It is that moment in the life of every doting parent that you dread. I’m talking about the day the light of your life comes home from school with a head full of lice! Home remedies to treat these pesky little parasites are getting a lot of attention right now. Using vinegar to get rid of head lice is something many people get confused with. Read on to find out what vinegar can do to help treat your head lice problem.
Dealing with head lice if you haven’t had to deal with them before it’s a bit worrisome when you first discover them. But if you start treating them as soon as you realize your child has lice, it can be quite easy to get rid of them.
How can you be sure they are lice?
The most characteristic symptoms of lice It’s the desire to constantly scratch your scalp. They bite you so they can feed on small amounts of your blood. Their saliva leaves a residue that makes your scalp irritated and culminates in you wanting to scratch continuously.
You’ll know if you see one because it will look like a sesame seed with 6 little legs crawling around. They usually live on the scalp, but can also be found in the hair. They prefer the back of their neck and behind their ears, so be sure to check those areas first.
The female louse can lay up to 4 eggs per day. and these are more often known as “nits”. The incubation period for a nit is around 7 days and they develop into the young louse known as a nymph. They become fully mature and ready to lay eggs in around 10 days.
Nits are creamy-white in color, about the size of the head of a pin and usually located about 2-3 cm from the hair shaft. They stick to the hair quite firmly and can be a real job to change. They are often mistaken for scaly pieces of skin like dandruff. If you brush your hair and it seems to come off easily, it’s most likely due to dandruff. If they don’t seem to be changing, it’s a nit!
Unnecessary treatment with lice shampoos. and creams is something you want to avoid. They are chemical-based insecticides and should only be used (if that’s what you want to use) once you’re sure it’s lice you’ve found. But once you’re sure it’s lice (following what I outlined above), you can get on with the process of weeding out our unwanted little guests!
Most people automatically turn to over-the-counter products and have tried reliable treatments such as pesticide-infused shampoos and various chemical-based creams, not realizing that there are some very effective natural alternatives to consider. Home remedies seem to be the “taste of the month” right now and using vinegar to treat head lice is one of the most popular.
Vinegar is not the best product for killing lice, but it is excellent for removing nits. The acidic properties of vinegar are very efficient at dissolving the glue that keeps them firmly attached to the hair. I would mix 1 part vinegar (apple cider vinegar seems to be one that has shown the best results) with about 10 parts water. Heat slightly and thoroughly soak the affected person’s hair. Cover it with a plastic lid and let the glue dissolve for at least 2 hours. Rinse and comb from root to tip with a metal-toothed lice comb.
Using Vinegar for Head Lice removal is only part of the process required to completely get rid of these insects. Remember, vinegar is really only useful for dislodging nits, you will also need to use a treatment to kill live lice. Don’t forget to use a special lice comb to remove any dead lice or destroyed eggs or you’ll soon find yourself fighting another infestation sooner than you think!
