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How to get rid of stuff » Outdoors » How to Get Rid of Lice
 

How to Get Rid of Lice

November 20th, 2009 by admin
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If you think back to your school days, you will no-doubt remember occasions where the school nurses would visit your class and dig through you and your classmates hair. What they were searching for was head lice, which is most frequently spread in schools where children share close quarters. This guide will show you how to get rid of lice without the use of dangerous chemicals and insecticides.

1. Louse identification

This article will concern itself with three different types of biting lice differentiated by their preferred home on a person's body: head lice, pubic lice and body lice. None of these species are able to jump or fly, so infestation only occurs through direct contact with infested individuals or infested materials (brushes, headgear, pillows). An adult louse is about as large as the tip of a ball point pen and appears tan to light gray in color. Tear-drop shaped eggs are attached to the base of hairs near the scalp and appear yellow, gray or brown.

Head lice

Head lice live in head and very rarely in eyebrow hair. They attach their eggs to the base of individual hairs with a strong glue-like substance that resists washing and brushing. Their bites can trigger an allergic reaction that causes itching. Scratching can cause damage to the scalp along with a subsequent infection of the area. An infested individual will often have brownish-red or black specs on their back and shoulders.

Head Louse Close-up

Pubic lice

Pubic lice take up residence in the crotch, anal area, thighs, abdomen, armpits and eyelashes where they live and lay eggs in the hair. This variety is usually spread through direct sexual contact but can also be spread through sharing of clothing or bedding with an infested individual. Pubic lice can be associated with sexually-transmitted diseases so any infested individuals should get tested for STD's. As with head lice, an allergic reaction to the bites can cause itching and will occasionally turn them blue. An infested person will often find reddish or whitish dandruff-like flakes in areas of infestation. Excessive scratching can cause red, scaly skin with hardened or oozing lesions. (Learn how to get rid of pubic lice)

Pubic Louse Close-up

Body lice

Body lice live only in one's clothing, they move to the skin in order to feed and then return to the clothing. This type of louse is often found where large groups of people are crowded closely together such as prisons, orphanages, and refugee communities but is also common in vagrants that sleep in their clothing and rarely wash. It is responsible for the transmission of typhus and other human diseases. They lay their eggs only in the clothing and are easily dealt with by washing.

Body Louse Close-up

2. Tools for getting rid of lice

This section will go into detail about the different tools that are readily available to help you fight a lice infestation. Insecticidal shampoos are discussed here, but please consider them only as a last resort. It is very possible to defeat a lice infestation without resorting to poison.

Soaps and shampoos

Olive oil Coconut oil and olive oil (For other uses of olive oil, read 13 practical uses for olive oil) are claimed to exhibit a mild pesticidal quality that can help kill adult lice, but these claims have yet to be substansiated so don't overspend on soaps and shampoos that contain these products. Regular shampoo is sufficient. Shampoos leave eggs intact and so should always be combined with wet combing (See below).

Lice combs

There are special lice combs that are designed with teeth spaced out just far enough to allow hair to pass, but not nits (louse eggs). Purchase only the metal-toothed type as the plastic variety are often not as reliable for removing all of the eggs. Combing is much easier to do when the hair is moist and soft, so an ideal time is right after shampooing.

Insecticidal shampoos

Please consider insecticidal shampoo as a last resort. They kill both eggs and adults, but the pesticides can be absorbed through a person's skin. Never shampoo with one of these products during a normal bath or shower as the residue can easily travel over most of the body, and never use an insecticidal shampoo on an infant or a person with open cuts, sores, or irritation of the scalp. Be sure to follow the instructions on the bottle exactly and never use them on someone who is not infested.

If you decide to use an insecticidal shampoo anyway, consult your doctor first and stay away from any that contain lindane - Lindane is a known carcinogen and nerve poison that has been banned in many countries around the world. Instead, choose a pyrethrin based shampoo. Pyrethrin is a synthetic insecticide that is not only more effective than lindane, but much safer as well.

Environmental insecticides

Using insecticides in the environment is not necessary or recommended for lice infestations since lice tend to stick close to their hosts. There are some things in the environment that may need attention such as bed linens and headgear, but these are easily cleaned in soap and hot water.

