# How to get rid of Head Lice



## gabbyj310 (Oct 22, 2012)

My 9year old niece(living in Fl)has a major problem with head lice.Her Mom has washed everything in her house several times over,cleaned toys,car etc.No one has lice except my niece.Her Mom treates her regularly with over the counter meds and doctor's meds and they still come back:brickwall:,Any sure fire way to get rid of the "buggers"..I think this would be good to know for us if TSHTF too.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Tea tree oil definitely works 
A really good nit comb will also work if used properly


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## camo2460 (Feb 10, 2013)

I would say that your niece is being exposed some where outside of her home. lice are easy to get rid of, but it seems from your post that she is being constantly re-exposed. She also might want to get rid of her pillows and buy new, if she hasen't already done so, and find out were the exposure is coming from, probably from some one she plays with.


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

My understanding is that lice actually LIKE clean hair so it's certainly not an issue of being a "dirty" person or anything. I'd agree with the other post that get rid of the pillows and figure out who she's hanging out with. She's getting it from a friend or somebody she's in contact with regularly.


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## Cud579 (Apr 26, 2010)

I was once told by an african american lady that if caucasian people would spray "oil sheen spray" all over hair that it would work. Even sleeping in hair soaked in veg oil then wrapped in plastic would work. 

This lady told me that african american people don't get lice. They have different hair texture. But if the hair is oily then the lice have no way to hang on.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

My son got them really bad last year after a spring break sleep over. He spread them to my oldest daughter, and it took a couple months to get rid of them completely out of her hair. The over the counter stuff did NOT work for us. The thing I finally found that got rid of them was soaking her hair in green alcohol, letting it sit for an hour covered with a plastic shower cap, and then rinsing out. I did that once a week for a month as well as combing through her wet hair every single day and picking out the little nits. The green alcohol is also less than $2 versus $20 for the shampoo. I also bought the plastic sheet and pillow covers for her bed and washed all the bedding in hot water once a week and dried on the hottest setting.


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## swjohnsey (Jan 21, 2013)

There is still ice pick method. Shave half of head, set other half on fire, stab 'em as the come out.


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

swjohnsey said:


> There is still ice pick method. Shave half of head, set other half on fire, stab 'em as the come out.


Ha! That might work. Have you ever seen head lice? I always thought they were small like a flea, but no. They are pretty big.


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## Meerkat (May 31, 2011)

I had a round with them with my grandkids a couple times. 

I used rubbing alchohol covered with plastic cap for 10 minutes or so. Only took one treatment,gone.I don't like the lice shampoo after reading up on it,it has some bad chemicles in it.

Also make sure you put a large hand towel over foreheads so it won't get in their eyes.But keep it under the plastic clear see thru shower cap.I buy the bag with about 25 in it for use when visiters are here,they are cheap so can be thrown away.

Lice are like worms,people are ashamed of both,but both come with being humans,I also use to worm my kids every couple years. They played outside and thats where they get them.Or they can get them from other kids sleeping over. I seldom allowed sleep overs with my kids .

I get no respect,now that they can deworm,delouse their own selves,they seldom visit anymore.I wonder if thats where the english get the phrases,"little buggers'?


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

When I used to get them as a kid--white win what rinse after regular shampoo. Really drench the hair and leave it for an hour in a shower cap. Comb good with nit comb. I had them 3 times spread out over like 7 years.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

White vinegar--- idk why auto correct screwed it up.


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## mamacita (Aug 17, 2011)

Amazon sells a good metal nit comb called the "Terminator". I got it when my DS got lice last month. As recommended by many who reviewed the comb, I massaged white conditioner into my sons hair, then combed through carefully, wiping on a paper towel after each pass. We did this for several days and eliminated the problem. The plastic comb from the drug store was terrible. I used a metal flea comb from the pet store until the terminator arrived.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

My daughter inlaw works for the school system. 

She had to certify to check children for head lice. 

After finding them on the same child three times, and sending her home with a note, the childs mother finally attempted to solve the problem.

She dyed the kids hair black !

Problem solved ?


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

I didn't think the plastic or metal combs worked all that well except for getting the live bugs. I had to pick through my daughters hair and pull the nits out with my nails. I just shaved my son's head. He had beautiful shoulder length blonde hair, made me tear up a little to see it go. I was REALLY tempted to shave Tristan's too.


