Lice- this dreaded little bug sends parents and children into a panic as if it were a deadly contagious disease. As millions of kids head back to school the threat of lice is in the back of everyone’s mind. First of all, don’t panic. OK you probably will a little if your child comes home with head lice, but let’s keep things in perspective. No one is dying. These parasites have been with us since the beginning of man and are a part of our human history. They can be controlled, eliminated, and even prevented without harmful pesticides. (Some of your friends have probably already been through this, whether you know it or not!)
Step one is to “know thy enemy”. There are a lot of myths about lice and how it is spread. They cannot jump from head to head, which is a widespread rumor. They cannot jump from the floor to your pants leg and crawl up your body. They are designed to be attached to your hair and require head to head contact to spread. While it is possible to spread lice through sharing brushes, towels, etc. it is less likely than if two people hug or sleep next to one another and their heads touch. Don’t blame the dog or kick him out of the house, lice only feed on human blood (nice image right?) and they only live for 24-48 hours without a meal. You definitely don’t need to spray pesticides around your home. Studies have found that when head lice fall off the scalp they don’t live long and are dead or nearly dead. An Australian study found no evidence of lice on the floors in a lice-infested school, where 20 percent of the kids had active lice. In the UK they don’t even recommend washing the clothing or bedding. Focus your attention and energy on treating the head. That’s where the lice want to be.
When dealing with an infestation of head lice, you don’t have to run out and buy the pesticide-laden shampoo kit. Many of these long-used products such as pyrethrin and permethrin are beginning to lose their effectiveness on live lice. In addition they often leave nits(lice eggs) unaffected. Nits hatch after about a week so a re-treat is necessary to kill the new babies. The doctor prescribed lice treatments include Malathion which is a possible carcinogen, very toxic if ingested, and may disrupt hormones and Lindane which has been banned in 52 countries, but is allowed to be used on children in the United States. No thank you.
Fortunately there are a variety of natural and effective options available. Manual combing, “suffocation”, and the use of essential oils are all chemical-free alternatives that have proven effectiveness, especially if combined during treatment. First of all manual removal is key. Invest in a quality stainless steel lice comb with grooved teeth (around $10). This helps pull out the nits better than cheaper lice combs. It really is the most important tool in your lice-fighting arsenal and when used in combination with other natural removal methods, you’ll be lice free sooner rather than later!
Lice professionals who use this natural removal method will often treat the hair with a pesticide free mousse or shampoo containing an enzyme that helps eliminate lice and the nits by breaking up the glue that makes the nits stick to hair. A thick oil based conditioner can also used before combing through with the special nit comb. The conditioner is thought to suffocate and slow the live lice and also make the combing process easier, but any conditioner applied generously will work to make combing easier.
Some products also include tea tree oil which has shown some promising results as a lice-fighter. A 2012 study found that it killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes. This same study also looked at the effectiveness of nerolidol, a compound found in many essential oils which provides a floral scent, was better at killing lice eggs. Researchers noted the potential of this combination and that essential oils could be an important tool in fighting head lice. A similar study compared various commercial natural treatments on their effectiveness at killing lice and their nits. They found that a “suffocation” method with an oil-based conditioner treatment (in this case mineral oil) and a product containing both tea tree oil and lavender oil were most effective and should be recommended as first-line treatments against lice. Using these natural products followed by a thorough combing will further increase effectiveness.
Combing does take time because you have to comb little sections of hair to make sure your comb goes over each hair strand. Combing should be done at least every 2-3 days until no more nits are combed out for up to 2 weeks to ensure a missed nit didn’t hatch new babies. What to do if your kids gave you lice and there is no one around to “nit-pick” you? Fortunately there are lice salons or lice professionals that can come to your home. Some even guarantee you will be lice free that day.
Prevention is possible. Teach your child how lice spreads and to avoid head to head contact. Do regular hair checks if you know there is an outbreak at school. Since is takes a week to ten days for nits to hatch, a weekly comb through (with the nit comb)as part of a “beauty” routine can help prevent a bad infestation and may prevent it completely. There are a variety of hair products that use essential oils such as tea tree, peppermint, or citronella to make your hair smell unpleasant to the lice. A couple drops of tea tree oil in shampoo or conditioner a few times a week can also be used. Even though essential oils are natural, caution should be used (especially with children). Stop if you notice skin irritation or breathing problems. Using these products does not guarantee a lice-free head; manual checks are still a must!
Megan Witt
References:
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/gen_info/faqs.html
www.lousecalls.com
http://www.webmd.boots.com/children/head-lice-do-i-need-to-treat-the-household
Head lice are not found on floors in primary school classrooms.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12141614
http://unews.utah.edu/news_releases/of-lice-and-men/
CDC
http://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/treatment.html
National Pediculosis Foundation
http://www.headlice.org/
Malathion
http://www.health.ny.gov/publications/2740/
Activity of tea tree oil and nerolidol alone or in combination against Pediculus capitis (head lice) and its eggs.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22847279
An ex vivo, assessor blind, randomised, parallel group, comparative efficacy trial of the ovicidal activity of three pediculicides after a single application–melaleuca oil and lavender oil, eucalyptus oil and lemon tea tree oil, and a “suffocation” pediculicide.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3182970/pdf/1471-5945-11-14.pdf