Does Your Child Have Head Lice? Treat The Lice With These At Home Remedies
No parent wants to hear that their child has lice. However, six to 12 million children are infested with these pests each year. If your child has lice, you may want to run out and buy an over-the-counter lice shampoo product for head lice treatment. However, if money is tight, you don't have access to a car, or you are pressed for time, you may be looking for at home remedies. Fortunately, there are many products you likely already have in your home that can be used to treat these pesky little bugs. Here are a few of the ways you can treat your child's case of head lice using at home remedies.
Mayonnaise
If your child has head lice, mayonnaise can be used to help kill the baby and adult lice, called nymphs and louses. Start by coating your child's scalp with a generous layer of mayonnaise. Work it in to ensure the entire scalp is covered. Mayonnaise helps to suffocate the lice, so it is only effective if the entire area is coated in enough of this item to smother the bugs. Once the scalp has been treated, coat the hair strands with a liberal layer of mayo. Lice live off of blood, so they primarily hang out on the scalp. However, coating hair strands help to kill any lice that may have strayed. If desired, place a shower cap over your child's head. This helps to seal in the moisture, while also helping to ensure your child doesn't lean back on the couch or against your walls with their greasy hair. Leave the mayo in place for at least a few hours. If possible, keep it in place overnight.
Wash your child's hair thoroughly to remove all of mayonnaise and dead lice. Once you have done this, it is important to use a comb to pick out any lice eggs that you can find. Mayonnaise will only kill the live bugs, not the eggs. The eggs are extremely tiny and look similar to dandruff. If the eggs are not removed, you will have an infestation to deal with again soon.
Rubbing Alcohol
Another way to remove lice is to use rubbing alcohol. Rubbing alcohol will instantly kill any live lice, helping you to quickly wipe out the bug population on your child's head. The best way to treat your child's head using this method is to pour rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle. If desired, mix in a few drops of almond, tea tree or lavender essential oils. This helps to neutralize the small of rubbing alcohol and lice dislike the scent. Section your child's hair off, and then begin spraying the mixture into the scalp, followed by the hair strands. The lice should die within a few seconds of being sprayed. After spraying the hair, you will want your child to take a shower, as the water will wash away any dead bugs. After the do so, you will want to use a comb to pick out lice eggs, as this mixture does not kill the eggs.
Garlic and Lemon Juice
The last way to remove head lice from your child's head is to make a mixture of garlic and lemon juice. The acidity in lemons creates a poor and suffocating environment for lice and their eggs. This helps kill the lice while helping to prevent the eggs from hatching. And garlic is so pungent that it helps to suffocate lice, killing the alive ones quickly. The easiest way to use garlic and lemon juice on your child's head is to crush two garlic cloves and mix it with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of lemon juice. Massage the mixture into your child's head and allow it to sit in place for one to two hours before shampooing it out. Repeat the process for five days to kill all of the lice and their eggs.
Mayonnaise, rubbing alcohol and a combination of garlic and lemon juice are all effective ways to remove lice from your child's head. However, despite your best efforts to treat your child, some lice problems are recurrent. If your child continues to deal with lice despite you attempting to remove them repeatedly, you should seek treatment from a lice treatment center or your child's pediatrician. Prescription medications may be needed to deal with super lice or in situations where lice continue to come back.