May 27, 2024

All You Need To Know About Lice Treatment At Home

 

Lice are tiny leeches that attach to the scalps and hair of human beings. They suck blood through the skin. These tiny leeches are common, and attack all people irrespective of their age, especially children. They easily spread from person to person through direct contact. More lice on the head often causes irritation and itching, which leads to infections.

 

Lice has three stages in its lifecycle firstly eggs are laid near the hair base. They can incubate in 7-9 days. The second stage is Nymphs' i.e. the maturing of eggs to adults; this process occurs in 9-12 months. Finally, an Adult lice can live up to 30 days and lay 10 eggs per day. Let's go through this page about the best lice treatment at home by understanding the types of lice, their respective treatment, alternative treatments, their causes, and preventions.

 

Types Of Lice

1. Head Lice

Head Lice are scientifically known as Pediculus Humanus Capitis. Human scalps are the living place for the head lice to feed on blood. They easily spread from person to person in exchange for their hair accessories like combs and hair bands. Their bites cause irritation and discomfort, they are solidly attached to the scalps and very hard to remove.

These lice mostly occur in children through transmission from head to head. It results in poor and unhygienic health conditions. Head lice commonly lead to heavy dandruff and hair fall too. These lice interrupt your sleep and give a feeling that something is moving in your hair. Use a personal lice removal comb to remove the lice from the hair. After combing, wash it thoroughly in the hot water.

2. Pubic Lice

Pubic Lice are tiny insects, that live on pubic hair. They are also called crabs. They usually survive on the feed of human blood. They are so different from general head and body lice. They lie in the pubic a, including the chest, eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, moustache, armpits and other facial hair. They occur through physical contact from person to person and when you get attacked with your hair you are contacted with the other person’s infected hair.

The application of creams and shampoos to the impacted area can kill the lice and its eggs. They are not harmful and do not cause any disease but they do cause itchiness and irritation. Scratching can form bacteria and infections and even break your skin around sensitive areas. This itchiness comes when the lice bite your skin, an allergic reaction results in the itchiness.

3. Body Lice

Body Lice are also called clothes lice, scientifically known as Pediculus Humanus Corporis. They usually move on the skin to suck blood. These are a bit larger than head lice and live in the bedding and clothing. They spread through direct contact and also with clothing like beds, pillows, and towels. The bedding and clothing should be washed with hot and soap water using antiseptic liquids. They keep on crawling around the neck, waist, armpits, scalp and shoulders.

One of the symptoms you will have is extreme itching. This itching might also cause infections and allergies. They commonly occur in contaminated living spaces and highly crowded or polluted areas. These body lice are a bit complicated in spreading bacterial diseases and skin changes might occur if body lice live longer in your body.

Treatment Of Lice

1. Head Lice

Treatment for head lice removal requires careful and professional applications. Common OTC products and surgical medicine can be followed to remove lice and its eggs. Repetitive treatment might be required for head lice. Pyrethrin is one of the top products sourced from chrysanthemum flowers. They are available in the form of shampoos and anti-lice hair creams to work effectively in killing lice.

The results can be seen from 3 times of application only. Permethrin lotion is also one of the amazing ways to eliminate lice in the hair. It should be applied to the washed and towel-dried hair. After successfully repeated application times, the results can be seen. Maintain cleanliness all around, especially with the hair contact areas and things. With these treatments, head lice can be managed and can be eliminated completely.

2. Pubic Lice

Lice-killing lotion is one of the best treatments to eliminate pubic lice. By following the instructions as directed, this method is safe and works effectively within 9-10 days of use. If you find any public lice in your eyebrow and eyelash, handle it smoothly by applying soft paraffin jelly with a cotton tissue at night and rinsing it off in the morning. Pubic lice are often transmitted through the sharing of linens and inner wear of the affected person and even through intercourse. The symptoms you typically face with public lice are:

• Worse and bad itchiness at night.
• Sticky eyelashes when you are affected.
• Lice bites appear in red and blue spots on the skin.
• White dots in the hair.
• Coloured spots in the underwear.

These are the common symptoms found with pubic lice. You can also consult a professional to get rid of these pubic lies and use prescription medicines. Effective treatment of pubic lice is typically a combination of OTC and prescribed medicine, through sanitizing personal things.

3. Body Lice

You have to maintain your body and surroundings hygienically. Keep yourself clean and wash your clothes and bedding effectively with hot water using antiseptic liquids, iron them and store them in a warm place. Do not share your personal things with anyone. Washing clothes in high temperatures kills all the lice and eggs. Use creams and lotions prescribed by professionals that can remove lice.

Follow the instructions and directions for use with the products. Look after our personal things and clothing, and if you detect any lice take preventive steps for more efficient results. One of the most effective and newly introduced treatments to diagnose body lice is Spinosad. You just need to apply this medicine to the scalp and the dry hair and leave it for 10 minutes and rinse off with water. After using the towel, do not use it again until it is washed.

