Archive for May, 2010

Treatments for Head Lice

Treatments for Head Lice


Once you have determined that your child has head lice, it is time to start treatments for head lice right away.  There are several things to take care of in addition to treating the child’s hair itself.  You will also need to treat what your child may have come into contact with while they had lice.  But the first step is treating their hair.

There are several over the counter shampoos that will kill lice in addition to prescription shampoos, cream rinses or lotions.  It is important to follow the directions on the bottle exactly to ensure that the treatment will work properly.  With most lice shampoos you apply the shampoo to dry hair, wait ten minutes then lather in the shower and rinse.  You will also have to comb out the dead insects and the nits from the hair after that with a fine-toothed lice comb.  This is easier to do if the child’s hair is wet.  The shampooing process should be repeated in seven to ten days to kill any newly hatched nymphs that hatch from undetected eggs.

Although lice do not survive long if they fall of their host, you will still need to treat some parts of your home as well as determine what things in your home your child has come into contact with since they had head lice.  Start by stripping their beds and washing them in hot water.  Placing them in the dryer for at least 20 minutes on the hot cycle with also kill loose lice.  You can place things like pillows in the dryer if you do not want to run them through the washer machine.  You can also dry clean anything that is not machine washable.


Treatments for head lice also includes such things as your children’s plush toys that cannot be washed. With these objects simply place them into an airtight bag for two weeks.  If you are lucky and it is cold outside, you can store them in a cold place like a garage for two weeks in order to kill lice.  You need to then vacuum carpets and upholstered furniture thoroughly.  You should also vacuum your car as well.  Then make sure that you soak your hair care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands,, headbands and brushes in rubbing alcohol or just throw them away.

If you have more then one child but only one has head lice, you should treat all of your children as if they have it.  Lice do not have wings so they cannot fly and they cannot jump but they can crawl.  They are spread form person to person through contact.  Because of this it is very likely that other children in the family do have lice as well that have not been detected yet.

Lice need to be taken seriously because if you do not do the necessary treatments for head lice with your children and your home thoroughly, the lice will continue to thrive and turn into an infestation rather than a few nits on one’s hair.  Be diligent when it comes to these home remedies lice treatments.  Wash bedding everyday and you can throw coats that are too time consuming to wash everyday into the dryer for 20 minutes everyday instead.  Do not allow your children to share thing like hats and combs that come into contact with their scalp with anyone and make sure girls wear their hair up when at school during the day.

Removal Tips for Head Lice

Removal Tips for Head Lice

How can you be sure if your child has head lice?  Have you noticed your children scratching their heads or have you observed small little specks in their hair?  But how do you know if it is lice or dandruff and how do you remove them?

This article will discuss removal tips for head lice and the best head lice treatments such as: shampoo for head lice and home treatment of head lice.

Head lice are human parasites that feed on small amounts of blood that is drawn from the scalp.  They are most likely


seen but not limited to children between the ages of 3 to 12.  Girls are also more likely to get lice but that does not mean that boys are abstained from it.

Identifying head lice might be a little hard to do.  Generally most types of bugs do not reside on a person’s scalp so if you notice an insect about the size of a sesame seed and tan in color crawling on your child’s head, they most likely have lice.  Nits which are the eggs that the lice lay are harder to identify.  It could be dandruff or dried hair spray that you are looking at and not a nit.

So how do you tell the difference?  If the white thing in the hair comes off easily from the hair shaft, it is most likely dandruff.  If it is not easily removed yellow, tan or brown in color it is most likely a nit.  Once the eggs have hatched they will look white or clear.

It is now up to you to remove any lice or nits that are found in the hair.  This can be done in several ways typically after shampooing using medicated lice shampoo.  While the hair is still wet, separate the hair into one inch sections and comb from the scalp to the tip of the hair with a fine-toothed lice comb.  You’ll need to wipe the comb clean with every pass then move onto the next section of hair.  This can take several hours so be prepared.  But, it is important to go through the hair thoroughly.  Lice shampoos do not always kill the nits leaving some that will still hatch.  Making sure to go through the hair thoroughly will cut down you likely hood of an infestation in the future.

Another removal tip for head lice from your child’s head is by using tweezers.  This is done in the same way as if you were using the comb by parting the hair into small sections.  But, what do you do with the lice and nits as you are removing them?  Once the nits are removed from the hair they are no longer sticky so they will not stick to a paper towel or napkin.  And hopefully by this time the lice are dead or dying.  The best way to dispose of these insects is to stick them onto a piece of wide tape or making tape.  Roll up the piece of tape onto itself once it is filled up, place it in an airtight Ziploc bag and throw it in the garage.

