Head Lice And Home Remedies - Do They Really Work?

Good grief!

Surely the note is wrong!

You're a good parent, what on earth has happened?

The note from the school nurse says that your child has head lice. It sort of makes you want to hide your face with a paper sack. Head lice! Simply disgusting! How on earth can that have happened to your child?

Well, the issue is head lice can happen to anyone.

Head lice have no qualms about invading the head of the most impeccably clean and well to do child.

Yes, you shampoo and comb and brush your child's hair every single night but really that doesn't matter at all.

Head lice infestations can happen to the best of us. But you have already made a decision that you are not interested in using pesticides to kill the head lice. That simply sounds too harsh and something you are not comfortable with.

That is okay.

Home remedies for head lice may be something that you are more comfortable with and if that is so be sure to do the research first before you make a final decision on which home remedy to use.

The first home remedy for head lice that you might consider is simply trying to comb them out with a special nit comb or by using a pet style flea brush.

This will be a long and tedious method.

If you are going to use this style of home treatment get ready to be patient.

Wet your child's hair and use a conditioner or even olive oil, divide the hair into small sections and then begin by combing from the root of the hair out to the end of the strand.

Look at the comb every time it passes through a section of the hair. You might even consider combing your child's hair over a bowl of water or over a white paper towel so you can see what you are able to comb out of each strand of hair. This method does take a lot of time and a lot of patience from not only you but from your child as well.

If you have made the decision to use an over-the-counter head lice treatment then make sure that you thoroughly read the warning on the boxes label because there are many side effects associated with these treatments.

Side effects include things such as scalp irritation, head rashes and even eczema. There is even a study which seems to link the chemical treatment of children with head lice to a higher incidence of leukemia.

Again, there are no hard core facts but it is certainly something to take into consideration. It is also important to remember if you are pregnant or nursing you must not use over-the-counter chemical head lice treatments.

One successful home remedy for head lice treatment is a combination of tea tree oil, citronella, lavender oil, and neem oil.

Tea tree oil which comes from the Melaleuca plant in Australia has properties which are known to be both anti-septic and anti-fungal. Tea tree oil is used to fight and insect bites, acne, colds, flu, and even mouth infections. Citronella oil comes from a grass and is very well known and widely used to repel both insects, such as mosquitoes, flies, and ticks.

Lavender oil is used to treat insect bites, fungal infections, sunburn, and even anxiety. It is a known relaxant. Neem oil also found in Australia is used as an insect repellent and also has other therapeutic purposes particularly associated with healing skin diseases.

You may be able to find this combination of natural head lice treatment products at your natural health food store or online.

Home remedies for head lice treatment certainly vary, but there have been many reports of effective natural treatments for head lice.

If you choose not to use pesticide chemicals in order to rid your child of head lice, this decision is totally up to you.

However, you must do something about the head lice, ignoring it is not an option, and a home remedy or more natural approach seems to be a good choice for you.