Beat head lice - myhairdressersearch.com

By Lis Szepsy January 19 2009

Anyone that has school children has probably had the misfortune to experience the problem of head lice. This can be a terribly frustrating pest to deal with and one that requires a little knowledge and a lot of persistence. myhairdressersearch takes a microscopic look at this cockroach of the hair world, how to identify it, wage war on it and how to successfully eradicate it.

Head lice: The Facts

1. Head lice cannot jump or fly. They can only crawl and are transmitted by head to head contact. Children with long hair can minimise transmitting lice and contracting them by tying their hair up.

2. Head lice feed 3 - 4 times a day on blood. They will dehydrate without food in a dry climate in 6 hours and in a humid climate within 24.

3. Head lice like all types of hair as long as it's on a warm head. The type of hair and colour and whether it is clean or dirty is not important to them.

4. There is no known effective preventor of head lice.

5. There is no one step perfectly effective treatment for the removal of head lice.

6. Head lice eggs are about the size of a pin head. They are oval shaped and whitish and 'pop' if you squeeze them between your fingers. The eggs take 6 - 7 days to hatch.

7. Children need not be kept away from school once treatment has been commenced. The health department made this ruling in 2001. You do not need a doctor's certificate to return your child to school.

8. Head lice are about 2 - 4 mm in length, whitish-brown to reddish- brown in colour.

9. Nits are another name for the eggs. They stick to the hair shaft near the scalp, typically where it's warmest and darkest like around the ears and at the nape of the neck.

10. It is important to wash pillowcases in hot water (60 degrees or more) and combs to remove lice and eggs until you're sure that the cycle has been broken.

Head lice: The Signs

The thing to watch out for foremost is an itchy scalp, particularly at the hairline around the ears and at the nape of the neck. You can actually see full adult lice, particularly if you are unfortunate enough to have an infestation.

The best way to make a definite identification is to comb conditioner onto dry hair and the scalp and comb the hair with both a white plastic louse comb and then a black one. You will need to allow 20 minutes for the conditioner to 'stun' the lice. Then you can start to comb each small section of hair 4 or 5 times. You will see the lice either with your naked eye or you may need to use a magnifying glass if they are young lice as they are much smaller and harder to identify. Use the white comb to find the lice and the black comb to find out if there are any eggs.

The remedies for head lice

Whether you decide to nuke them with poison or use more gentle natural remedies, the reality is that full successful removal could be a long and labour intensive process. You need to repeat treatment every 6 or 7 days for several weeks and you need to treat everyone in the family at the same time. This should prevent re-infection from each other. There are some suggestions following for treatment

It's important to note that lice can become resilient to many products. You may need to change products or to keep using the Basic Conditioner or Natural methods for many weeks.

The natural way

There is a lot of information about the dangers and ineffectiveness of chemical treatments for head lice. Research has shown that the combing method and smothering the lice can be even more effective and safer as a treatment than potentially harmful pharmacy products.

Anything very viscous like olive oil or petroleum jelly can be used liberally all over the scalp and hair. Apply and then wrap the hair with cling film and leave for as long as possible, ideally 30 minutes to 3 hours. Then comb the hair following 'Basic Conditioner Method' and shampoo to remove oil.

For eczema sufferers or very young children

If you have any concerns about the toxicity of the various treatments, you can try sorbolene or aqueous cream to apply to the scalp and hair. It's harder to spot the lice, but it won't irritate the skin. Alternatively, there are eczema conditioners and tea tree conditioners that may be gentle enough to not cause any skin irritation.

Basic conditioner method

Like the 'natural way', using conditioner and combing to remove lice has been proven to be even more effective than pharmacy products. It does require time and persistence. You may want to sit the child down in front of their favourite film or in the bath with some great toys.

Apply conditioner to dry hair doing small 3 cm sections at a time. Comb parts into the hair and massage the product into the scalp and all the way along the shaft of the hair. Every part of the hair and head have to be wet and contacted with the conditioner. Leave the hair saturated for at least 20 minutes. Then comb each tiny section from the scalp to the ends of the hair using a special head lice comb. You need to wipe the comb on a paper towel or rinse in boiling water each time to remove any lice or eggs from the comb.

Repeatedly drag the comb over the scalp to ensure removal of the lice off the scalp. Using a white plastic comb is best for seeing the adult lice but the metal combs are best for removing eggs. Follow with application of vinegar and water solution to dissolve the cement that attaches the eggs to the hair shaft. Allow another 30 minutes with this solution on the head. Comb with a metal comb to remove the nits. Finally shampoo.

Herbal treatments

There are a multitude of herbal products available including Lice Blaster, KP24 or Ecokid products. They use various herbs to kill the lice and eggs including tea tree oil and lavender oil. Follow instructions for treatment.

Insecticides

If you have an infestation, and you have no concerns about the toxicity of the poisons, try these products first. Look for the Aust-R number on the label and this tells you that it's been registered with the Therapeutic Good Administration. This means they've been tested for their safety and effectiveness before being put on the market. These include Banlice, Paralice, Quellada and other KP24 products. Follow instructions for treatment.

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