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    1. mahnoosh Says:
      October 26th, 2009 at 4:41 am

      LICE HAVE BEEN CRAWLING OVER MA HEAD AND SUCKING UP MA BLOOD FOR LIKE TWO YEARS NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!IN THE MIDDLE IT GOT REALLY BAD!BUT NOW ITS WAY BETTER…..I THINK THE MOST SUITABLE WAY IS TO COMB WITH A NIT COMB EVERYDAY…I NOEE…..IT REALLY STINKS!!
      =(

    2. mom Says:
      September 8th, 2009 at 8:47 am

      I used the information given at headlicefreenaturally.com and it actually works. I recommend it to others when ever I come across frustrated parents dealing with head lice. If you are sick and tired of stuff that doesnt work, go get the instructions from their site. I wont tell you the secrets because its not fair to the site owners but I will say that you wont be dissapointed with the program!!!

    3. donna Says:
      August 19th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

      Oh someone plz help My neighbor has 5 adorable children that are infested with head lice.This does not cause him to be concerned but school starts up in a week and these kids are already tormented.One of the little girls now has sores the size of quarters on her head how can i help them get rid of this if the father will not help

    4. ggbgy btyg Says:
      August 18th, 2009 at 11:34 pm

      my taddy has lice how do i get it out

    5. Laura Rich Says:
      August 7th, 2009 at 10:17 pm

      I have had an ongoing problem with head lice on my 12 year old daughter since Sep 08. We used Rid, Nix, LIce MD, LIce Killer, you name it, and I was combing almost daily for hours. NOTHING worked. Then I read something on line about heat killing lice. So after spending probably $300 on shampoo, oils, and lice combs etc over the past 11 months figured, what’s another $50 if it works. So I bought a hair bonnet (similar to a blow drier that you sit under in a salon). I had her sit under it on HIGH for 1 hour 3 days in a row and amazingly, NO NITS!…everything was killed. Try it. I don’t know if an attachment to a blow dryer would work, but I was afraid I’d over heat a regular hand held dryer so I spent $50 for the bonnet at Sally Beauty Supply. It was worth it and I wish I’d done it at the start!!!!! She has been nit free for 4 days so far and I haven’t combed since I started the dryer sessions. I have been checking her hair daily though and have found nothing but dead eggs.

    6. wendy Says:
      July 12th, 2009 at 5:23 pm

      use goo gone citrus from Walmart to desolve the eggs and comb out with a metal flea comb…rinse the stuff out after about ten minutes.(it can irritate the ears and neck etc)It is awesome stuff.Also you can spray Listerine on hair or use extra strength Denorex.You must get out the nits or you will still have lice.

    7. hellohello Says:
      June 17th, 2009 at 6:14 am

      HELP!! i think its been like 2 weeks that ive had head lice and my parents arnt helping !! ive tried everything and it just wont go !!
      and i am like tottaly freaked out because i am scared of bugs and the idea of them crawling in my head does not help!!!! i really dont want to live with them 4ever and i want them to go like now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

      HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!HELP!!

    8. moomoo Says:
      June 4th, 2009 at 11:46 pm

      i have had lice SINCE I WAS BORN or at least a long time….MY TIP:DUMP UR HEAD IN COLD/HOT WATER FOR ARLEAST 2 MINUTES AND COMB (JUST IN CASE SOME ARE STILL IN THERE…)…..

      welcome!!

    9. emmygirl12 Says:
      March 6th, 2009 at 12:22 pm

      i am 12 years old and i have head lice i got it frommy school i am not aloud to back untill i can get rid of it. i was up last night untill 3 o’colck just trying to pic the eggs out with my mom and she had to go to work the next day i wont be back at skool for at least 3 day!!! HELP

    10. maria Says:
      January 20th, 2009 at 7:19 pm

      Hi my name is maria i am only 11 years old and i have really really really bad head lice and right now i can feel them crawling around on my head and i keep telling my mom i wanna shave my head cuz i keep skratching it and i dont want my friends to know i have it and i dont know which of my friends has it plz plz plz plz help

    11. kadie Says:
      January 13th, 2009 at 1:06 pm

      how could you know if you have lice ??? pliz answer
      thx

    12. punkgirl Says:
      December 26th, 2008 at 8:36 pm

      does taking showers help kill lice if you take one every day?

    13. jenny Says:
      December 2nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm

      My Two nieces have lice,Everytime they visit me i spend hours and hours killing those suckers.but it keeps coming back!Two things i wanna do is dye their hair for 45 minuites and blow dry them.

    14. mamaof3 Says:
      November 30th, 2008 at 5:42 pm

      Here is my advice. And it will work, if you follow my directions.

      1-You must kill the lice with Nix, Rid or whatever lice killing shampoo you decide to use.

