Fine-toothed lice comb
- Over-the-counter lice treatment (e.g., Rid or Nix)
- Bowl of alcohol
- Tweezers
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Step 1
Make sure you're dealing with head lice. If your child gets sent home from school because hair lice are identified, this will be an obvious. But identifying head lice yourself takes diligence.
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Step 2
Head lice nit (Wiki Commons)Identify the presence of head lice. Under a strong light, part your child's hair. The lice should scurry away from the light. Note the presence of lice nits (lice eggs) close to the scalp, attached to the hair shaft. These will look like sesame seeds and will be more present behind the ears and along the nape of the hair. Use a magnifying glass if you need to. Head lice are very active, so you might have to capture one with tweezers to identify it.
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Step 3
Use a first-line treatment to kill head lice. The Centers for Disease Control, Mayo Clinic, Harvard School of Public Health, and American Academy of Pediatrics recommend a shampoo or treatment with pesticide qualities, such as Nix or Rid. These treatments are safe for children over the age of two as long as they are used appropriately. You may have heard that head lice have become resistant to treatment--according to the Harvard School of Public Health, this is very rare. Head lice can be killed using over-the-counter products as long as they are used appropriately and the child is not exposed to an environment or playmate not treated for head lice.
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Step 4
After using the head lice treatment, always wet comb the hair using a fine-toothed lice comb. This removes the louse nits and prevents a new infestation. Dip the comb in alcohol every now and then to make sure that remaining live lice are killed.
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Step 5
Retreat for head lice after seven to 10 days, or according to the directions on the treatment bottle. Most lice treatments fail because parents do not take this very necessary step!
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Step 6
Treat the environment for head lice. Wash all clothing, linen, towels and other personal effects in hot soapy water and air dry them on "hot." Items that can't be washed can be stored in plastic bins for two weeks until the lice die from starvation. Vacuum rugs, carpeting and furniture thoroughly; dispose of the bag immediately after you are through
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Step 7
Don't rely on home remedies to treat head lice. According to the Harvard School of Public Health, using mayonnaise, cooking oil or petroleum jelly is a dubious cure. What this does is make the live lice and their eggs easier to comb out by coating the egg shaft. Head lice don't "smother" easily; they can survive for more than 14 hours when submerged. Rather than put your child through an unpleasant, humiliating home treatment to kill lice, use what doctors and health professionals advise you to use.
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Step 8
Avoid using essential oils such as tea tree and rosemary oil. The Harvard School of Public Health states that these are not only ineffective, they are not approved by the FDA or EPA for use on the skin. You could burn your child's scalp.
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Step 9
Using a Lice Comb (Wiki Commons)Read your school's policies regarding head lice. In most cases, you will be required to use a chemical treatment such as Nix or Rid in order for your child to attend school again. Keeping children out of school because you insist on a homeopathic remedy is unfair to your child--and dangerous, should you put your child back in school with head lice, after which he or she infects other children.
Head lice can be passed from one child to another. Because head lice are a contagious infestation, make sure you do your due diligence in protecting other children, too.