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## biobacon (Aug 20, 2012)

About 6 weeks ago my son get them too. I think he got them from that neighbor boy I don't like LOL He played over there and two days letter while getting his hair cut the lady tells my wife he had nits. We used the OTC shampoo for him, my daughter, and my wife and I just shaved my already balding head. I never did see any big ones, they looked like they could have just been dandruff and Im pretty sure we caught them early so maybe that's why it worked for us.


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## dixiemama (Nov 28, 2012)

Mane & Tail conditioner is what we used for me when I had them. Works like a charm and I have added them to my stocks since this thread was added.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

I have seen Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash work successfully ... BUT the best with the greatest success is a hair straightener ... and Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Shampoo


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Just*



faithmarie said:


> I have seen Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash work successfully ... BUT the best with the greatest success is a hair straightener ... and Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel Shampoo


Just dye their hair black and the lice won't show !


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

Really? You think? LOL What happens in a week when the little buggers have their babies... or how ever long it takes ... then you will have salt and pepper hair ...LOL


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## Berta (Apr 8, 2011)

I work in a daycare that is predominantly African American. We have had a few incidents of lice and it was never on any of the AA kids, only the white kids. The owner of the daycare told me that is because they regularly use coconut oil on their hair and that kills lice. 

My youngest daughter had head lice last year. It took me a full week of washing and combing with the little nit comb to get rid of them. I have a small handheld microscope and I would use that each day to comb out her hair. Just when I thought I had them all out, I'd use the microscope and couldn't believe how many were still left. I think that is the problem with people that can't get rid of them for months, they don't realize that there are still nits hiding.


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## faithmarie (Oct 18, 2008)

That is where the hair iron comes in ... it burns everything and I THINK the little things that hold on to the hair come off from the heat ... I suppose a curling iron would work also.


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## Ezmerelda (Oct 17, 2010)

I'm going to second the Tea Tree Oil treatment - use the essential oil (cut with a little olive or coconut oil), then comb with the nit comb.

Use a Tea Tree Oil shampoo and conditioner that lists Tea Tree Oil in the first 5 ingredients.

Once all the nits are gone, you can prevent re-infestation by blending Purification Oil (a Young Living blend of Citronella, Lemongrass, Rosemary cineol, Melaleuca, Lavandin, and Myrtle essential oils) with your carrier oil (olive or coconut) and applying to wet hair. For long hair, you can then tightly braid the hair. The oils and the braid will prevent lice from re-establishing themselves in your child's hair. (and it has a fresh, lemony scent!  )


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

There are very few things that we use that can not be produced in our area but tea tree oil is one of them because it is pretty amazing stuff.
It has actually been scientifically proven to work better than chemicals used for head lice http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18816275 for what that's worth:dunno: 
The chemicals work well unless there is resistance, which happens regularly. Tea tree oil in general seems much harder for insects to develop resistance to.
They haven't been a problem for me but I know some women who got them repeatedly (working with kids) and the tea tree worked perfectly. Now they use it as a preventative at a very low concentration (you can buy a tea tree oil shampoo even) and they have had no problems since.
I don't know if it most would like the smell as much as Ezmerelda's suggestion though

If you are going to use a comb you have to be very diligent and keep at it for a long time, well after you stop finding any. If you do it WILL work, you will not get every one each time but it actually takes a louse quite a while after hatching to begin to lay eggs so as long as you get them out before then and keep at it for long enough they will be gone.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

I wonder if you gave the kids one of those pills the Vet gives the dog to keep flees and tick off of him, would that work on the kids?


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## valannb22 (Jan 6, 2012)

I just read a couple articles that say topical ivermectin will kill them. I already use that to deworm all the animals at home.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Ivermectin works however even applied topically it is absorbed and goes through the entire body to eventually be metabolized by the liver, this takes weeks, it is a neurotoxin and there are quite a few counterindications to taking it such as any liver problems.


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## Mortblanc (Apr 20, 2013)

I used to have to deal with them as a public school teacher. We would have outbreaks even in the high school.

I found that many of the victims were girls that baby sat and caught them from the kids, or were members of large extended families. Their biggest problem was reinfestation because they could not get everyone that was infested deloused.

And there was the problem that many would not inform their friends of the problem and an entire group would be infested.

We promoted the use of the commercial shampoos and sprays and it worked when used.

Back in the old days lye soap and a nit comb were the universal control methods with shaving the head necessary for severe cases. It was one of the reasons upper class people shaved their heads and wore powdered wigs.

Control of head and body lice was the reason the military promoted extremely short hair, not the risk of head wounds as is the accepted excuse. We lost more troops to typhus carried by lice than in combat, right up to WW2 when we started shaving heads and using DDT.


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