How To Get Rid Of Lice Without Harming Children

When a father sees his son scratching his head, all the alarms go off, especially if he has experience with these annoying and recurring critters.

Lice have been and always will be. Their proliferation is not necessarily related to poor hygiene or poor living conditions. If there are more now than a few years ago, it is because lice have become resistant to chemical treatments.

For this reason, and especially because insecticides are not safe for children, it is advisable to resort to natural means although the aversion they provoke leads many parents to launch themselves for the most deadly weapon they find in the pharmacy.

How to get rid of lice naturally

Lice, which live for about a month and suck blood every two or three hours, do not jump from head to head as is believed, but walk from hair to hair at the moments of maximum closeness that occur between and between children. and his parents and friends.

A single female can cause an infestation, because she lays up to 250 eggs. They are the greyish-white nits, which are the first thing that comes to mind.

Lice do not transmit disease, although itching leads to scratching and wounds that can become infected. On the other hand, chemical remedies to combat them are dangerous, and they are also not very effective.

Poisons for lice … and for children

The most used products are pyrethroids, which in high exposures can cause headaches, nausea and muscle weakness.

A study carried out at the Cincinatti Children’s Hospital (United States) even links them to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the incidence of which is increasing.

The lindane, a neurotoxic organophosphate pesticide is prohibited since 2009 in agriculture, it is still in products for children ‘s heads.

Another similar agent is malathion, to which lice have become resistant, but not children. In pharmacy products there may also be ingredients such as piperonyl butoxide, which enhances the effect of pyrethroids and is suspected of being carcinogenic.

Silicone- based treatments are safer because they base their effectiveness on suffocating the louse, they do not poison it. However
, they are not biodegradable and leave residues in the environment.

Solutions without negative effects

When the infestation is found, it is important to act quickly and check the heads of the whole family to treat all at once. No treatment guarantees 100% effectiveness; hence it is a good idea to combine several and keep them for a long time.

An effective remedy is to wash your hair with vinegar:

• Mix with equal parts warm water and massage the entire head with it.
• Also soak a towel with this mixture, leave it rolled up on the child’s head for at least an hour.
• Then, with the help of a nit, remove both the dead lice and the nits.
• This treatment should be done for at least eight days.

Natural cosmetics provide other good options, many of them based on essential oils such as lavender and tea tree. You can find shampoos and lotions and even repellants to avoid a new infestation once the pest is controlled.

The best weapon: the nit

Whatever method is used, having a good nit is essential, since both dead or live lice and nits must be removed . And after the unpleasant episode, the only thing left to do is cross your fingers so that the next one will take a few months to arrive.

Do you need to boil your clothes?

It is often advised to boil the clothes, sheets and towels of those who have lice, even wash and disinfect stuffed animals and dolls and freeze them afterwards.

All this only serves to have a clear conscience and think that everything humanly possible has been done. Actually much less is enough …

Clothes can be washed normally and stuffed animals just need to be left in a closed bag for three days. However, any of these measures will be ineffective if the head is not treated.

7 recommended commercial products

1. Assy metal niter Made of
stainless steel and specially designed to drag the smallest lice thanks to its micro-grooved tines.
Price: 15 euros.

2. Esi Preventive Lotion
Pid Block spray, with neem and other effective plants, creates an unfavorable environment for lice and helps to remove nits.
Price: 100 ml, 15 euros.

3. Zérapou anti-lice shampoo by Alphanova Kids
Very mild, with lavender water, aloe and essential oils of tea tree and geranium. It can be used for long periods.
Price: 200ml, 15.8 euros.

4. DHU Iberian treatment
lotion Pidokind lotion helps prevent and eliminate lice with essential oil of lavender and thyme, among others. Includes a nit.
Price: 75 ml, 22.20 euros.

5. Poppy Workshop Tea Tree
Essential oil useful to avoid contagion in times of great incidence. A few drops are applied undiluted on the head and massaged well. Price: 12 ml for 7.50 euros.

6. Inex Agua de Gracia Shampoo
Based on olive oil, it incorporates microcapsules of tea tree oil that ensure its controlled release.
Price: 100 ml for 11.94 euros.

7. Ovopid Flora 3-phase treatment
This treatment kit includes a hair oil with essential oils such as neem, a shampoo and a lotion for daily use.
Price: 40.95 euros.