[toc]We all have experienced lice in our hair some time or the other. They infest the scalp and cause itch because these parasites feed on your blood and remain clung to the scalp. School going children are particularly prone to be infested by lice.
There are plenty of remedies and treatments to get rid of lice. One has to be consistent in the treatment, otherwise they may not leave you. Generally poor hygiene of the hair is considered to be the cause or lice. It’s not just the creepy crawlies like lice that one has to struggle with, in addition their eggs named nits are harder to get rid of.
9 Cures For Lice
Essential Oils
2 drops each of strong smelling essential oils like eucalyptus oil, geranium oil and lavender oil mixed in one teaspoon of some neutral base oil soothes the itchy scalp and kills the lice.
The oil should be massaged to the scalp and left for half an hour or a little more. One should use a nit comb through the hair and wash the hair with a mild shampoo. Give the last rinse with 2 drops each of these oils and 3 teaspoons of vinegar mixed in half a liter of water.
Nigella Sativa
Nigella sativa is an excellent natural remedy to get rid of head lice. Grind to a fine powder one cup of nigella seeds and mix them well in a cup of apple cider vinegar. The nigella gets mixed with the vinegar after an hour or two. Then filter the clear liquid vinegar and apply it to the hair. Leave it for about half an hour and wash your hair.
Nit Comb
You can easily procure a fine toothed nit comb from any store. Everyday use this comb to run through your hair for about 10-15 minutes. It’s better to wrap a white sheet around your shoulders and the top part of your body exactly the way a barber wraps when you go for a haircut. While we comb the hair, the lice get pulled out of the hair.
Carefully see the comb for lice which may be stick between the teeth of the comb and kill them. Similarly, look at the white cloth for some lice which may have fallen and kill them too. Repeat this process for 10-15 days regularly. You may not need to use any other remedy or treatment.
Pyrethrum
Pyrethrum is extracted from chrysanthemum flowers, it has a natural insecticide known as pyrethrin. Some lice have developed resistance to this toxin, hence it is not always successful on everybody.
Since it is a natural product and works well on most types of lice, it’s worth giving it a try. Apply this to your hair, keep it on for ten minutes and wash your hair. Run a nit comb while the hair are still wet so that the nits can be removed. Repeat the application a week later.
Hair Dryer
A blow dryer is a good method to get rid of lice and nits. It’s more effective on nits than the lice. Use the hair dryer while your hair are still wet, this eradicates the little creatures more effectively.
Over The Counter Medicines
There are a few medicines which one can buy from a drug store and use as per the instruction of the manufacturers. Most of these do not have side effects and you can get rid of the lice after one or two applications. To name a few, ivermectin, spinosad, permethrim lotion, benzyl alcohol are among the common ones.
Petroleum Jelly
Petroleum jelly is used by many families to help their children get rid of the lice. Cover the scalp and hair by a generous amount of petroleum jelly or hair styling gel. Cover the hair with a shower cap and leave it on the whole night. Wash the hair in the morning. It suffocates the lice thus getting rid of them.
Mayonnaise
The use of mayonnaise definitely works remove lice from your hair, though it sounds very funny and odd. You need to apply mayonnaise liberally on the hair, a good thick layer is what is required. Cover it with a shower cap and leave it for 3-4 hours or the whole night. After that wash the hair and run the comb to remove the nits.
Repeat it after a week again.in certain shops a specifically prepared mayonnaise for the hair is available. It does the required job wonderfully without leaving the hair looking greasy.
Olive Oil
Saturate the head of your children with olive oil at night and cover their heads with a shower cap. Cover the pillow wot ha towel so as to prevent the oil leaking and spoiling the pillow cover. The next morning wash the hair in the usual way and remove the nits with ta comb.
