It doesn’t matter if you’re an adult or child, head lice is an annoyance no one wants to deal with in their lifetime. While the situation itself is irritating, the social implications can be horrible. Children must deal with this throughout the school year when nurses check them for head lice at least every other quarter. If someone in your family has this problem, then it’s important to know what it takes to kill lice and prevent it from coming back.
In order to get rid of head lice you have to take the necessary precautions even before an issue arises. It’s the preventative measures that keep these wingless insects from sucking the blood from your scalp and laying eggs. If you have the tools to do this, the whole family (adults as well) should take advantage of them. This way you can kill lice if need be and keep it from returning.
Even though the family physician or school nurse will be checking for head lice, it’s important to do self-check tests as well. Even though dealing with this situation can be irritating, it’s nice to know that you can see this little creatures with the naked eye. In children’s hair, check to see if their are any eggs (nits) that are surfacing. It’s possible that your child looks like they have dandruff, when in fact it is lice.
If nits aren’t noticeable, the next course of action is to look for red bumps or sores. Most of the time this is evident because the infected party is scratching and irritating the surface or small bites where inflammation occurs. The course of action here is to refrain from scratching if at all possible. The more you do, the worse it will get and various measures will have to be taken to get rid of the head lice.
When it comes to the treatment process, a trip to your family physician is the first step. Even if the school nurse says one of your children has head lice, you should still make a trip to the doctor. They will be able to prescribe something that will kill lice and return everything back to normal. It’s possible that they will start out with some sort of medicated shampoo.
You can also find creams, lotions, and various other options to get rid of head lice. If by chance none of them work then you will most likely end up back at the doctor looking for more answers. Lice shampoos are by no menas a homerun, often a first attempt to kill lice does not take. This is often because people take care of the obvious problem (you or your child’s head), but not the second important part of the problem (around your house).
A great start would be to wash the bed linens in hot water, dry clean any clothing worn by the individual infected, vacuum the house, curtains, and furniture, as well as anything else that may be necessary to clean. Lice can reside in all of these things, and if not taken care of, will soon come back to infect your or your family members. We also recommend taking all the hair items such as brushes, barettes, head bands, combs or similar items and soak them in rubbing alcohol or a mixture of baking soda and water.
If someone in your family has head lice, you will find that the actions above need to be considered. Being able to kill lice in the early stages before nits hatch is important. It means you will alleviate the problem sooner and get rid of your head lice once and for all.
Lice is a problem for millions of Americans each year. Head lice can infect a whole household quickly, and become a major point of frustration. Harry S. Thompson writes about head lice and other types of lice and disease. For more information on how to get rid of head lice and advice, see us.
