How can you be sure you have head lice?
First of all, you have to make sure that you are dealing with head lice and not another disease; otherwise your treatment will not be effective. So how can you see the lice? It is not always easy to find lice and nits in the hair. Head lice have a grayish or brownish color. The best method to spot them is to wet the hair and use a special lice comb. Divide the hair into sections, comb it section by section, and if you have lice, you'll see them fall down. You can also see them when you rinse the comb in a sink containing water. Nits appear as white or grayish dots fixed to the base of the hair. They can be taken for dandruff but unlike those, they usually stick to the hair and cannot be easily detached from the scalp.
What treatments are recommended as effective?
The first method that comes to the mind is using a head lice comb on wet hair. This method takes time, patience and perseverance, but it is natural, harmless, and effective if done correctly. In case of severe infestation though, it might be good to combine this method with a head lice shampoo or a home remedy.
You can use insecticides that come most of the time in the form of shampoos, lotions or sprays. Among insecticides, only products containing pyrethrin and malathion are currently still considered effective, but this is not always the case, especially in the southern part of the United States, where head lice have become particularly resistant to these chemical products. Resistance is actually a reality in many western countries. If you decide to use them, you should know that they are pesticides, and as such, they are toxic. Moreover they can also be dangerous and have side effects such as skin irritation, tingling and itching.
Another effective method is using dimethicone. This product wraps the louse that can no longer breathe and dies. It must be applied to dry hair and left in place for at least 8 hours. Then you can rinse the hair. Treatment should be repeated after 7 days. This rather new treatment allows the removal of lice in 70% of cases approximately. It is unlikely that lice will become resistant to this product, and this treatment is a good alternative to insecticides, mainly because it is less toxic.
Then, you can also use home remedies such as olive oil alone or combined with essential oils, or vinegar. They are far more economical than chemical products, they are natural and effective. If you choose to use home remedies you should anyway comb the hair with a head lice comb, as well as repeat the treatment over one or two weeks.
Who should be treated?
Only people with head lice should be treated. But when a child is carrying lice, it is best to check all family members for it. The best method is to wet the hair and comb it. You should then only treat those who have lice, but never treat anyone preventively, as head lice cannot be prevented. When a child has lice, it is also good to inform the school, so that screening measures may be taken, and that other kids may be checked and treated if infested.
What should you do if the treatment fails?
That happens sometimes, and people tend to think that if the treatment did not work it means that it is not effective. But actually the main reasons why a treatment fails are the following: - The treatment with dimethicone or insecticide was not applied correctly. In most cases, the product has not been left long enough in contact with the hair; - The treatment with insecticide or dimethicone was not repeated; - If using a head lice comb, the treatment has not been repeated (every 3-4 days) or long enough (at least two more weeks after getting rid of lice the first time);
Note that no method is 100% effective anyway, so in case of failure you should repeat the treatment with the same method, and after several trials with a correct method, it makes sense to try another one.
Sometimes, the treatment worked, but the child has been infested again, maybe because not all the kids at school had been treated properly. In this case you have no choice but treating your child again.
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