How to remove lice and nits: an overview of effective methods and means

Parents who first think about how to remove lice from their child usually carry out this procedure in a big hurry, almost in a panic. Often, almost the first lice remedy that comes across, which can be found in a pharmacy, is used, and in the worst case, on the advice of grandmothers, even kerosene or vinegar.

Therefore, first of all, you need to calm down and approach the solution of the problem deliberately and carefully. After all, it is important not only to remove lice and nits, but to do it as safely as possible for health and taking into account all contraindications to the particular chosen remedy (there are numerous cases when improper control of parasites led to incomparably more serious health problems than the lice themselves could cause) .

In addition, in most cases, it is necessary to remove lice not only from the person who suffers from them, but also from everyone who has been in close enough contact with the infected.

• Lice are very easily transmitted from person to person through close contact.
• They quickly develop resistance to various insecticides: it often happens that people who seem to already know how to poison lice are unpleasantly surprised to find that their favorite remedy no longer works.
• In their reproduction, lice go through the stage of nits - an egg in a shell, tightly stuck to the hair. Such nits have an increased resistance to various drugs, and therefore removing nits is a more difficult task than removing adult lice and larvae.
• It is also important to remember that lice can cause, in addition to severe itching and skin damage, dangerous infectious diseases, such as typhoid.

So, before removing lice, it will be useful to understand the characteristics of drugs from different groups, and only then choose a remedy that will be both effective and safe to use.

On a note

Lice infestation itself is a parasitic disease, colloquially referred to as lice, and in medical practice - pediculosis. Accordingly, anti-lice agents are usually called pediculicidal. If the drug is additionally capable of destroying nits, they say that it has an ovicidal effect.

 

Lice removal methods

During the acquaintance of a person with lice, many methods of removing lice have been tried. Today, the following are known to be effective:

1. Destruction of lice with preparations containing insecticidal substances. Such substances include, for example, Permethrin, Cypermethrin, Fenotrin, Malathion, Piperonyl Butoxide and some others. Thus, choosing how to remove lice, you can completely focus on products containing these particular substances.The use of insecticide-containing products is generally effective, but may lead to side effects.
2. Removal of lice and nits by means that are not typical poisons, but, nevertheless, also lead to the death of parasites - kerosene, vinegar, denatured alcohol, hydrogen peroxide and some others. Methodically, this method of removing lice on the head (or other parts of the body) does not differ from the previous one. However, side effects when using such drugs are much more severe than in the previous case, and if used incorrectly, severe skin burns and hair loss are possible.
3. Combing parasites from the hair - for this, special lice combs are used, very thick and durable. But a simple comb, even with frequent teeth, will not work to remove parasites. In general, the method of combing out lice and nits with the help of special combs is one of the safest ways to get rid of parasites, however, it requires some effort and time. And the combs themselves cost a lot.
4. Appeal to special sanitary services. Lice removal services are provided by special detention centers, city SES, some clinics and even individual pest control services. The method is very effective, but due to the use of powerful insecticides, it is fraught with side effects.
5. And, finally, heat treatment - lice die almost immediately at temperatures below minus 13 ° C and above + 56 ° C. And if it is not possible to safely treat the head and other parts of the body with a low temperature, then special hair dryers make it possible to destroy lice with warm air. This method is especially suitable for removing lice from infested clothing or hats: simply wash the items at a water temperature of about 60 ° C.You can also blow your hair with a special hair dryer, this method has no side effects, but in our country there are no such hair dryers for sale (in ordinary hair dryers it is difficult to regulate the temperature, there is a risk of getting burned or, conversely, not getting the desired result).

And further: Paranit from lice - a dummy that you can’t wash off your hair with, or a really effective thing? (the article has more than 70 comments)

And, of course, the easiest, cheapest and most effective way to quickly remove lice is to simply shave the infected part of the body (pubic and head lice live only on the hair).

If there is no hair, then there are no lice or nits. In the case when it is necessary to remove lice in men and boys, this method should be preferred to all others.

 

Choosing the Right Insecticide

You can effectively remove lice by means of different types, which include:

• pediculicide shampoos
• lice sprays;
• combs;
• lice creams;
• pediculicidal emulsions and concentrates;
• as well as traditional medicine.

Perhaps the most popular insecticide against lice today are pediculicidal shampoos, most of which allow you to remove lice in both adults and children.

Lice sprays are more effective than pediculicidal shampoos in many cases, but they are more likely to irritate the skin and may cause some side effects. Most often, dermatologists recommend using sprays to remove pubic lice.

There are also special aerosols that should be sprayed on bed linen and things infected with parasites: it is also possible to remove lice from a person with such means, but due to the increased concentration of insecticides, this can be dangerous for the skin - it is important to remember this.

Combs for combing out lice and nits do not cause absolutely no side effects and are very safe for human health. However, usually lice are removed with their help for a long time and difficult: you need to comb your hair with a comb for at least a week.

Lice creams are mostly similar in composition to other insecticidal agents, they are simply presented in a different dosage form, convenient for sanitizing lice-affected areas of the body. Getting rid of head lice with creams is not much more difficult than with shampoos or sprays, but they are most suitable for fighting pubic lice.

