Getting Rid Of Lice Without Harmful Chemicals—The Natural Way
Fall is coming, school is starting, and at some point you may face the prospect of curing your child of head lice. Almost every year there is an epidemic of lice that is passed from one child to another. There are products on the market that can be bought to use to treat lice but wouldn’t you feel better if there were a natural way to take care of the problem?
Lice are tiny parasitic insects without wings that thrive on human hairs. It feeds on a tiny amount of blood drawn from the scalp while it rests on the hair root. It makes the scalp itchy, are easily spread and are an annoyance. They can be spread by touch, cloth, or by being close to another person with lice. It’s important to warn your child not to share personal belongings such as combs, brushes, scarves, or hats. This is the most common way to spread head lice.
If a child is infected with lice, it’s especially important to take steps so it won’t be passed to other members of the family. Wash their bedclothes in hot soapy water and do not allow another family member to use the same pillows and blankets.
Many home cures for head lice include covering the head with an ingredient that will kill the lice. You should have a shower cap handy to place over the head if you are treating head lice. Mix one glass of lemon juice with a teaspoon of ginger. Apply this to dry hair and cover with that shower cap. Keep the mixture on for eight hours or while the patient is sleeping and shampoo as normal in the morning.
Many home cures for lice include oil and other products that will smother the lice. You should be aware that many of these cures are hard to shampoo out of the hair. Try using other non-oil solutions before you resort to the more extreme methods. Some of those home cures are:
* Soak the hair with petroleum jelly, cover with a shower cap and leave on during the night. Shampoo out the next morning. Warning! It may take several rounds of shampoo before the hair is rid of the petroleum jelly!
* Cover the entire head with mayonnaise. Wrap the head in plastic wrap and leave it on for the night. The next morning you should be able to shampoo. The nits and lice will be smothered and be easier to remove.
* Fish oil smeared on the scalp, another home cure for head lice.
* Cover the head with olive oil, or a mixture of olive oil and vinegar. Leave on overnight and shampoo out in the morning.
* Drop rosemary drops onto the scalp and rub in thoroughly.
You can buy special combs that help you rid the hair of the nits. Look for them at your local drug or grocery store. These treatments may need to be repeated before you are rid of the lice problem.