The last removal tips for head lice is to make sure that you remove lice from all your bedding, upholstered furniture or carpets and this can be done easily in a few different ways.  First, wash everything that you are able to wash by placing it in the washer machine and make sure that it is on the hot setting.  Second, items that cannot be soaked with water place in the washer machine can be placed into a dryer for 20 minutes on one of the hot settings. Remember also to thoroughly vacuum upholstered furniture and carpets. Finally, remember to vacuum your car upholstery and floors as well because the head lice and nits are there as well.

If you would like additional information on simple but effective lice treatments check out head lice home remedies.

Head Lice: Information You Need to Know

Head Lice Information

It is such a shock to most of us when a family member discovers that they have head lice. It is at that point that we realize that we need Head Lice Information and we need it fast. In our minds it is usually other people who have


had it or someone who looks unclean but, we never thought it would happen to our children.  Unfortunately, it does happen to many people. This article is about head lice information and getting rid of head lice. If you have discovered it on your own or have had the painful experience of the school nurse breaking the bad news to you, how do you handle it?

Most people at some time in their lives have had lice.  Perhaps you will recall what your mom did when you were little or you received advice from friends suggesting a head lice home remedies such as an olive oil head lice treatment or a mayonnaise treatment.  But, the best way to treat lice and treat it quickly is to get the facts and do it right and to understand what you are dealing with.

What are head lice?

First, head lice are not dangerous and they do not spread disease.  They are a small wingless parasitic insect that live among human hair and feed on small amounts of blood drawn from the scalp.  They are very common especially for children between the ages of 3 and 12 but bothersome do to the itching their bites cause.  While boys can get lice, girls get it more often.

What are the Symptoms of Head Lice?

There a several signs of lice that you should always look out for when your kids are coming into contact with other kids such as a school setting.  One of the most obvious signs is scratching of the scalp.  Lice and nits are very hard to see and can easily be overlooked during everyday grooming rituals.  However, you might notice your child start scratching their head on a regular basis.  The itching might not start right away but, it depends on how sensitive your child’s skin is to the lice.  It can sometimes take weeks for the itching to begin.

Lice Eggs and
What’s the difference Between Dandruff and Lice Eggs?

Keep your eyes out for nits which are lice eggs.  They are small, yellow, tan or brown before they hatch.  After they have hatched the shells may be white or appear clear.  Nits can be seen with the naked eye on the shafts of the hair close but not always to the skin’s surface.  An easy way to tell the difference between nits and dandruff is to check to see if they will easily brush off the hair.  Dandruff will brush of but nits will not.  They can also be felt between the fingers


unlike dandruff.  It is more common to see nits on the child’s hair then it is to see live insects crawling around the scalp unless the infestation is extremely heavy.  Nits will hatch in one to two weeks after they are laid.

Adult lice or nymphs, are no bigger then the size of a sesame seed.  They are typically tan in color.  Nymphs become adults in only one to two weeks after they hatch.  All lice need a constant heat and food supply that is found through the scalp but, they can survive up to two days if removed from the scalp. Once you have determined that your child has head lice it is time to treat it.

The best way to do this is to research your many options.  You might want to call your doctor and see what they suggest.  But, be careful of just trying things through word of mouth.  Sometimes those around you might not be giving you the best advice.

Head Lice Home Remedies

Head Lice Home Remedies

Treating head lice should be taken seriously and be done correctly.  But, are you aware of what you are putting on your


child’s head when you are using lice shampoo?  Even though the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends Nix to be the most effective treatment for lice, you are using pesticides. That is why we want to share with you our research regarding Head Lice Home Remedies.

While some people feel that head lice shampoo is the only and best way to treat head lice, other people will want alternative treatments such as: natural remedies for head lice as well as discover the best treatments for head lice.

You might have a child that has allergies and you are nervous to use chemicals not only in or around your home but on your child as well.  If you are looking for an alternative to using chemicals on your child’s head the simplest home remedy would be to just comb or pick the lice and nits out using a lice comb or tweezers.  Lice are the live adult insects while nits are the eggs.  This would have to be done over several says in a row to ensure that you have gotten them all and is extremely time consuming.  Even with the lice shampoo you still have to comb out the nits.

Head Lice Home Remedy:

One particular head lice home remedy, that is considered one of the natural home remedies, involves putting a substance on the child’s hair which smothers and suffocates the lice.  This is usually done with mayonnaise, a head lice olive oil treatment, or Vaseline.  For best results, with these head lice home remedies, leave it on overnight under a shower cap and then wash your hair out the next morning.  It is a messy procedure but some experts believe this is an effective head lice treatment because these household substances removes the lice and nits as well. Vinegar can be used to rinse out greasy substances used to treat lice and it gives any new eggs a harder time sticking to the hair.

