Lice prevention is required by every child in daycare or school. Parties, playground, daycare and school are some of the places, where even the cleanest kid can get lice. However, now you can get rid of these lice naturally without any problem.
Some of the lice products available in the market use poison that are banned to be used on crops and many of these products are flammable too. In addition, these products can cause awful problems if they are left for too long, if are used quite often or are used on very young children.
Natural Cures To Get Rid of Lice
Mayonnaise
Mayonnaise can kill the lice quickly, safely, easily and cheaply. All you need to do is to get a new mayonnaise jar from the grocery store or your kitchen shelf. Take a handful or more of mayonnaise to cover the entire hair of your child. Make sure, to spread a little down the neck and also behind the ears. Cover the hair using a shower cap to avoid dripping or staining your furniture.
Leave this on the hair for about 2 hours, so that the eggs and the lice are smothered. Remove and throw away the shower cap. Shampoo the child’s hair thoroughly till you get the hair really clean.
Vaseline
Vaseline can also be used instead of Mayonnaise. However, it may be a bit difficult to remove the Vaseline. You need to first soak the hair completely in the baby oil and then squeeze out the Vaseline as much as possible. Wash the hair at least 3 times with hot water and dawn dish soap.
In case, you continue to find lice and nits, then you can use Vaseline or mayonnaise 7 to 10 days after the initial application. Continue to check your child’s hair every day at least for a couple of weeks, as the child might still be around the kid, who is infested with lice.
Essential Oils
In case, you are not comfortable using Vaseline or mayonnaise to smother nits, then you could prepare your own natural shampoo, which will kill the lice and also it is non toxic. The concoction is made as follows: Mix Coconut Oil or Olive Carrier Oil (5 tsp), Tea Tree Oil (5 drops), Rosemary Essential Oil (5 drops), Lavender Essential Oil (5 drops), Peppermint Essential Oil and Eucalyptus Essential Oil (5 drops).
Now, add a little bit of regular shampoo and apply this mixture to the hair completely, even to the edges. Cover the hair with the shower cap to avoid drips. Rinse and shampoo the child’s hair. Coconut and olive oil dissolve the exoskeleton of lice thereby killing them. The other essential oils used will also have a similar effect.
Avoid using a conditioner after applying this mixture. The hair can be easily combed after this treatment. Some of the essential oils like the rosemary and peppermint oil must be avoided during pregnancy. The peppermint oil may elevate the blood pressure and in case the above mixture is used in children below 5 years then the respiration could be slowed down, if the oiled hair is too close to the child while breathing. Therefore, take necessary precaution and use the above recipe by avoiding the peppermint oil, if it is unsafe for you.
Apple Cider Vinegar
Use vinegar to rinse the scalp and hair after shampooing. This will help in loosening the glue, which holds these nits onto the shafts of the hair. Now, rinse the hair with hot water (make sure that it is not too hot, as it may injure the child). The nits (most of them) are rinsed after using vinegar. You can use 1 tbsp of vinegar in a cup of water.
Olive Oil
The olive oil works similar to mayonnaise. It smothers the tiny parasites, which makes it easier to remove the lice. Apply olive oil on the child’s hair and cover it using a shower cap for a few hours. Comb the hair using a nit comb and later shampoo it. This process has to be repeated every week until you get rid of the lice completely.
Also Read
Home Remedies For Killing Lice
Home Remedies For Lice
Home Remedies For Lice Removal
Home Remedies For Head Lice
Onion Juice
Peel and cut the onion in big chunks and place them in a food processor until it is pureed. Massage this puree on the hair and scalp. Wrap the hair with the help of a shower cap for about 3 hours. Make sure the onion puree does not drip into your child’s eye. The sulphur present in the onion smothers all the nits and lice. Comb the hair using a nit comb. Later shampoo the hair a few times.
Combing To Remove The Nits
A nit comb is essential in all home based treatments. A stainless steel or a metal comb is better as compared to a plastic one. These combs are easily available in the drug store. Detangle the hair using a normal comb and then make use of the nit comb to remove the lice. You can check the hair thoroughly in good lightning, when the hair is dry. The nits are easily seen on dry hair. They are quite small and a bit shiny at a particular angle. They are present on the hair shaft. The newest nits are just off the scalp, while the older ones are more or less an inch from the scalp.
The hair has to be parted in tiny sections and then checked thoroughly, especially behind the ears, around the hair edge and on the neck. However, they can be anywhere. The nits can be pulled from the hair shaft using your fingernails, combing them using a nit comb or cutting the hair off, which contains the nit. Make sure to put every hair or nit into a hot soapy water or vinegar bowl with ammonia in it.
Get Rid Of The Lice From Combs, Clothes Etc.
Besides taking care of the hair, even your child’s clothing and the towels used in the past one week has to be washed and rinsed in hot water. All bedding (mattress cover, comforter, pillowcases, pillows, blankets, sheets) must be washed using hot water or put them into a plastic cover and seal it.
Lice could live only for 24 hours away from the host (human), but to be on safer side, you can leave the bags covered and sealed for about 2 weeks. Also, stuff like barrettes, hair ribbons, necklaces, helmets, ponytail holders, hats, stuffed animals or any other item that might have come in contact with the child’s brush or comb must be sealed in a bag.
The comb could be soaked in a solution containing bleach or vinegar and cleaned thoroughly. Vacuum the couch, mattress, car seats, car rugs, chairs, floors and rugs and also upholstered church pews and then dispose the vacuum bag. You have to check every day for nits that might have been missed and also the tiniest ones, which by now would have grown bigger. Even if a single living nit remains in the hair, it can hatch and the whole process will begin again.
Caution: Please use Home Remedies after Proper Research and Guidance. You accept that you are following any advice at your own risk and will properly research or consult healthcare professional.