From folk remedies, the following are most often used to remove lice and nits:

• vinegar
• kerosene
• cranberry juice
• hellebore water
• tar soap
• hydrogen peroxide
• sometimes - garlic mask
• decoction of wormwood and tansy

and other means.

Kerosene, vinegar, and hydrogen peroxide do help get rid of head lice, but often lead to severe chemical burns and allergic skin reactions. In this respect, the use of hellebore water from lice (it is really effective and relatively safe), as well as cranberry juice in combination with a comb, looks more preferable.

As a result, children can be recommended to remove lice using pediculicidal shampoos and then comb out parasites and nits with a comb.People with pronounced allergic or asthmatic reactions should only use a comb.

 

Combs are the safest way to get rid of lice

Combs are especially well suited for removing lice in children - it is in childhood that insecticidal agents most often cause side effects.

AntiV combs, LiceGuard and RobiComb have proven themselves best.

You need to comb your hair with strands from the very roots, and before removing the lice, you need to wet your head a little. The procedure should be carried out daily until the complete disappearance of parasites from the hair. With the parallel use of cranberry juice or Hygia shampoo, lice eggs can be removed with the help of combs even before the larvae hatch from them.

On a note

You should not particularly chase after electronic combs, which, according to the manufacturer, additionally destroy lice with an electric discharge. These tools have not proven their effectiveness, but are much more expensive than simple combs.

 

Use of lice shampoos

With pediculicide shampoos, removing head lice is quite simple: the product is applied to the head like a regular shampoo and left on the hair for 30-40 minutes. Then the hair needs to be washed and combed out with a thick comb (sometimes such a comb comes with the shampoo itself).

And further: A selection of effective remedies for lice and nits (the article has more than 100 comments)

One of the most effective head lice shampoos are Pedilin and Hygia - they help not only remove lice, but also help get rid of nits. Pedilin contains Malathion, which penetrates through the shell of the nits, and Hygia contains acetic acid, which helps to peel the nits from the hair.

Other shampoos - Medifox, NOK, Lauri - contain Permethrin as an active ingredient, which is effective against lice, but does not give an effect against nits.

They usually remove lice in adults, processing twice with a break of a week. With a single treatment, there are situations when lice are not completely removed: larvae hatch from the surviving nits within a week, which again begin to pester the infected person.

 

How to remove lice with special sprays

Lice sprays are usually available in small aerosol bottles with a capacity of 30-50 ml and are very convenient to use, as they are easily applied to the affected areas of the body. The volume of the bottle is enough to treat even long hair.

You can remove lice at home with the help of sprays by washing your hair, drying your hair a little with a towel and applying a spray on them along the entire length. After that, you need to hold the product on your head for 30-40 minutes, and then rinse.

Among the sprays, the most famous are Nyuda and Paranit - these are products based on Dimethicone (liquid silicone).

Dimethicone, unlike many chemical insecticides, is absolutely safe for humans. In the treatment of flatulence, it is even used internally, but this substance destroys lice with the same efficiency as specialized insecticides, only the mechanism of action is different: silicone envelops the chitinous covers of insects with a thin film, clogging the respiratory tract and leading to suffocation of parasites.

The disadvantage of most sprays is that they cannot be used to remove nits, and hair treatment will have to be repeated to completely remove lice.

 

Creams and lotions for lice

Lice lotions are insecticidal emulsions or concentrates, water or alcohol based.Depending on the concentration of the active substance, lotions can be used ready-made for sanitization or require dilution with water.

Both creams and lotions are most rationally used to combat pubic pediculosis, since it can be problematic to smear the hair with a cream or insecticide solution on the head with thick hair. Lice are removed by carefully treating the infected area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe body with a remedy and keeping it for as long as the instructions require.

The most famous concentrates are Medifox, Medilis, Foxylon, and from creams - Nix, Nittifor and Benzyl benzoate from lice.

 

Folk remedies: use with extreme caution

All folk remedies for removing lice can be divided into two groups:

1. Kerosene, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, denatured alcohol, hellebore water, which sometimes destroy lice and nits even more effectively than special insecticides, but they require great care in use, since they act on human skin as harshly as they do on themselves. lice.
2. Various essential oils, decoctions and infusions of wormwood and tansy, tar soap are products that have an unpleasant odor for insects and repel them, but when the infection has taken place they are not able to destroy the parasites. It is with their use that most often there are complaints that lice are not displayed in any way.

Important!

Hydrogen peroxide, in addition to the burning effect, also bleaches the hair, and therefore, when using it, you should be prepared to change the color of your hair.

Getting rid of lice with folk remedies usually seems cheaper than using more expensive modern drugs. But, you see, health is not worth saving.The risk of causing serious burns to yourself or your child is not worth the dubious benefits that at first glance promise easily accessible folk recipes.

Be healthy!

 

20 interesting facts about lice and nits

 

Useful video: complete removal of lice and nits with the AntiV comb

 

How lice infestation occurs and how to get rid of them