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Treating Head Lice

When it comes to treating head lice, its buyer beware. Some of the medications that are recommended for treating the lice can be ineffective in doing so, while others can truly be overkill, and are not recommended. In this article, we'll take a look at some of the common treatments for head lice and let you know which ones are right for which people.

One practice that you should employ when shopping for a head lice treatment is to read the disclaimer. This short little message provided by the manufacturer can tell you a lot about how the treatment is going to work. You should avoid purchasing the treatments that say they work in an 'anecdotal' environment. 'Anecdotal' basically translates to 'unreliable', and for that reason, these treatments may be of little to no help in ridding yourself of head lice.

When helping your children to get over a case of head lice, you need to exercise special caution in order to not harm them with the harsh chemicals that many lice medications contain. Treatments like 'Rid' and 'Nix' may be too intense for your child. In these cases, you may want to use an anti-lice shampoo instead. There are some home remedies that may be of use in ridding your child's scalp of lice, but they are untested and therefore should only be used at your discretion.

When it comes to getting lice out of the hair of adults, permethrin is the most commonly recommended treatment. Both 'Nix' and 'Elimite' contain permethrin as the active ingredient, with Nix containing 1 percent of the formula and Elimite containing a more potent 5 percent. In most cases, only one application of permethrin is necessary to remove all of the lice from an individual. If the simple cures for head lice aren't working, you may need to opt for a more drastic treatment. Lindane is a drug that is only available by prescription, which has shown to be rather effective. Take caution, though, because the drug has been shown to induce seizures in children in a small number of cases. Oral agents such as Septra or Bactrim can also eliminate head lice over a period of 7 to 10 days. Stromectol is another oral drug which can help to destroy the parasitic insects with only one dose.

In addition to killing the parasites present in your hair, you're also going to need to take care of the nits that they leave behind. You can do this by breaking down their adhesive which binds them to the hair with distilled white vinegar. Afterwards, you'll be able to remove the nits with little to no trouble. Focus on the area of the hair shafts that are within one centimeter of the scalp. Nits that are located more than one centimeter away from the scalp are not necessarily a worry as they are not likely to survive. With a little persistence, you can treat even the most dire cases of head lice in the home. Good luck!