      2-You absolutely 100% have to remove every single nit!!!! This is probably the one step that people do not do correctly, resulting in reinfestation. You must check the infested head every day for 3-4 weeks. And you have to go through small sections at a time and be sure that you haven’t missed any. If you do miss a nit, it will hatch and you will be reinfested.

      3-You must remove all bedding, pillows, stuffed animals, and clothing and wash them in hot water and dry them. There is a spray you can use on your furniture if you cannot wash cushions or what not. If you do not do this, the lice or nits that may have remained can crawl on you, and you will be reinfested. If there is something you cannot wash, put it in a bag for 10 days so that the lice can die. Don’t forget to spray your vehicle!!

      4-Please don’t forget to check the head everyday! This is very crucial. Yes, it sucks, but you have no choice unless you want to live with lice forever. You must remove any nit you see either with your fingers or a lice comb.

      ~I personally, after dealing with lice have found that tea tree oil is wonderful! It is only around $7, and if you use the appropriate amount each time you shampoo (which is only a couple drops) it will keep the lice away. They cannot stand the smell of it. You can also put it in your shampoo bottle so you do not have to worry about adding it every time you shampoo. Don’t forget to explain to your children that they need to keep hats, coats and heads away from the other childrens hats, coats and heads. Lice do not jump, you have to come into contact with an infected persons head. Lice cannot live on animals. Lice can be picky when it comes to certain textures of hair, but don’t think that will rule you out!! If you know somebody who continually has lice or is having problems with lice, my suggestion is to stay away from them!!! I say this because I dealt with a neighbor for a year who never wanted to take care of their lice problem correctly and gave it to my daughter several times. I finally had enough, cut it off, and now my child has been lice free. And after spending lots and lots of time and money taking care of this neusance, these are the methods I have found to work like a charm. There is no simple and easy answer to get rid of lice. You must be persistant and thorough. If you go through these steps correctly, you will get rid of the lice.

    15. Lor Says:
      November 25th, 2008 at 10:53 pm

      BTW, my friend has a yellow lab that was recently treated for tics. Other than that, noone in the house, human or dog, has any signs of lice. My friend thinks I’m CRAZY!

    16. Lor Says:
      November 25th, 2008 at 10:51 pm

      HELP!!! I’m married, and no affairs. Child is 17, neither she or my husband has lice. I simply cleaned a dirty house (on the floor, washing baseboards, etc) for a friend and then slept in a room that had been unoccupied for over a month. So-no human could have been there. I have head and body lice. Tried Premetherin treatments (creme) for over a month, bathed in Tide, used Rid in the hair, still there. Ordered Licerex not received yet, will that work just for hair or can I take a bath with it? My husband hasn’t slept in our bed for 6 weeks, when/how do I know when it’s safe for him. Will I EVER be able to be sexual again?????

    17. Diane Says:
      November 9th, 2008 at 11:14 pm

      for ppl comfortable with the concept: SHAVE YOUR HEAD!
      of course i wouldnt, i’ve never had lice and the thought
      of it kinda scares me. just in case, what REALLY works?

    18. mariah Says:
      October 25th, 2008 at 8:39 pm

      Ok people, listen carefully, my children have had lice and I learned about them from our ordeal. It is a nightmare if you don’t treat the kid’s head at least two times, eight days apart. IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE THE LICE CAME FROM! YOU MUST KILL THE EGGS! keep your kid’s clothing away from other kids. this especially refers to the hooks at school. have your kids pack their coat in their back pack.

      The lice are resistant to over the counter treatment, i.e. it doesn’t always work. We used a vaseline treatment (olive oil works too or mayonaise but mayo is disgusting) overnight (bag over the hair)which killed the buggers. IT takes many washings to get the stuff out. YOU MUST RE-TREAT eight days later to kill the live hatched from eggs. NOTHING KILLS THE EGGS! Either pull them off the hair shaft, RETREAT or they will be born and reproduce and it starts all over again. Good luck! They can be eradicated but you must be persistent. REMEMBER TO USE AT LEAST TOW TREATMENTS TO KILL THE EGGS!

    19. elloz_ppl Says:
      September 20th, 2008 at 7:50 pm

      i have had lice for a long time i tri everything but nothing works.my freind tried using (rubbing)achol and she said it worked so im goin to tri it.

    20. natasha smith Says:
      September 19th, 2008 at 1:52 pm

      my kids have been bringing them home since they started at school 5years ago i tell the school but all they do is send out letters the stuff i use dose not work no more i have tryed evry think what can i do i have had it up to my neck with it

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