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Not many families are able to escape the dreaded head lice, particularly when school is back in session. There’s not much you can do to prevent your child’s hair from becoming infested other than keeping it short or tied up. Of course, not sharing hats, hair brushes or anything like that will also limit the chances of lice migrating over. But, kids will be kids and lice do make the rounds.
Treating lice used to be a matter of going to the drug store and buying a strong lice shampoo and then picking the nits out of the hair. It’s a long and tedious process, but needs to be done. Unfortunately, the medicated shampoo that is used for lice is A) neurotoxic (may affect the nervous system) if it contains lindane, and B) not as effective as it used to be as some lice became resistant to it.
Not only is the lindane-containing shampoo neurotoxic, there are some people who cannot and should not use it. These include people who have seizure disorders and certain types of skin problems.
In response to the growing concern about using such toxic chemicals on our children’s hair and the resistance from lice to the chemicals, researchers are trying to find alternatives for parents. One, called Ulesfia (benzyl alcohol lotion 5%), is approved by the FDA and is now available by prescription.
Ulesfia doesn’t kill the lice through poisoning, but by asphyxiating them – cutting off their air supply. According to the company’s press release:
Each year, approximately 6 to 12 million children between the ages of 3 and 12 years are infested with head lice, parasites that survive by injecting small amounts of saliva and removing small amounts of blood from the scalp every few hours. To survive, lice breathe through sophisticated breathing holes that close upon contact with most liquids, allowing the lice to go into suspended animation and survive for hours without respiration. Ulesfia’s unique mechanism of action is facilitated through the use of benzyl alcohol which prevents lice from closing their breathing holes, thereby asphyxiating them and causing death.
So, is your head itchy yet?
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Photo courtesy of PhotoXpress.com
I don’t think that you should use the over the counter lice treatment. It is very dangerous. But mabey you can use mayonaise not miracle whip but real mayonaise. It smothers the lice and the eggs. Then leave on for about and hour. Then wash it with dawn dish soap. After washing it in warm water you will need a lice pick. Just go through the hair picking out dead lice and eggs. Also using coconut scented shampoo and conditioner will make it less likely for your child to catch head lice.
Oh, And after shampooing do not condition it befor you pick through it because it will re attatch the eggs to the scalp!
Hope this helped.
Head lice can certainly jump up as an issue, especially, as you mention, when school gets back in session and the kids get together in one big mass of heads! I thought you might like to take a look at this video from http://www.icyou.com. i work for icyou, the leader in online health videos, and i came across your blog as a part of the outreach program. anyway, check out the site, and definitely this link. It speaks to your post! http://www.icyou.com/video-source/doctors-and-experts/getting-rid-head-lice-naturally+