Various ways to get rid of head lice

Head lice are nasty little parasites that live on a human host for around 30 days and suck of blood for their survival. People having head lice are prone to itching. They have been there since the very beginning of man-kind and cannot live away from the host for more than 24 hours. They can spread through contact with the persons having head lice. Often using the same head accessories like hats, combs, helmets and towels can cause the head lice to spread. It should be noted that head lice do not spread through pets as they cannot live on them.

There are various ways to get rid of head lice but using natural methods have proven to be effective and are free of harmful chemicals. One such way is to spread castor oil on the hair, cover it with shower cap and rinse well with shampoo in the morning. Although several washings may be required, saturating hair with petroleum jelly overnight produces wonderful results. Mayonnaise is also used in the similar way to get rid of head lice which is easier to rinse in the morning than petroleum jelly and is known to work just as effectively.

Some people tried washing hair twice a day and rinsing with vinegar regularly with good results although the eggs have to be separately picked. A comb dipped in vinegar helps in removing the eggs effectively and combing in the night under artificial lights have given better results. An essential oil mix made by adding five drops each of lavender oil, eucalyptus oil, rosemary, peppermint and tea tree oils when applied to the hair as a rinse and combing the hair after the rinse have proven to be effective to get rid of head lice. Maintaining cleanliness at school and home is necessary to prevent the head lice from reoccurring.