Home Remedies To Get Rid Of Hair Lice In Children

As a mom, one of my fears has always been what if my kids came home with lice? School is one of the places that kids tend to pick up this nasty bug. With some many kids in a class, if one child has it the chances of others picking it up real fast are quite good.

What Are Lice?

Lice are very small, parasitic insects without wings that feed on human blood. Ok! This is going to make you start scratching your head. They don’t have wings, they don’t fly – they get around by crawling. The lice actually attach their eggs (nits) to the base of the hair shafts and when they hatch the tribe continues to grow – on your child/your scalp.

So to get rid of this infestation completely you have to get rid of the lice as well as the eggs.

These home remedies will help you get rid of lice and prevent it from recurring:

Wet Combing

The person with head lice needs to have their hair completely wet. Add some conditioner to the hair to make it easier to comb through your child's hair. Using a nit-comb which you can find easily Amazon or at your local market shop, Wet-combing is a natural lice remedy that you need to do every day for at least two weeks after you don’t see any lice/eggs present.

Lice Killing Essential Oil

According to Mayo Clinic, some essential oils may have a toxic effect on lice and lice eggs and can help rid of them. Some of the anti-lice essential oils include tea tree essential oil, anise essential oil, lavender and eucalyptus essential oils. Add this essential oil to coconut oil and apply. This is safe for kids as well since you mix it with a carrier oil.

Apply and leave on for 2 hours. Cover the hair completely with a shower cap and wait. Then shampoo your child's hair. While the hair is still wet, combine 2 cups of apple cider vinegar and 1 cup water in a small spray bottle. Saturate the hair and wet comb it to get rid of the lice and nits.

Mashed Apple

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Yes! Weird as it sounds this apparently works. A mashed apple can help to get rid of your child’s head lice in a very short time. Just mash an apple and apply it on your child’s scalp. Massage for a while, cover with a shower cap and wash off after an hour.

Butter and Lemon

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Packed with antibacterial properties, lemon is also known to be extremely effective in killing head lice. Take 1 cube of butter and mix 10-15 drops of lemon juice into it. Apply it on your child’s scalp, cover the hair with a shower cap and wash off after half an hour.

Things To Remember

Don't share combs with anyone.
If there is a lice infestation in the house, keep clothes and towels of the infected person separate.
Wash the infected person's clothes separately to avoid cross-contamination.
Vaccum your house regularly to make sure nothing is left behind in the form of a louse or a nit.
Do not use harsh anti-lice chemical shampoos without checking with a doctor. Your child's skin is extremely sensitive.