How Do You Kill Head Lice?

Head lice are not dangerous and do not spread disease but they are a problem and can be a very frustrating and annoying problem to deal with. If you have children you are going to want to learn how to kill head lice even if they do not have it, because they could sooner or later.

Though lice are very small they can be seen by the naked eye, and so if you ever see your child scratching their head or having an itchy scalp, you are going to want to give their hair a once over to see if there are any lice or nits on the scalp or in the hair. The lice are the size of sesame seeds and are a brownish tan color. They can survive for up to three days off the scalp.

The nits or lice eggs are yellow or tan in color before they hatch and after hatching turn to a white or clear color. You will notice that the nits look somewhat like dandruff, only with dandruff you can brush it off and it will fall off whereas nits will stick to the hair shaft and cannot be brushed or rubbed off.

One of the most common symptoms you will notice in a child with head lice is small red bumps or sores, which they develop from scratching. For some kids the irritation will be mild whereas with others it will result in a bothersome rash that is very noticeable.

When it comes to learning how to kill head lice there are a few different routes you can take. To kill head lice you basically have two options.

1. To use the commercial products available or
2. Natural remedies that are available.

It is more important when you are dealing with children because you may not want to use harsh chemicals on them as you would on yourself.

To kill head lice, if you want to use a lice shampoo, all you need to do is wash the child’s head with it as you would with regular shampoo, and make sure that it is all rinsed out. You may also want to use vinegar with this shampoo to ensure that all the lice and nits are killed.

On the other hand if you want to use home remedies to kill head lice, there are also a few very effective options you can try. Mayonnaise has proven to be effective at killing head lice, as has vinegar, but it may take a bit of trial and error for you to find something that works.