Home Remedies:

• Wash clothes and bedding essentials thoroughly and keep in hot water with antiseptic liquids at 130F.
• After every use of hair accessories wash them in surgical spirit or ethyl alcohol for an hour.
• Wet combing with a lice removal comb works effectively in the removal of lice.
• Add salt to the vinegar. Apply this mixture to the hair and leave it for some time and rinse it off. This works efficiently to kill the lice.
• Combine all the essential oils like eucalyptus oil, and lavender oil with coconut oil. Apply this oil mixture to the scalp and hair, then comb the lice.

Alternative medicine:

• Apply permethrin lotion 1% to the body lice-affected areas before bedtime and wash it off early in the morning. It completely kills eggs and lice and is safe to use.
• Ivermectin is one of the poisonous lotions to kill lice. Follow the directions of use, apply to the dry hair and rinse off within 10 minutes. It is approved for 6 months and others.
• Malathion is a lotion, you have to apply it to the scalp and leave it until dry. Use this treatment thrice a month to work efficiently.
• Ivermectin medicine is a tablet that works well to get rid of the lice.
• Benzyl alcohol lotion is dermatologically tested and results in treating head lice. It only kills the lice, and eggs remain the same.
• Lindane is a shampoo that is needed to apply for dry hair and scalp during hair wash.
• The use of OTC (over-the-counter) lotions and shampoos works effectively in killing lice.

Spinosad For Lice

Spinosad is one of the latest treatments to eliminate lice. This treatment is highly used by people because of its easy applications. Spinosad kills both the lice and its eggs. It works so effectively and provides exhaustive measures to the infections. This medication should be used for people above 6 months. It can be used for external use only. This treatment is for hair and scalp only. Do not contact it directly with your face and eyes. You can get a spinosad product from online platforms like Amazon. It works more effectively just in a single use. It is considered the safest way to kill lice and eggs completely. If you get any irritation and it seems to be inconvenient for you, consult a professional and take the necessary steps.

 

Applications of use:

• Ensure you have dry and washed hair before starting the treatment.
• Shake the bottle well before using it. Directly apply the liquid to the scalp and hair.
• Wait for 10 - 15 minutes to settle the liquid and rinse it off with warm water.
• Comb the hair properly after washing.

Self-care:

• Use vacuum cleaning to remove dirt and any hair lice contaminants from furniture and keep it clean and tidy.
• Do not use flammable products to kill lice. It is quite dangerous and may burn the heart.
• Use a professional hair dryer. The hot air helps to kiss the head lice and its eggs.
• Apply mayonnaise, olive oil, and petroleum jelly to the hair and then seal with the cover or cap. Leave this overnight and wash it off in the morning. This helps to clear the lice.
• Essential oils like tea tree oil, lavender oil and anise oil when mixed with coconut oil and applied to the skin will kill lice.
• Make hair into two sessions and keep the hair under a bright light, work on it to remove the lice.
• Children do not get head-to-head contact with their fellow mates.
• Continue the checking of lice and nits every 2 weeks after the treatment.
• Wash your hands, especially fingernails after being in contact with the hair. 
• If your clothes are needed for dry washing, seal them in a plastic bag until it is done.

Causes

• Lice can be caused when direct contact with an individual suffering from infestation. It commonly occurs in kids.
• Living in crowded areas and unhygienic areas, and introducing unhealthy habits can result in the generation and passage of lice.
• Sharing personal items like clothes, combs, hats, hair bands, and brushes transmit lice from one person to the other.
• Improper maintenance of bedding and clothing, and irregular bathing can consequently increase the lice.
• Lice can occur due to the sharing of towels, bedsheets and towels of infested persons to others.
• They might have occurred due to a lack of awareness and increased rapidly because of the late detection of lice.

Preventions

• Maintain your own towels after the hair wash. Avoid sharing bedding and clothing with people who have lice.
• Take a regular bath and wash your clothes regularly and iron your clothing, store it in a dry and warm place.
• Avoid direct head-to-head contact with the people, especially with the school-going children. Teach the children not to compete with fellow mates and be involved in activities like hugging.
• Inspect the heads once a week, look for lice and take preventive measures if they occur.
• Use shampoos, sprays, and conditioners which kill lice.
• Keep your living areas clean and tidy, especially outdoors, bedding, and hair fall areas at home.
• Contacting a highly professional dermatologist is recommended with treatments that don't work after use.

By following all these preventive measures, protect yourself and your family to kill lice and reduce its growth.

Conclusion

Lice treatment at home is so easy and can work effectively when we follow the perfect remedies. To work on prevention or follow natural and home remedies, understanding the nature of lice plays a crucial part. Be consistent to get outstanding results.

 

Though the growth of lice is a common thing and not so dangerous, it causes discomfort and itches all the time. It even causes infections when not treated properly. Even after successful lice from the head, they may re-attack again. To avoid this, do not share your hair accessories and maintain a good distance from others. Spend some time in a week to check for lice.