Shampoo for Head Lice
Shampoo for Head Lice
Treating head lice is a subject that has many different approaches, and can be controversial in a number of different ways. Head lice are hardy creatures, and while many people try to find home remedies for head lice, there is a school of thought that insists the only way to treat head lice successfully is to use an insecticide shampoo for head lice use.
And therein lays the problem for many people are averse to applying chemical insecticides to their children’s heads, as these often powerful chemicals can be dangerous if used incorrectly.
Before we look at the option of natural and alternative shampoo, let us take a quick look at the insecticides themselves: there are three main insecticides that are available as over the counter shampoos – malathion, phenothrin and permethrin – and they can be found in numerous brand name shampoos, and there is also a stronger insecticide that can only be prescribed, carbaryl, which is something of a last resort. One problem with insecticide shampoos is that the head louse has become more and more immune to them, and as such while they may work on one person they may be useless on another.
Moving on to the natural remedies, and there are many schools of thought with regard to shampoos; the first point we need to make is that regular washing is essential in any head lice treatment regime, not because the presence of head lice is a sign of unwashed hair – the lice are impartial and set up home anywhere – but because wet combing with a special head lice comb needs to be carried out whatever method you choose. This is thanks to the fact that even the strongest insecticide may not kill the nits – the head louse eggs – meaning that further treatment needs to be applied in order to eradicate new born lice before they reach breeding age.
One natural ingredient that is found in many shampoos, and can be added to conventional shampoos as a way of treating head lice, is tea tree oil; using tea tree oil for head lice treatment is very popular as this essential oil, taken from the Australian Tea Tree plant and regarded by the Aborigines as having many medicinal qualities, is known to drive away head lice and to act as a deterrent when they are not there.
The advantages of using natural shampoo products over the medicinal ones can be further investigated by running a quick web search, and you will find many more suggestions as to homemade remedies for head lice during your reading.
Head Lice Scalp
Head Lice Scalp Examinations
Understanding where the head lice lives and how it goes about its life cycle is essential to deciding how best to treat the infestation, and when one considers that head louse is a very hardy creature then it becomes clearer why these annoying creatures are difficult to eradicate.
If you suspect head lice are present, either on your or your children’s hair, then you need to undertake a head lice scalp examination, and very carefully indeed; the head louse lives among the hair, but primarily on the scalp, and lays its eggs – nits – close to the base of the hair follicle. This is one reason why the lice and the eggs in particular, are difficult to remove, and why there is great and continuing debate as to the best treatment for head lice.
While there are medicinal shampoos on the market they tend to contain powerful insecticides, and this – coupled with the fact that lice may have become immune to some of the chemicals involved – is one reason why many people opt for homemade remedies for head lice. These range from shampoos with natural additives to the suffocation technique, but before we look at them we need to touch on an essential tool that is necessary when getting in touch with the scalp problem.
The head lice comb is an invention for a very specific purpose: to help eradicate head lice. Whereas a conventional comb will have gaps between the teeth that are wide enough to let the lice through, and will also find it hard to reach the scalp, the head lice comb is shorter but deeper, with very fine tines that enable the dragging and snaring of both the head louse and her nits. This technique – wet combing – is always carried out in conjunction with regular washing, and that’s where shampoos come in.
One very popular substance that can be added to, or found in, shampoos and is useful for treating head lice is tea tree oil; this is a natural oil extracted from the Tea Tree plant native to Australia, and the Aborigines are known to regard its medicinal qualities very highly. Vinegar is another substance that is advised to be massages into the scalp and then rinsed away, as its acidic qualities enable it to loosen the very strong adhesive that holds nits to the hairs.
More than anything, prevention may be the best cure, and regular and thorough examination of the scalp may unveil the presence of the dreaded head louse.
Head Lice Comb
The Head Lice Comb and why it is Vital
Before we go on it is important that we understand the reason why the head lice is so hard to remove using a conventional comb: a head louse will lay her eggs very close to the base of the hair, almost on the scalp, and lives on the scalp herself, hence a conventional comb will not reach the tiny creatures, and its teeth are likely to be too widely separated to do so, too.
A head lice comb is designed to be smaller yet deeper, and also to have very fine teeth and tiny gaps between them, thus enabling the user to remove both lice and nits – the troublesome and difficult to eradicate eggs of the lice – from the hair with greater success.
A cheap and simple item, generally made from plastic and metal and available from many shops on the high street plus internet suppliers, using the comb regularly is a must if one is to b certain of eliminating lice. In fact, there is a routine to be followed that is based around the life cycle of the head louse. A female adult louse will live for thirty days, and lay each day a handful of eggs. The first step, then, is to use the nit comb to remove all living creatures – statistics have shown there are likely to be less the twenty adults on the head at one time – and as many eggs as possible. As we know the eggs hatch in a week, and newborns do not begin breeding for another week, we know that if we comb regularly all new lice that are removed will not be layers, and one week later the head should be completely clear.
As in many walks of life, however, technology has seen an advance on the conventional head lice comb, and it is now possible to buy electronic versions that, using a standard battery and a very small charge, electrocute the lice as they find them. This method is favoured by many as it has proved efficient and simple to use in a number of trials, yet many people still prefer to refer to the older and less technologically advanced nit comb.
Whatever route is chosen it is vital to remember that a nit comb should be used in conjunction with other methods, including washing the hair with special shampoos, as this is the best way to make sure that homemade remedies for head lice are successful.
