Home Remedies for Lice Treatment

What is lice infection?

Lice are very small insects found on the scalp. You can see them with the naked eye. They prefer clean hair rather than oily hair. They can travel from one person to another. People with lice often feel like scratching their heads. Lice can weaken the hair roots, resulting in hair loss. It can even cause a fever. It is best to get rid of lice quickly. Medically known as pediculosis, lice infection is a common problem. The types of lice that infest humans are head lice, body lice, and pubic lice. Lice exist in three forms: nits and adult lice. They have a life cycle of about 30 days but cannot survive away from the human body for more than two days.

Home Remedies for Lice Infection – Natural Treatment Methods

Mentioned below are some of the most effective head lice home remedies that work –

• For head lice, wash your hair with vinegar, as it will kill all the nits and lice in two days.
• Apply coconut oil to your head after you shampoo, and then you can add ten to fifteen drops of tea tree oil to the scalp.
• Use Listerine mouthwash to wash your scalp. This will kill all the lice.
• Another great home remedy is to massage your head with mayonnaise and comb it after 2 hours.
• You can also apply a mixture of lemon and butter on your head, wait for 15 seconds, and then rinse your head with a mild shampoo.
• Apply onion juice on your scalp. Keep it for 3 to 4 hours. Wash your head
• Prepare custard apple paste. Mix it with water. Apply it to your hair before sleeping. Keep it overnight. Wash your hair in the morning. It will not only kill lice but also keep away dandruff
• Chop an apple into small pieces. Apply these pieces to your scalp. Massage it for 15 to 20 minutes. Do this regularly
• Take camphor powder and add it into the coconut oil. Apply this to your hair at night. Wash your hair in the morning. It will kill all the lice. This is one of the better home remedies for head lice
• You can also apply Vaseline to your hair. Lice will die due to suffocation. But it will be very difficult to wash your hair. Minimum 6 times you will need to wash your hair
• Comb your hair regularly with louse combs.
• Shave off all your hair and let it grow again. This will help you to eradicate the infection from its roots.
• Do not share personal belongings with an unclean person.
• Wash your hair daily and keep it clean.

Below are some of the way other then mentioned above which will help you to get rid of head lice –

• Do not use or share anyone’s comb or brush
• Wash all your clothes after visiting hair dresser
• Always use your own sleeping bag or pillow
• Always wash your hair after you come from a long journey
• Never sit touching the head of the other person

A closer look at these home remedies

Home remedies are popular and cheap, but not all of them are backed by research. A few honest notes will help you use them safely.

• Vinegar, lemon and onion juice do not reliably kill lice. Vinegar may loosen the glue that holds nits to the hair, which makes combing easier, but on its own it will not clear an infestation.
• Mayonnaise, oil and Vaseline work by smothering. Health agencies say there is not enough evidence that they kill lice. If you try them, always follow up with careful wet combing.
• Never put anything flammable on the scalp, such as kerosene or petrol. It does not work and it is dangerous.
• Take special care with custard apple seed paste. The seeds are toxic. If the paste reaches the eyes it can cause serious eye injury, and doctors in India have reported such cases. Keep it well away from the eyes and do not use it on children. Source.
• You do not need to shave your head to get rid of lice. Combing and treatment clear it without that step.

Head Lice Treatments That Actually Work

Three approaches are proven: wet combing, silicone lotions, and medicated treatments. A few rules apply to all of them.

• Treat only when you see a live, moving louse. Old nits alone do not always mean an active infestation.
• Most treatments miss some eggs. So a second round 7 to 10 days later is important.
• Check everyone in the house and treat all those with live lice on the same day.

Wet combing

This removes lice by hand and uses no chemicals. Wet the hair and coat it with plenty of conditioner. Comb from the roots to the tips with a fine-tooth nit comb. Wipe the comb on a tissue after each stroke. Repeat every 3 to 4 days for two weeks. It is safe for young children and in pregnancy.

Silicone (dimeticone) lotions

Dimeticone 4% lotion coats the lice and smothers them. Apply it to the hair, leave it on for about 8 hours or overnight, then wash it out. Do a second application after 7 days. It is not an insecticide, so lice do not build resistance to it. This makes it a good first choice for many families.

Medicated lotions and shampoos

Over-the-counter products with permethrin or pyrethrin kill live lice. Apply as directed and treat again after 7 to 10 days, since they do not kill all the eggs. If two proper rounds fail, a pharmacist or doctor may suggest a prescription option such as malathion, spinosad or ivermectin.

Sources: CDC, Mayo Clinic, NHS.

There are 3 types of lice

• Head Lice – It is found on the scalp
• Body Lice – Found on the body
• Pubic Lice – It is found in the private parts of the body

Causes of lice infection

The most common way head lice are transmitted is through head-to-head contact. However, indirect contact, such as sharing pillows, hats, carpets, and so on, can also transmit lice. Body lice are usually common among people who are unhygienic and do not take baths daily, do not wear washed cloth and so on. If you are in direct contact with someone who has body lice, you can also become infected. A pubic louse is usually caused by sexual contact with an infected person. Wearing a condom does not help.

Symptoms of the Infection

Head lice are usually found behind the ears and near the neck. The symptoms of lice infestation include itching, crusting, and redness on the scalp. Repeated scratching often leads to swollen nodes, resulting in lumps on the neck and behind the ears. However, head lice sometimes cause no symptoms.

As you shampoo your hair, mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil, and 1 teaspoon of eucalyptus oil. Then apply the solution, cover your head for two hours, and rinse it off. You can use this as a remedy to fight off these invaders.

How to Stop Lice Spreading and Coming Back

Clearing the hair is only half the job. These steps lower the chance of the lice returning.

• Wash recently worn clothes, hats, bedding, and towels in hot water at about 130°F (60°C) and dry them on high heat.
• Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes.
• Vacuum the floor and furniture where the person sat or slept. The risk from carpets is small, so light cleaning is enough.
• Do not use insecticide fogs or fumigant sprays in the home. They can be harmful to breathe in.
• Keep doing detection combing once a week for a while to catch any that return early.

When to See a Doctor

Most cases clear at home. See a doctor or pharmacist if the lice don’t go after two proper rounds of treatment, if the scalp looks infected with weeping sores, crusts, or tender, swollen glands, or if a baby or a pregnant woman needs treatment. A pharmacist can recommend the right product for your case.

Head Lice FAQs

Does vinegar kill lice?

It doesn’t kill lice on its own. Vinegar loosens the glue that sticks nits to the hair. This helps with combing, but it does not clear an infestation. You can pair it with wet combing or other proven treatment methods.

What kills lice fast?

There is no instant cure. The most reliable options are a dimethicone lotion or an over-the-counter permethrin or pyrethrin treatment, with a second round after 7 to 10 days, along with wet combing.

Do lice only live in dirty hair?

No. Lice are not picky. They live in clean or dirty hair, long or short. Anyone can get them.

Are nits the same as lice?

Nits are the eggs. Seeing nits alone does not always mean an active infestation. Treat only when you spot a live, moving louse.

Can adults get head lice?

Yes. It is most common in school-age children, but adults can catch it too, usually through head-to-head contact.

How long can lice survive off the head?

Usually only one to two days away from a human scalp, which is why the risk from furniture and carpets is low.

References

• Treatment of head lice, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. cdc.gov
• Head lice, diagnosis and treatment, Mayo Clinic. mayoclinic.org
• Head lice and nits, NHS inform. nhsinform.scot
• Nagaraja H, et al. Ocular toxicity by seeds of Annona squamosa (custard apple), Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 2016. NCBI

This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist for guidance on your own case.