So you’re sitting on your couch, drinking your coffee after getting all the kids out of the house on time, when you get a call from the school to pick up your child. Or, you see your kid scratching her head over and over again in the same spot. You have lice! YUCK!
You run to CVS and buy whatever will work. Guess what? It won’t. Over-the-counter- lice shampoos don’t do the job anymore. Lice have evolved beyond the chemicals.
While they are harmless, they crawl from head to head and are extremely hard to eradicate. You need direct contact with an infected person to catch lice as they don’t jump around or fly.
The best way to get rid of them is to go to a lice removal professional. This is a costly option, so you may want to tackle it on your own. Here is a highly effective, but somewhat messy method. You’ll need:
• tight toothed metal nit comb (like Nisska.)
• stack of white paper towels and a plastic trash bag
• bowl of water to rinse the comb
• bunch of clips and thick hair conditioner, like Pantene.
First, brush out all knots with a regular brush. Your curly haired girl will appreciate this later. Slather conditioner to the head, generously and completely to the scalp and beneath the hairline. The conditioner acts as a glue for the lice.
Use the nit comb to comb every strand of your child’s hair. As you comb, each stroke should yield conditioner, which you will wipe away on the paper towel. You will see black dots on the white paper towel. Those are nits. Keep combing the bugs and nits out. It is very important to go over and over the same spot in every direction possible, on top, underneath, sideways, and the other sideways. This will take a long time depending upon your child’s hair length.
Another option is to massage vegetable oil in your child’s scalp. Experts say the oil suffocates the live lice and nits, which get oxygen from blood when they bite. The oil also works to isolate the lice. Again, comb through very thoroughly to remove all nits and lice. Dip the comb in hot water between each pass.
You must comb your child every day or two until the nits are all gone. This could take up to a month. When a louse lays an egg, it is so small, you can hardly see it. It could take up to 10 days for this one egg to mature enough for you to catch it on the comb. If you do these processes every day or two, the nit never matures enough to reproduce.
Boil everything that touched your child’s hair for about five minutes. The metal comb, the hair brush, and any clips you used to hold the hair back. Change towels, sheets and pillowcases and wash in hot water. Wash any blankets, stuffed animals, hats, etc. You should continue to change the bedding for at least 3 days. Bag anything that can’t be washed for two weeks.
I’ve heard that rosemary, tee tree oil, even garlic extract (made by Kyolic) when applied to the scalp can be effective in repelling the lice. These extracts can be a good deterrent if applied daily. I’ve been putting garlic extract in my children’s hair for three years and have managed to avoid several cases over the years. I also recommend keeping your child’s hair up in pony tails or braids.
It doesn’t matter how good a job you do. It is easy to get again. Lice are just a nuisance, but oh what a nuisance! They say nothing at all about your child’s cleanliness so don’t be embarrassed and don’t give up until they are gone. If you miss even one nit, the whole process begins again and others can get infected. If you see lice on your child, notify your school and the people you come into contact with, you can be saving someone else the hassle. I check my kids’ heads at least every two weeks.
For further questions, contact Shana directly at shanalee@nullgmail.com. I’m happy to show you what to look for, how to comb, and where to buy certain products such as combs and extracts.