Pediculosis humanus captis, or head lice infestation affects most children at some time during their school days. Unfortunately, doctors and pharmacists still advise parents to treat lice with neurotoxic poisons that can be readily absorbed through the skin.
Thank goodness for Melaleuca ... Read review
Advantages: 100% natural, non-toxic, no side effects Disadvantages: none
Pediculosis humanus captis, or head lice infestation affects most children at some time during their school days. Unfortunately, doctors and pharmacists still advise parents to treat lice with neurotoxic poisons that can be readily absorbed through the skin.
Thank goodness for Melaleuca Alternifolia tea tree oil. Our kids encounter enough chemicals without us having to put more poisons on their precious heads. Tea Tree oil is rich ... ...nervous system, but safe for us to use. I am pleased with the results and I do not have to worry about nasty side effects, although I do patch test initially in case of allergy.
The lack of scientific evidence on natural products is not because they don't work, it's because the drug companies refuse to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on the testing and development of a substance that they cannot patent. It has nothing to do ... more
Pediculosis humanus captis, or head lice infestation affects most children at some time during their school days. Unfortunately, doctors and pharmacists still advise parents to treat lice with neurotoxic poisons that can be readily absorbed through the skin.
Thank goodness for Melaleuca Alternifolia tea tree oil. Our kids encounter enough chemicals without us having to put more poisons on their precious heads. Tea Tree oil is rich in monoterpenoids, which are insecticidal agents toxic to a lice’s nervous system, but safe for us to use. I am pleased with the results and I do not have to worry about nasty side effects, although I do patch test initially in case of allergy.
The lack of scientific evidence on natural products is not because they don't work, it's because the drug companies refuse to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on the testing and development of a substance that they cannot patent. It has nothing to do with the welfare of the public.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
Lice and nits are easily visible to the eye and infestation can easily be confirmed with the use of a magnifying glass. Lice can often be seen crawling around the scalp (especially behind the ears and in the nape of the neck) although it is more common to find their eggs attached on hair shafts near the scalp. Intense itching may be present due to the irritation caused by the mite's secreted saliva when taking a blood meal from its host. This may cause scratching which may lead to dermatitis or a secondary infection of the scalp (a case for referral) . Sources of infestation include infected combs, hats, beds, clothes, which are often shared. Hair to hair transmission is also a source of infestation.
TREATMENT
There are many products available for lice eradication which either contain pyrethrins, permethrin, or malathion. It is recommended to rotate the use of available products to reduce the risk of the lice building up a resistance to a particular product. Your Pharmacist can help supply you with the best products for your needs (malathion should be avoided in young children and pregnant women). In most cases both lice and nits are killed with one application, though a repeat application is recommended. To prevent reinfestation it is recommended that all combs, hat, bedding, hair towels, be washed in hot water and dried in the sun or clothes dryer (an alternative is to place all suspect items in a closed plastic bag for 3-4 days). Removal of nits can be achieved with a fine tooth metal comb (plastic combs are useless as they are too flexible). To assist with their removal, commercial nit removal solutions are available which dissolve the sticky secretions used to attach the eggs to the hair shafts. An alternative is to dip the comb in a bowl of vinegar or dilute it with equal parts water and use the solution to soak the hair/scalp covering with a shower cap or towel for 10 minutes. Conditioner mar also be used to aid the comb's passage through the hair. NB: if all of the nits are not removed they may become more visible in a matter of weeks as the hair grows out giving a false indication of reinfestation even though the nits are dead.
Prophylaxis/prevention with continual use of lice treatments is discouraged due to the risk of development of resistance. Prevention may be achieved by washing hair with tea tree oil shampoo or by brushing a few drops of the oil through the hair before school. This acts as a natural repellent and Melaleuca Alternifolia is by far the best solution.
For more details on the subject or how to purchase the above product or similar products containing Melaleuca Alternifolia please contact me through Ciao.
Advantages: None. Disadvantages: Time consuming, can be expensive, socially unaccepted.