You can also ask your child’s doctor about a prescription medication to treat lice called Ulesfia.  It is a non-pesticide prescription treatment for head lice.  You need to saturate the hair then wash it out ten minutes later.  It suffocates the respiratory spiracles of the head lice.  It needs to be applied seven days later.

Slightly less proven methods of ridding your child of lice involve herbal home remedies.  They are typically made with tree oil or other essential oils.  But they are not regulated by the FDA and are therefore not proven to work.


If you are worried about your child bringing home lice and want to prevent this, there are things you can do as well as a parent with head lice home remedies. Girls should wear their hair up with hair gel in it.  You should also instruct your children not to share combs, hats,
hair ties, scarves or anything else that might have contact with the scalp.  Lice do not have wings and they can not jump.  Therefore the way that they are spread from person to person is through direct contact.  But be careful, you do not need to treat for lice unless you are positive they have it especially if you are sing lice shampoo.  Make sure to do research as to how to identify lice, nymphs and nits to correctly identify head lice.

Best Lice Treatments

Best Lice Treatments: Head Lice Combs

The Best Lice Treatments for many people is simply getting the right type of comb to remove head lice and nits from


The Best Lice Treatments for many people is simply getting the right type of comb to remove head lice and nits from your child’s hair. These are indeed annoying parasites and recent statistics revealed that there are approximately six to twelve million children affected by head lice in the United Sates each year!

Although head lice are not dangerous, they are definitely very contagious and can spread from one child to another. Some people feel that they can jump or fly, which isn’t true. Another misunderstanding is that people feel that they received the lice from their pets, which also isn’t true.

If you or your children ever had head lice you know how frustrating they are when you are constantly itching your scalp with this infestation. Lice are parasites and they draw small amounts of blood from the scalp which causes people to scratch these small red bumps.

Head Lice Combs: Lice Removal

Another simple but tedious best lice treatments is to individually remove the lice from your child’s head. You will need to remove these lice and nits with a special head lice comb or tweezer. The nits are the eggs that the lice lay.  With a lice comb you will see the nits and lice at the base of the hair. Remember they are very small, from .8 to .3 mm or approximately the size of a dot on a piece of paper, and the colors can vary from white, gray, tan, brown or even yellow.  However, they can turn to a white or clear shade when the lice have hatched their eggs.

When you are ready to view and remove the lice and nits your child’s hair needs to be wet. When the hair’s wet it will be much easier to manually remove these little pests.  Most of them will be near the scalp. To make sure that no lice are left behind you want to divide your child’s hair into small one or two inch sections, and work systematically to remove them.

>>Click Here To Find Out Which Head Lice Combs To Buy
and Which Ones to Avoid Now<<

It is very important that you comb the hair from the base to the end of each hair cluster. We also highly recommend that every time that you comb through the hair that you wipe and rinse the comb off in hot water. Continue this same procedure until you have completed each and every group of hair sections. The bad news is that you will need to do this same procedure again every two days for fourteen days, because if you missed any of the eggs they will hatch in approximately six to ten days.

What Head Lice Combs Should You Use?

The comb you use is important! Many people use their personal plastic combs which are not effective in removing lice and lice eggs. The biggest problem with many of these plastic combs is that the comb’s teeth are too wide to comb out the these small miniature pests.  Another problem with a regular comb, that isn’t designed for lice removal, is that the lice will actually embed themselves between the handle and the teeth of the comb.

Metal Lice Combs

When you have signs of head lice you need a metal comb that has teeth that are both long and finely spaced.  We do not recommend getting rid of head lice by using tweezers. To rid head lice, and that means all head lice, you need to use a special metal head lice comb. It is almost impossible to remove and find all the lice and nits with tweezers alone. Some people have found that using an old but clean old toothbrush worked well in addition to the metal comb in removing the eggs and nits from the scalp.

Electric Comb for Lice

A very effective, natural and safe new home lice remedy, instead of using potentially harmful medicated shampoos, is to use an electric comb.  These electric combs, which are powered by a small battery, work with alternating negative and positive charges. When the lice come into contact with the teeth of the comb they are destroyed upon contact. Make sure that your child’s hair is dry not wet with this procedure to avoid small electric shocks! Like the metal comb procedure you want to comb the hair in small groups and sections for effective lice removal. Unlike chemical treatments, that can have side effects and be resistant with future treatments, an electric comb can be used as many times as necessary.  Although the electric comb is a little more expensive than a basic lice comb, we feel that it is an effective and safe investment to our child and family’s peace of mind.

Hopefully this article showed you the value of Home Remedies Lice in using Head Lice Combs. If you would like additional free and useful information and reviews of the best head lice combs please feel free to visit: www.bestheadlicecombreviews.com or simply Click Here. Thank You.

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Electric Lice Comb for Lice Are The Best<<