To get rid of lice and avoid pulling out your hair, here is some valuable advice from Dr. Arezki Izri, parasitologist and medical entomologist. to get rid of it once and for all!
At school, children love to exchange their rubber bands or hats with their friends. However, it is in this way that lice move from head to headeven on clean hair. Present all year round, contamination peaks are particularly in summer (lice love heat and humidity), but also after the start of the school year. Also, if your child starts scratching their scalp, look near the root, and mainly behind the ears and the nape of the neck : it is in these places that lice and nits tend to lodge. How to prevent the appearance of lice? What products should I use to get rid of it? Here is advice from Dr. Arezki Izri, parasitologist and medical entomologist.
If you see a grayish spot on a hair, it may be a louse, which is usually engorged with blood. If you notice a whitish spot, it is a nit which is none other than the egg of a louse. Then wedge this point between your thumb and index finger: “if it remains attached and you can only remove it by sliding it along the hair, it is probably a slow“, specifies Santé Publique France in its booklet on lice and nits.
Good actions to take to prevent your child from catching lice at school
- Check your children’s heads regularly to treat as quickly as possible (at least once a week). This responsiveness is a guarantee of treatment success.
- If your child has long hair, make it a ponytail or a bun (lice will be less likely to settle on the scalp).
- Teach your child to do not stick his head when playing at recess, to avoid exchanging hats with friends.
- If your child does not have lice, do not treat his head as a “precaution”, because preventive anti-lice treatment is useless and may even increase the resistance of lice to insecticides.
Apply your anti-lice product to dry hair, then, after the exposure time indicated on the instructions, wash your child’s hair with a mild shampoo and water. Then equip yourself with a “anti-lice” comb to manually deal with the most reckless lice and nits. Choose a model with teeth at least 4 cm long, very tight and preferably made of metal.
Between each pass of the comb (from the scalp towards the end of the hair), clean your comb on a disposable paper. Finally, dry your child’s head using a hairdryer. A second application should be made a week later in order to kill the lice born from live nits during the previous use. Then check your child’s scalp in the following days to see if further treatment is needed.
If you treat your child for lice, you should also check the heads of the whole familyso as not to exchange them again. Also remember to warn the teacher, as well as those around you. “The ideal would be for all heads to be checked and for all those with lice to be treated on the same day, for example Saturday, because an untreated head can transmit lice again to those around them and everything has to be redone.“, specifies Inpes.
What anti-lice products should you use on your child’s head?
You can turn to a classic local treatment (anti-lice shampoo, lotion, repellent spray, etc). But pay attention to the composition of anti-lice products, which must not contain insecticide ! “Studies demonstrate their effectiveness at a given time, but they are not as harmless as that.“, recalls Dr. Arezki Izri, parasitologist and medical entomologist. He also recommendsavoid essential oils : “used concentrated and repeatedly, they are very toxic for insects, but also for children. No study has demonstrated their safety for children and their effectiveness on lice.” specifies our expert.
So opt for anti-lice products without insecticide, paraben-free, alcohol-free, with formulas with natural active ingredients, much more respectful of the child’s scalp. For example, products based on coconut or sweet almond oil will suffocate the lice and dislodge the nits, without harming the child’s head. This treatment should be done at least once a week for two to three weeks. There is no need to alternate oils, as there is no risk of resistance.
Does vinegar kill lice?
“Pure vinegar is especially effective in removing nits, but its effectiveness ends there. Also, I recommend using it with caution by diluting a tablespoon in a glass of water“, advises Dr. Arezki Izri.