by Annie M Manzi

Created on: September 05, 2008   Last Updated: August 29, 2011

Head lice are something that sends shudders up a parent's back. Most kids seem to have had at least one bout in their lifetime. It is not a pleasant job to get rid of them, so it is best to educate yourself and your kids on how to avoid getting them in the first place. A school nurse once told me how to get rid of lice without using insecticides and chemical shampoos. Fortunately we never had to use her advice, but I know others it has worked for.

First let's look at head lice and how they are spread. Head lice do not jump from human to human; they are only spread during direct contact, usually from an affected person's head to someone's uninfected one. It makes sense to avoid an infected person's hairbrush, hair ribbons, hats, scarves or anything else that is contact with that person's head. Stay away from infected people's belonging such as bedding, clothes and coats too. Basically that is what you teach kids to do, not share items that are contact with anyone's hair and heads. Avoiding direct contact is the est way to keep from getting lice.

Head lice are not transmitted to or from your pets or livestock. They don't live in dirt or dust; they exclusively need humans to feed upon. If there is an outbreak of head lice in your home, everyone in the home is at risk. You should treat everyone in the household. When you have an infestation, wash all clothes and bedding in hot water. Then dry in a hot dryer. Take everything else that the infected person has used and put in a bag and freeze it if you can, or secure it in a plastic garbage bag and isolate the items for ten days.

A surprisingly excellent method of ridding a person of head lice is to saturate the head and scalp with mayonnaise or heavy cooking oil. Keep it on the head for an hour or more. It smothers the lice and nymphs. But be sure to do it again in another week to smother anymore lice that may have hatched out from the nits. Also do it again if you see signs of lice life after the treatment and keep the oil or mayonnaise on longer during the follow-up treatment.

There is a nit comb to buy and it is useful on dragging off the nits form your hair strands. Comb through your hair everyday to get rid as many as possible. Smother any lice that may have hatched from nits you may have missed when combing out with the treatment described above.

Prevention is the best way to keep head lice off your family's heads. Make sure your family knows to not share hair accessories, combs or brushes with friends or schoolmates. Also teach them to avoid personal contact with someone who is itching their heads, they may have head lice. If an infestation occurs, then use natural and effective methods to kill the head lice. Stay away from the potentially harmful shampoos that are currently the standard method in ridding them.

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