Nits in the hair, image courtesy of Headlice Treatment.net

I can still remember those head lice checks that the school nurse performed. Twice a year, during the first week of school and after Spring Break, Ms. Nicholls would make her rounds. Classroom by classroom, student by student, she call us into her office, draw the blind, and peer at our scalps. For most of us, the relief at being sent back to class made us forget the dread and embarrassment that wracked us when we received our initial summons. For the few who didn’t get sent back class and were instead sent home, they were added to the short list of kids that would be mercilessly teased. Even today, I remember that in fifth-grade Sabrina was the only student out of a class of thirty-seven that missed a week of school because Nurse Nicholls discovered lice in her hair.

There’s little we can do stop the teasing our children face in the school yard. What we can do is treat the infestation as quickly as possible while offering love and support to our mortified child.

A non-medical treatment sure to get rid of lice is to drench your child’s scalp, hair follicles and hair with olive oil. Interestingly enough, lice are attracted to clean hair. Over washing can actually draw a louse to one’s head. They are repelled by oil. Hence the success of an olive oil or tea-tree oil treatment. Because louse-eggs hatch every 6-9 days, multiple treatments may be necessary. But in the end not only will your young one be lice-free but your child will also have shiny, well-moisturized hair!

Another non-medical treatment is to use a louse-comb on your little one. These are specially designed combs engineered to facilitate the removal of lice, larva, and eggs. Using this method alone will require daily/every-other-day combing for about 14 days. Proper combing involves placing the comb at the hair follicle and dragging the comb all the way to the end of the strand while the hair is still wet from washing. There are plastic and metal combs available for purchase. It’s recommended that special attention to the life cycle of a louse should be paid as missed eggs can hatch and re-infestation can occur.

Your pharmacist can recommend over-the-counter lice removal kits. These usually involve a version of pesticide, which is safe for children, to be applied to the head either as a lotion, shampoo or crème and a comb. Following the enclosed directions is strongly advised as to achieve optimum results. Again, multiple treatments may be necessary before your child is lice-free.

Also, don’t hesitate to consult your physician. Your doctor will know of the most recent and medically sound ways to treat a lice infestation.

Clean all of your child’s contaminated belongings: clothes, towels, and bedding will need to be washed in hot water, and their mattresses and room vacuumed thoroughly. Use the hottest setting on the dryer and dry for the longest time you can without harming the fabric.

It’s a wise idea to head-check everyone in family. Lice can’t jump, but they easily spread from brother to sister and from youngest to oldest.   Parents aren’t exempt, either, so you and your spouse should check each other.

To prevent future outbreaks, consider quarantining anything suspect – like a hat from the thrift store – in a sealed plastic bag for at least two weeks. Avoid trying on hats at yard sales or thrift stores, or hanging your coat or hat on a hook in a public place that may be contaminated.

Remember that lice have a 6-9 day reproductive cycle, so it’s a good idea to redo the combing exercise every six days or so until you are certain they’ve absolutely permanently disappeared.

Any items that can’t go through a dryer can be placed in black plastic bags and left in the sun for a day or so. Even if it’s not that hot outside, the interior of the bag will heat up and kill the lice.  Also, lice can only live for 48 hours or less without a source of nourishment, so the separation from their food source will kill them, too. 

Because lice can travel from one item of clothing to another, it can be helpful to quarantine clothes that have been worn, however briefly, from those that are clean.

And here’s something I learned: another natural product that has been found to be effective in the reduction of the spread of head lice is the use of fresh rosemary. Many effective shampoos and sprays work because lice are repelled by the smell of rosemary. A small number (2-3) sticks of fresh rosemary can be placed inside the pillowcase of each member of the household. The sticks of rosemary can also be placed underneath the pillow so that they do not affect or interfere with the family member trying to sleep and cannot be felt by the person while they’re sleeping. If fresh rosemary sticks are left in place for over one week, the lice leave the hair and no further eggs are laid in the hair.

Good Luck!

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1. What to Know about Head Injuries