Ways To Get Rid Of Your Head Lice

Health & Medical Blog

Head lice are notoriously difficult to get rid of. That's because you can kill or comb out the adult bugs, but the tiny eggs often stay behind to hatch out later on. You may need to undergo multiple treatments over a few weeks to finally get rid of your problem. Here are a few options you have for getting rid of the lice.

Head Lice Shampoo

You can buy shampoo that kills head lice over the counter, or you can get stronger medications from your doctor. There are a couple of types of shampoo treatments. One kills adult bugs and needs to be applied at least twice so it kills the lice you currently have and the ones that hatch out later. Other shampoos kill adults and eggs. You may get results from a single application, but it's likely you'll need to follow up with multiple treatments to get rid of all the lice. Sometimes, lice may be resistant to the shampoos. If the treatments don't kill off most of the lice the first time you shampoo your hair, you should talk to your doctor about another treatment option.

Manual Removal Of Nits And Lice

The drawback to using medicinal shampoo is that it exposes you to chemicals necessary for killing lice. If you want to avoid putting chemicals on your head, you can try to manually remove all the lice and eggs from your hair and scalp. This is very difficult to do on yourself since you can't see the back of your head. It's a long and tedious job, so you may have a hard time getting a friend or family member to do it. You may be able to hire a lice removal expert or go to a lice clinic and pay someone to comb through your hair and physically remove the lice. This is usually done with a nit comb, which is a comb with tiny teeth that are very close together. The comb grabs the lice and eggs and pulls them out of your hair.

Home Remedies For Lice Removal

There are various products you can use at home for removing lice from your hair. These methods usually involve smothering the lice in some way. You can apply mayonnaise, petroleum jelly, or olive oil to your hair and scalp and wrap it in plastic overnight. The thick substances smother the lice and kill them off, but it doesn't affect the eggs. It probably won't kill all the adult lice with each treatment since it is difficult to evenly and thoroughly coat your entire head with the substance. If you try home remedies, you should be prepared to apply them multiple times so you can smother out the adults as they continually hatch from the eggs.

Lice Treatment Center

The quickest way to get rid of lice is to work with a head lice treatment center. Some of them have staff that come to your home and apply treatments there. Others are clinics with specialized devices that kill lice through heat and dehydration. The dehydration method of killing lice is similar in action to using a powerful blow dryer for an extended time that is able to dry out the lice and their eggs. You could get rid of your lice in a single afternoon. The advantage of using a treatment center is that you can find an effective way to get rid of the lice without using traditional parasite-killing chemicals that may or may not work.

In addition to removing all the lice from your head, you'll also want to remove lice from your home so you don't get reinfected. Fortunately, lice are easy to kill when they are off your head. Wash your clothes and bedding in hot water and vacuum the area where you normally sit and sleep. Also, be sure to wash anything that normally comes into contact with your head such as a brush, comb, hat, or hair bands to make sure they aren't harboring live lice or eggs.

Share

8 June 2016