Prevention
Once a week, treat hair with conditioner and use a fine metal nit
comb to comb the hair. The teeth on plastic combs may bend and are not as
effective as metal ones. Pet shop flea combs are much cheaper than combs
from the chemist. Pay particular attention to hair near the scalp, back of
the neck, and behind the ears. Wipe moisture from the comb with a paper
tissue each time and check the tissue for lice or eggs. Conditioner stuns
lice into loosening their grip for up to 20 minutes this is the best
time to wet comb.
What do they look like?
Head lice may be difficult to see as they will shy away from the light,
quickly moving away from attempts to spot them in the hair. The adult
louse is 2 3 mm long, greyish brown in colour, the females lay white
coloured eggs 3-4 weeks into their life cycle. Live eggs may pop if
squeezed between the fingers. Dead lice and empty egg cases may be spotted
on the pillow in the morning. Eggs and lice can easily be seen on a fine
comb or on a tissue after wet combing. Eggs are difficult to remove from
hair shafts whereas dandruff and other debris comes away easily.
Facts
Anyone can get head lice. Head lice do not hop, skip, jump or fly, they
move through physical contact: contact with infected people, headgear,
pillows, linen, or other clothing. Head lice are more common in young
school children who spend more time in close physical contact with others.
Head lice live for approximately 4 weeks. At 3 4 weeks, the female
adults lay eggs. The eggs hatch out after 7 8 days, thus repeating the
cycle of laying and hatching. UNLESS ALL THE EGGS ARE KILLED OR REMOVED,
the hair will become re-infested. Therefore TWO TREATMENTS 8 DAYS APART
are necessary. Head lice can live for up to 72 hours away from their human
host. Head lice resistance to permethrin products is becoming more common,
particularly in people who have had multiple treatments.
Cure
Use an approved preparation AS DIRECTED on dry hair to kill all the live
lice and as many eggs as possible. Check hair after the required time for
lice left alive. Assume treatment has been unsuccessful if live any lice
are left. Even if successful, REPEAT TREATMENT AFTER 8 DAYS. If treatment
is not successful, select another preparation with a different insecticide
compound. At weekly intervals, continue to condition and wet comb the hair
to ensure removal of late hatching lice not killed by the chemical
treatment.
Jane Ellwood Dip(HE) RNLD MIFPA
Email jane@aromacaring.co.uk
www.aromacaring.co.uk |
After the head has been treated REMOVE AND WASH all clothing, linen and
headgear, and hair accessories, combs, brushes etc. that may have been in
contact with the infected person to prevent reinfestation
Treatment with pesticides
Studies are now showing that due to pesticide resistance, although
prescription and brand head lice preparations may be up to 100% effective
against the adult lice, they are only 60 70% effective against eggs.
This means that unless a further treatment is repeated at 7 8 days,
re-infestation will occur as the surviving eggs hatch. Lindane-based
products in excess are carcinogenic to humans, malathion products are
highly flammable, and permethrin products are now becoming less effective
due to lice resistance.
Treatment with essential oils
must be supervised by a qualified
practitioner
For the scientific any essential oil high in phenols, oxides, keytones
and aldehydes are natural insecticides have been proven to be particularly
effective against head lice. Of these, the following have been shown to be
the most effective: Cinnamon leaf kill 100% of adults and eggs. Tea tree
kills 83% eggs and 93% of the adults. Each harvest of essential oil has a
varying chemical constituents - oil profiles need to be obtained before
selecting an effective insecticide and an appropriate consultation made
for any contraindications.
Oils must be from a reputable dealer where the chemical
composition can be ascertained. The most effective method of application
is to use a high concentration of essential oil in alcohol (alcohol makes
the insect skins and egg cases more permeable to the insecticide
properties of the essential oil solution.
Recipes
50mls alcohol (vodka or grain) to 10 drops of Cinnamon leaf and 5 drops of
Tea tree rubbed into the hair, then left overnight under a shower cap. The
solution can then be washed off with shampoo, conditioned, then combed
with fine tooth comb, wiping away debris. The treatment should be repeated
after 8 days and fine combing between treatments is essential.
An alternative to alcohol is to use olive oil rubbed into the hair and
scalp. Olive oil suffocates the live lice but would not kill the eggs.
Similar treatment every 3 days would ensure that eventually all the lice
would die before they reach the egg-laying stage.
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