Anonymous asks: I have a bit of an embarrassing problem. My daughter got head lice from school and, well, it’s been a month and she’s still scratching. Nothing seems to work! I’ve tried home remedies, chemist products but no results. What’s more, this has given me a headache and an itchy head if you know what I mean. What can I do?
Head lice is a common problem that makes people squirm. It certainly isn’t something people feel comfortable talking about. A lot of people have an irrational fear of insects. So openly talking about a hoard of insects living in your hair isn’t easy.
But the sad truth is that because people don’t talk about it, people don’t realise just how common it is. Head lice is especially a problem for families with school aged kids. Although there is no reliable data, it is estimated 6 million to 12 million infestations occur each year in the United States among children 3 to 11 years of age.
So there is nothing embarrassing about having head lice. There is also nothing embarrassing about not being able to get rid of head lice. To be frank, there are so many products and home made remedies out there that just don’t work.
I mean, who wants to waste $45 on another product that won’t work? Or what about drenching your hair in mayonnaise and and walking around smelling like a sandwich for the next two weeks? With all these ridiculous solutions, it’s tempting to give up being lice free!
However it doesn’t need to be this difficult. Would you believe me if I told you there are products that can get you and your family lice free in a day? It sounds too good to be true. But these products really do exist. Here are the three best products for losing lice from your life:
Please note: do NOT use these products in conjunction with one another. Using two different products together can be harmful. Consult your dermatologist to tell you which products can be combined, if more than one is necessary.
1. Spinosad
Natural? Check! Effective? Check! Easy to use? Check! This lotion ticks all the boxes of an effective nit shampoo. This prescription lotion (or magic in a bottle, whatever you want to call it) contains Spinosad, a natural insecticide derived from bacteria found in soil.
In two clinical trials, 84.6% and 86.7% of patients were lice-free 14 days after treatment, versus 44.9% and 42.9% with permethrin, the previous leading lice remover.
Coat the scalp and work the liquid through dry hair from roots to ends. Leave on for 10 minutes, rinse and comb for nits. The common side effects are eye and skin irritation.
However this should only be used on children four years old and older. But if your child is school aged, this is not a problem.
2. Ivermectin
If your child is only six months old or older, there are other options. The most blog-worthy is Ivermectin. This also comes from bacteria found in soil.
A good nit treatment kills both lice and their eggs – the problem and the cause. This solution paralyzes and kills lice and their eggs.
What’s more, this product kills fast. In clinical trials, roughly three-quarters of patients were lice-free after a single application (without nit combing) two weeks after treatment.
Also you know those pesky side effects such as skin and eye irritation that seem to be imperative to removing lice? Yeah well, less than 1% of users reported these side effects.
3. Lousebuster
Do you want to kill 98% of your nits while feeling like the star of your own episode of Ghost Busters? Then try Lousebuster.
This device takes away the sting of lice shampoos and replaces it with an incredibly effective lice removal solution. It device looks like a vacuum cleaner with a brush-like nozzle.
It works by essentially blasting heated air toward the hair roots and scalp to dry out lice and their eggs.In a 2006 study, the LouseBuster, killed 98% of nits and 80% of live lice.
Here are some tips to get the most out of your lice treatment:
- Comb your child’s hair before using the treatment with a fine-toothed nit comb. This will remove some of the nits and make the process a bit easier.
- Wait two days to wash your hair.
- Continue to comb your hair (with a clean comb) once a day. This ensures you got rid of the lice
