How To Correctly Use Head Lice Treatment

When your child has head lice, nothing is more important than getting rid of them as quickly as possible. The itching, the risk of infection, the embarrassment—you just want to make it all end as soon as you can so your child can return to normalcy. There are many brands of over the counter head lice shampoos and treatments, and all are usually effective. The key is using them correctly. Even the best, most potent prescription head lice shampoos will not work and cure the head lice infestation if they are not used properly. So how should you use head lice treatments? Read on to find out everything you need to know.

There are three steps to any successful head lice elimination program. These steps include killing adult lice, removing the eggs, or nits, from the affected person’s hair, and taking steps to eliminate head lice from the home environment. All three steps must be accomplished to ensure that the head lice do not return after treatment.

Killing the adult head lice is the easiest part of the head lice treatment procedure. There are many brands of head lice shampoos available at most stores, and all are similarly effective when used correctly. These head lice treatments are available as shampoos, no drip mousse preparations, gels, and other forms. It is important to note that most of these treatments are directed to be applied to DRY hair. Wetting the hair can dilute the treatment. Also, it is very important to leave the treatment on the hair for the recommended amount of time. Reading the directions of whatever treatment you choose to employ is extremely important.

Head lice begin their life cycle as tiny, yellowish white eggs called nits. These are attached to the hair strand near the scalp by strong glue and are very difficult to remove. The bad news is that these nits are almost completely immune to head lice shampoos and treatments. The thick shell of the head lice egg makes it very difficult for the treatments to penetrate and kill the head lice larva inside. However, the good news is that you do not have to kill the nits. They can be quite effectively dealt with by simply removing them with a special head lice comb. Some head lice treatment manufactures offer special products that help lubricate the hair for combing. These are not strictly necessary, but the application of a little oil or conditioner to the hair can make the combing process much easier on everyone.

Finally, washing all bedding in hot water, boiling all combs, brushes, and hair clips, and putting any stuffed animals in the dryer for thirty minutes can kill lice that are in the home environment. Vacuuming is often sufficient to remove them from carpet. Most adult lice will die within a day of leaving the host, and most nits will not hatch unless they are near the warmth of the scalp.

Also, most head lice treatments recommend repeating this entire procedure in ten days to ensure that any new head lice that have hatched are killed.