Lice Home Remedies - Effective Natural Treatments That You Can Try

Lice infestation or Pediculosis is commonly observed in the school going children, which later spread to the adults. Children are generally observed scratching off their heads due to lice. Adults generally contact lice infestation from their school going kids. This condition is not harmful, but frequent scratching of the head is very bothering. Prolonged lice infestation may lead to hair loss and cause serious damage to the scalp. Lice are very troublesome for women with long hair and it is least observed in the males.

Of the three types of lice, head lice are most common in occurrence. The life cycle of Lice constitutes three forms - nit, lymph and the adult lice and it takes 30 days to complete one life cycle. Lice cannot survive more than two days away from the human body.

Symptoms

1. Frequent scratching of the head.
2. Appearance of redness and crusts on the scalp.
3. Infections in the scalp due to prolonged lice infestation.
4. Appearance of swollen nodes or lumps behind the ears and on the neck.

Causes

1. Head lice are mainly transmitted through head to head contact with the infected person.
2. Lice can also be transmitted through sharing of pillows, hats, combs etc.

Home Remedies for Lice

Treatment of lice infestation does not require any medical intervention and it can be cured completely through simple home remedies. Medicated shampoos available in the pharmacies are also beneficial in lice treatment.

1. Washing the hair by vinegar helps in reducing the problem of lice.

2. Mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 teaspoonful each of eucalyptus oil and tea tree oil in the shampoo and apply all over the head. Cover the head with a plastic bag and keep it for thirty minutes before rinsing it off.

3. Application of camphor oil is also very useful in treating this problem.

4. Apply mayonnaise all over the scalp after washing the hair. Cover the head and keep it overnight. Rinse the hair next morning and comb out the nits and lice from the hair.

5. Application of generous amounts of Vaseline on the scalp kills the lice. Removal of Vaseline from the hair is not easy and may require some tiring efforts. It is better to apply some corn flour before washing off the hair.

6. Application of Listerine mouth wash on the scalp is very effective in killing lice due to the presence of menthol, thymol, eucalyptus oil, methyl salicylate and alcohol.

7. Apply a paste of Neem leaves on the hair. Let it dry and then wash it off. It is very useful in killing lice. Similar use of Basil leaves also produces beneficial results in treating lice problem.

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