Head lice are tiny wingless parasitic insects that remain on a person’s head and feed on small amounts of blood from that person. Although the head louse are not life threateningly dangerous they can be downright annoying. They occur usually in children between three to twelve years of age and are a bane to many parents causing them to suffer many sleepless nights. These lice usually bite the scalp to draw blood which may cause itching. Repeated scratching of itches may cause skin inflammation and sometimes even infection. Lice may not spread any kind of disease but they are contagious.
Proper care should be taken if a person is infected with head lice. As they can spread through hair accessories like combs, clips, towels and clothes, they should be maintained separately for infected person. Also bed sheets and bedspreads must be changed and washed daily to prevent head lice from spreading. Tiny brown or yellow dots in hair which are nothing but nits may also indicate the presence of headlice. Several home remedies can be used to get rid of these terrible parasites without suffering from any side effects.
Aloe-Vera paste should be applied to the scalp and left aside for two hours before shampooing to get best results. A mixture of two to three cups of egg yolk, 2-3 tbsp vinegar and equal amounts of lemon juice applied to the scalp and allowed to dry for 30 minutes can do the trick. Applying olive oil on hair and covering it with a plastic cover proves effective in killing it. Paste of ten to twenty almonds mixed with 4 spoons of lemon juice applied to dry for 2 hours also helps to get rid of head lice. Neem leaves ground into a fine paste, applied to the scalp is also commonly used as a cure for head lice.
