| How do I get rid of the Lice? Part II |
By: Tina Boscha, Columnist, “Kids and Health”
On 1/13/06
So, your child has head lice. What do you do? Head lice generally don’t do much more than cause a nuisance (and an itchy scalp). In some cases, the bites may become irritated or infected, but this is easily treated.
"After several days of treatment, you’re probably eager to get your child back in school. However, most schools have adopted the “no-nits” policy."
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Usually, lice simply annoy the child and disrupt your schedule for a few days. If one family member has lice, it’s a good idea to check other members of the family for nits and lice since they are so contagious. This doesn’t have to mean panic; lice can easily managed.
The most common course of action is to treat the hair and scalp with a medicated shampoo such as Rid, or Nix, or a generic drugstore brand. The hair is shampooed liberally with the formula, then it remains on the hair for a minimum of ten minutes, and then it is rinsed away. This is followed by a thorough combing to remove the dead nits and lice (shampoo kits usually include this comb). If the infestation remains, the treatment can be repeated after 7-10 days.
While a medicated shampoo sounds like an easy solution, there are some things to consider before choosing this method. The active ingredients in these shampoos are no less than pesticides – the very same used commercially to kill aphids, earwigs, and other creepy-crawlies. Although you certainly want to rid your child of lice, you may want to think twice before treating them with these same chemicals. Furthermore, several web sites dedicated to treating head lice caution that because these shampoos have been over-prescribed, lice are becoming resistant to them, just like the flu bug is to standard antibiotics.
According to the National Pediculosis Association, the best, most effective treatment is simply a good lice removal comb and a steady, patient hand. The NPA states that the best combs are metal, with very fine, long teeth. Make sure your child’s hair is detangled and that you have good lighting.
Next, comb slowly through the hair near the scalp, section by section, to remove nits and the occasional louse. This is an easy treatment, but it is time consuming. Your child may not have much patience for it, but perhaps combining it with another activity – reading, for one – can make the time go faster.
Eager to speed up treatment, but don’t want to use a shampoo? Several alternative therapies exist, although they are untested and success can’t be guaranteed. Some parents suggest blow-drying hair for 15 minutes, using high heat, but this can be very uncomfortable and potentially hazardous.
More messy, but easier on the scalp, are a variety of homemade shampoos. The web site www.drgreen.com suggests trying a Vaseline or mayonnaise treatment, where either product is spread thickly on the hair and scalp, covered with a shower cap and left on overnight, then shampooed out in the morning. Please note, mayonnaise comes out fairly easily, but Vaseline is about as stubborn to remove as the lice themselves are. Another treatment, considerably more fragrant, is to mix olive oil, tea tree oil, and rosemary oil with a small amount of regular shampoo and leave on hair for 30 minutes. These treatments attempt to smother the nits and lice, and still necessitate thorough combing for several days.
Apart from the direct nit and lice removal, parents must clean items that came in contact with your child’s head like pillowcases, combs, brushes, hats, towels, etc. Things that can be laundered should be washed in very hot water and dried on high.
Other places your child rests – the couch, the back of the car, even their favorite spot on the floor – just need a good daily vacuum. Nits and lice need to be warm and near their food source to survive, so time spent away from their home usually means death; they don’t have much of a chance once 24 hours and a good strong vacuum have passed. Make sure that your child doesn’t share items with others, such as helmets, combs, ponytail holders, and earphones.
After several days of treatment, you’re probably eager to get your child back in school. However, most schools have adopted the “no-nits” policy. This simply means that if your child has even a single nit, they cannot return until they are “nit-free.”
This policy is not without some controversy. Dr. Richard Pollack of the Harvard School of Public Health feels it is “unnecessary since many infestations are simply hatched nits with no other signs of lice present.” He also point outs that colds and the flu are much more contagious, but children are not quarantined – or stigmatized - for this reason. However, the National Pediculosis Association feels that adopting the “no-nits” policy is really the best way to contain an infestation, and schools seem to be following this advice.
Read Part I of this column
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