A recent outbreak of head lice at my daughters school, and her consequent ability to collect as many as she can, has moved me to writing on this subject, that possibly many of the ciao mothers / parents will identify with.
I have two children, one of whom is already in secondary school, and to the day has managed to remain head lice free. The youngest is my daughter and she is in year four at her junior school. We moved recently, and she started ... ...the new term. Not long after starting she came home with a warning letter for us parents to be alert to the possible presence of head lice, as the school had noticed an outbreak. I wasn’t too startled as at her old school it was common practice to send out periodical warning leaflets, recommending we check our children’s hair on a regular basis. (When I was in school, the nurse would periodically check us all, and those who were discovered (Oh the ...
Anfield 05.12.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Head Lice
Advantages: Do be sensible - of course not! Disadvantages: Irritating, socially isolating, extremely hard to get rid of, easy to get
Headlice are the bane of my existence at the moment. Ever since my daughter started nursery school last April, I've been battling the invaders from hell on an extremely regular basis. In the course of trying to banish the little buggers, I have come upon so many conflicting reports that the following is possibly a load of twaddle (but that's okay, it's what I do best, lol!). I've basically extracted information from many different sources and have ... ...own personal experience. This review is a hodge podge of information and advice that I have developed myself, but using input from websites, books and friends.
WHAT ARE HEADLICE, EXACTLY?
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So, what are headlice, and why do we get them? Well, headlice are small parasites which live on human heads, and get nourishment from biting the scalp and feeding on blood. They range in size from barely-visible ...
MadCat 07.01.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Head Lice
Advantages: It's cheaper then spending money on expensive chemicals, safer for the child too. Disadvantages: You may not get them all first time but if you do it again after a couple of days you should get rid of the lot.
Ever since my daughter first started school she has been plagued by headlice. In fact the only time she seemed to be clear of them would be during the school holidays but you could guarantee that as soon as she went back again she would come home scratching. I remember the first time she came home with them, she had started nursery a couple of weeks earlier and I noticed her scratching at the back of her head, to my horror I found about half a dozen ... ...went out and bought a bottle of Lyclear and a nit comb and treated the whole family, the following day I informed the nursery and kept my daughter off for a couple of days until I was sure that she was clear. When she returned all was well for a week or two and then I found a couple more. I again treated us all and again informed the nursery, they in turn sent out letters asking all the parents to check through their childrens hair. This went on ...
SandraR 31.10.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Head Lice
Advantages: None Disadvantages: A real pain to get rid of.
Until recently, I had never had any experience with head lice, let alone the Super Lice our kids were bringing home. But sure enough, one day we got a call from the school nurse. All three of our children were being sent home with lice. I was shocked. I thought only kids who weren’t kept clean and had dirty houses had lice. But Quinn was quick to assure me that it was almost the opposite. It was clean hair and houses that they liked. Okay, ... ...But what do we do. Quinn had dealt with this before and knew what to do. The kids came home, we ran to the store for supplies. Lice shampoo, nit removing gel, bedding spray. We stripped everything off their beds including stuffed animals, clothing, everything and placed it all in plastic bags and sealed them tight. There they would have to sit for at least 2 weeks to assure any eggs had died. We sprayed down the beds, the walls, the floor, everything! ...
Shadowtwinchaos 18.01.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Head Lice
Advantages: No need to use costly chemicals Disadvantages: must be done consistantly
Having five boys head lice are a thing that I know a bit about. Our school does not have a "Nit Nurse" so we basically relied on the school being told by another parents if there is a case of nits in the classrooms. I used to wait till I received the standard letter saying a case had been noticed in the class and then have to spend a fortune on buying the chemicals to treat all of them at once. Been on a low income this could get expensive and I ... ...There was no point in only treating the child that had them or was in the infected class because they could have already have passed them on. After searching for a while I found that Tea Tree Shampoo helps to keep them at bay , they don’t like the smell but this is also expensive.
I was told the following way to check and get rid of them, and believe me it works.
Every Friday night after school, one at a time, I sit my boys down in front of me. ...
tazhull 31.12.2002
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Member Advice on Head Lice
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