Although people usually associate head lice with school-age children, anyone can get them. It's not a serious condition but is an annoying one, causing severe itching and other discomfort on the scalp and the back of the neck. If you get head lice, try one of the following methods to get rid of them.
Medicated Treatment
Consult a doctor about using over-the-counter or prescription medications, such as cream rinses, lotions or shampoos. Most over-the-counter products contain pyrethrin (Nix) or permethrin (Rid), which usually kill lice 10 to 30 minutes after use. When applying the medication, wear rubber gloves, and wash your hair in a basin or sink to keep the product from running onto other parts of your body.
If you find live lice after 30 minutes. stop using that product, read the directions for application frequency, and try using a permethrin product if you initially used a pyrethrin product (or vice versa). Because medicated products are insecticides, make sure you follow the directions carefully, as you could suffer a harmful reaction if you apply more of the product than you should.
Non-Insecticide Treatments
If you want to avoid using insecticide treatments to get rid of head lice, try a more natural means. Before going to bed, coat your head with mayonnaise (that you have not yet refrigerated) or petroleum jelly. Cover your head with cling wrap or a plastic shower cap, and let it sit overnight. This will smother any head lice and eggs. When done, throw the shower cap away, wash your hands, and shampoo. To get your hair completely clean, repeat the process once or twice.
To rinse out petroleum jelly, saturate your hair with baby oil. Wash your hair three times with dish soap and hot water, leaving the dish soap on your hair for a few minutes each time.
If you want to make your own lice shampoo, add 5 drops each of the following essential oils to a base of 5 teaspoons of pure olive or coconut carrier oil (these oils kill lice by dissolving their exoskeletons): eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, rosemary and tea tree. After adding a small amount of regular shampoo to the mixture, apply all over your hair, and cover with a towel or shower cap for an hour. Then rinse and shampoo your hair without using conditioner. Rinse again, this time with vinegar, and then rinse once more with hot water.
Combing Your Hair
In conjunction with using any lice-killing treatments, wash anything with which you have regular contact to help prevent reinfestation. You also want to comb your hair daily with a metal lice comb, which you can find at the drugstore or via the National Pediculosis Association Inc. website at www.headlice.org.
After using a lice shampoo, wash your hair with regular shampoo and conditioner. After leaving the conditioner in and drying , use a regular comb to remove snarls and suds. Then, starting at the crown of your head, pull the comb slowly through your hair, one section at a time. Once you complete a section, pin it back with a hair clip, and begin another section.
After you have combed all of , rinse it with water and dry. If you see any remaining nits, remove them individually. Soak the comb in hot soapy ammonia water for 15 minutes, and use dental floss or an old toothbrush to remove debris stuck in the comb's teeth.
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