3 Ways To Treat Your Child's Head Lice
Although COVID has decreased the school, camp, and sports activities, your children can still bring home head lice. Lice can actually spread by sharing clothing, hats, towels, combs, and other personal items with an infected individual. Lice can cause itchiness and sores on the scalp, so it's important to properly remove and eradicate these pests. If you notice that your child has lice, here are three ways to treat the issue.
Take Them to an In-Head Lice Treatment Clinic
There may be a clinic in your area that specializes in the removal of lice. If you're still breastfeeding your child, these clinics can be a great option since the healthcare professionals can recommend a product that's safe to use if you suspect that you might have lice too. While some clinics may offer DIY kits that you can take home, other clinics may offer in-office appointments. During these appointments, the staff can use special heated products to dehydrate head lice and their eggs; these products can effectively eradicate all the lice. Once the heated product has done its work, then the staff can use special combs to clear out dead lice and debris from your child's scalp.
Use an Over-the-Counter Product
If you don't have a clinic nearby, there are OTC anti-parasite medications you can purchase from the store that can be used on lice. For instance, WebMD says that medications that contain ingredients like Piperonyl butoxide and permethrin can help. If you don't want to use a pesticide cream, then you could try dimethicone, which is a silicone-based material that basically suffocates the lice. OTC products may take a little longer to kill all the lice than products at a clinic, but they should be effective if used correctly. Once the lice have died, you can help your child wash his or her hair and use a fine-tooth comb to rid hair shafts of debris.
Smother the Lice with Items in Your Kitchen
If you don't have the time or means to go to a clinic or store, there are some products in your kitchen that could help. For instance, you could apply almond oil or olive oil to your sections of your child's hair to smother the critters. Then you can rinse your child's hair with shampoo and hot water. This method has to be repeated to remove all the lice. Your combs and towels will also need additional cleaning to make sure that all eggs and lice are removed and so that they don't spread.
For more lice removal tips, reach out to a medical health professional in your area.
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