What Every Parent Needs To Know Before Treating Head Lice?

Having head lice has nothing to do with your hygiene or cleanliness. In fact, lice prefer clean environments. Head lice are mostly in kids between the ages of 3 years to 12 years old. Head lice are also more common in girls. There are a few precautions you can take to prevent your child from getting lice or treat them if they have head lice. Read on to learn how easily lice spread, and ways of preventing head lice.

Head Lice Symptoms

It's important to know the head lice symptoms and how to get rid of them in order to avoid spreading the problem.

Sings you have lice are:

• Itching
• Red rash on the head
• Tiny eggs on the scalp or hair
• The nits can be seen using a magnifying glass.

Precautions

1. Avoid head contact

Tell your kids not to share things that touch your head, such as barrettes, brushes, hair ties, towels, bedding, pillows, etc. This is even important if they don’t have lice as it will protect them from other children infested with lice.

2. Guilty by association

Also, examine everyone who has had close contact with a person who recently had lice. Head lice are easily spread from head-to-head touch, and it is better to catch lice in the early stages than later.

Treating Head Lice.

1. Shampoo

If someone is found to have head lice, there are shampoos to help kill head lice. Some of these are R&C Shampoo, Nix Creme Rinse or Kwellada-P Creme Rinse, and Hexit Shampoo. Unfortunately, some lice have become immune to shampoo, so other methods may be necessary.

2. Nit comb

Also, use a nit comb and try to comb out some of the lice. Nit combs are small combs made to remove lice from your hair. The bristles are small and very close together, generally made of plastic or metal. These can remove the live lice from your hair but often miss the eggs. Head lice prevention is thus not very effective just with a nit comb; thus, it is necessary to have more than just a nit comb to eliminate your lice.

3. Tea in a bottle

Some lice have become immune to the shampoos over the years, so another method is as follows: Boil one cup of water and add two tablespoons of Quassia Amara wood chips (from the bark.) Once this has cooled, strain and discard the chips. Place the liquid in a hand sprayer and add 2 tbsp per cup of rubbing alcohol (to prevent bacterial spoilage). Spray this on your head every day, and the lice should disappear. Use a nit comb to get rid of any eggs.

Head Lice Medication 

Head lice medication includes both prescription and over-the-counter treatments. Prescription medications are available in two forms: lotion or shampoo. They are applied to the scalp, then left on for 10 minutes before being washed out with water. Some people also use prescription medicated shampoos as an alternative treatment option. Over-the-counter medications consist of creams, lotions, or shampoos that must be applied to the head and left on overnight before washing out with water in the morning.

Although head lice can cause a real headache for parents, there are solutions and preventions for head lice.

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