Alternative treatments to cure head lice infestation

A lot of people are against using the medically approved methods of head lice treatment because they contain insecticides that in larger doses could be damaging, if not fatal to humans. Due to this it has been known for some individuals to not treat the infestation and try to let it run its own course, or follow the old wives tale that head lice don’t like dirty hair, so stop washing their hair regularly.

Alternative treatments

Since the dawn of time people have been using natural remedies to alleviate the symptoms of a multitude of conditions. Some of these have been proven and are used a lot today.

Aloe Vera and honey are two natural sources that have been proven to have great properties for some conditions but others have not been proven so are not supported by medical research, these are called alternative treatments.

Below is a list of alternative treatments and details of how they work. These alternative treatments are a guide to what is available and is not meant as medical advice.

Olive oil – If you put olive oil in the hair of someone with a head lice infestation then use a fine comb to run through the hair, you can comb out the head lice. This may need to be done once a day for a few days till all head lice have been removed.

Neem seed oil – Neems seed oil has been used in India for thousands of years as a natural insecticide. Neem seed oil has low toxicity levels so is deemed a great alternative to using man made insecticides on the skin, or in the case of head lice on the scalp.

Neem seed oil works by rubbing it on to the scalp and into the hair then leaving it for a period of time before washing the oil away.

Alcohol – Head lice are quite robust and can become resistant to forms of treatment over time, like insecticides. Alcohol is one treatment that they cannot adapt to and kills them quite easily.

By using a fine comb and dipping it in alcohol before combing you can catch a lot of head lice in the comb and the alcohol should catch any that you miss.

With alcohol you have to be careful as it can dry the scalp out and cause a lot of damage if any gets in the eye.

Vaseline – Vaseline may seem like a strange form of treatment but if you smear Vaseline deep into the scalp it is believed to stop head lice from being able to feed on the host’s blood. By stopping the head lice from feeding it is reported that the head lice will simply crawl away to find another host.

This treatment has not been proven, and as it does not kill the head lice success cannot be guaranteed.

Tea tree and Peppermint - Another alternative treatment is a shampoo made from two parts tea tree oil and one part peppermint oil, which is believed to kill off the head lice if used as a shampoo every two days for eight days.