Thorough combing for treating head lice

February 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment

Thorough nit combing as a means to eliminate head lice is rapidly becoming the nit treatment method of choice for many parents as the persistance of head louse infestation in some schools is making it an unpleasant prospect using chemicals on childrens’ head in the medium to long term.

Pesticides are all toxic to some extent and can eventually lead to head lice becoming resistant to them.

Other treatments for head lice have uncertain safety or efficiacy records (as discussed in earlier posts) and some, such as flammable treatments, are downright dangerous!

For all of the above reasons, many pharmacists are recommending using a high quality nit comb such as LiceMeister  and Nitty Gritty combs which have the capacity to remove unhatched eggs, nits, nymphs and live lice from the scalp. Combs such as these top of the range nit combs make nit combing an easy job.

I remember the first time that I used the NittyGritty comb on my daughter’s hair. I had carried out what I thought was an effective nit combing with a cheap metal nit comb one day  previously and believed myself to have done a thorough job. Two days later I pulled out over 100 nymphs, 13 more adult lice and a terrifying amount of nits and eggs. A high quality nit comb is a must if your child is being contaminated with head lice. With a bit of conditioner and a thorough nit combing of the hair every two days, an head louse infestation can be completely cleared up within a maximum of 2 weeks without any toxic chemicals going onto your child. They will then stay clear of head lice provided they are not in continued contact with someone who has lice. For this reason, it is wise to check the whole family’s scalps for lice when you first suspect an outbreak.

Are Synergised pyrethrins effective treatment for head lice?

January 18, 2009 | Leave a Comment

What is synergised pyretherin?

Synergised pyretherin is the name given to a chemical insecticide that the Chrysanthemum plant produces naturally.

Are synergised pyrethrins effective for killing head lice?

Head lice have the ability to oxidise the chemicals in synergised pyrethrins quite easily unless a synergising agent is added to boost their pesiticidal effectiveness. The most common additive of this kind is Piperonyl butoxide (derived from petroleum). The FDA states that this chemical combination is both safe and effective (class 1) for use of hair and scalps.

How is this combination used to treat head lice?

The most common carrier for synergised pyrethrins is shampoo that is lathered on wet hair and left for 10 minutes to before rinsing and re-washing the hair with non-medicated shampoo. This treatment will kill live lice but is not completely effective in killing head louse eggs. For this reason, treatment needs to be repeated in 7 – 10 days time to kill off any newly hatched head louse eggs before the nymphs become old enought to breed. This is FDA’s advice even though some products claim to kill both lice and eggs and therefore suggests one treatment for effective head lice elimination.

Cautionary advice about using synergised pyrethrins….

•  If you are allergic to Chrysathemums, kerosene, ragweed or any product derived from petroleum, you must not use synergised pyrethrins to treat head lice.
• In any case avoid using the product near to mucous membranes and wash hands thoroughly after use.
• Some patients are claiming that lice are becoming resistant to synergised pyrethrins. Anecdotal evidence seem to back this up but scientific research is yet to be done on head lice resistance to treatment.
• The Federal Trade Commission website can also be visited to see evidence of patients sold synergised pyrethrins as a product effective in killing head lice in a single treatment who have discovered that this is misrepresentation. This can be distressing for people (already distressed by having head lice) thinking they have effectively dealt with the problem then finding they are still infested with head lice. 

How can vinegar help head lice?

November 27, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Vinegar is often claimed to be the panacea that cures all evils. Vinegar to cure head lice is therefore a popular home remedy for head lice. The argument is that vinegar destroys the glue holding the louse egg onto the scalp. As this destroys its feeding opportunities, it will die.

How do I use vinegar so that I can help head lice to be killed?

Vinegar, on its own, is unlikely to help kill head lice. If vinegar can help head lice be gone by dislodging the eggs by destroying the glue holding them to your scalp…then it’s a useful tool in your armoury against the little critters!

As vinegar will not necessarily kill the live lice and the unhatched nymphs, nit combing is an essential part of the process. If you do not want to use a chemical treatment, vinegar can be part of your approach to make combing out the lice and nits using conditioner more successful. However, if you want to be absolutely confident that you have sorted the problem the following steps are recommended:

• Shampoo your hair then do a thorough rince of the hair with white vinegar. The glue holding the eggs to the hair will be dissolved by the acetic acid present in vinegar.
• The vinegar itself will not necessarily kill live lice so, at this stage, you may like to use an over the counter head lice preparation to kill the adults off.
• Once the treatment has been completed, do a further thourough rinse with white vinegar to dislodge the nits.
• Once this process is completed, take the time to thoroughly comb your hair using a high quality nit comb. Take your time over this…you don’t want any of the little critters escaping!
• Repeat this process every seven days until clear of head lice.
• Wash clothing and bedding that has been in contact with the scalp at the hottest temperature possible to kill the lice …it is heat rather than the soap that will kill them.
• Vacuum soft furnishings and car seats thoroughly.

If you prefer to use a home head lice remedy that is quick and effective, Freedom From Head Lice recommends Head Lice No More as an inexpensive and effective tool to rid your household of head lice quickly and cheaply.