Question:
My children's pediatrician won't prescribe lice medications any more and he
does not recommend the otc remedies either. The last time my children came
home with head lice, the doctor recommended treating her head with olive oil.
He said that his preference for treatment was based on a Harvard study that
indicated olive oil worked best and was less hazardous to use. I will check
with my pediatrician again to inquire about the whole process, but I know the
first night you put olive oil in their hair, saturate it and then wrap it in a
towel. The next morning, you remove the nits and wash their hair, the nits
just slide right off the hair. But the catch is that you have to do this more
than once, I just can't remember the cycle. It gets rid of the head lice
immediately but you retreat to keep it from coming back, I think. I will send
the directions to you, just in case you choose to use this technique.
A few other hints I have learned for using the shampoos aimed towards getting
rid of it, rinse the hair with vinegar after you wash the shampoo out, it makes
the nits come out easier.
A friend of mine has her own remedy. She buys a 99 cent bottle of pump hair
spray, super hold, drenches her childs hair with it and leaves it in until it
dries. Then she shampoos her hair and conditions it, removes the nits and it
is gone. I do NOT however know how safe it would be to put that much hair
spray on a child's head so I am not advising to use this technique, just
sharing info.
Answer:
Using a vinegar rinse at least once a week will also deter
re-infestation. I learned of using cider vinegar as a deterent when YS
was in preschool. Even though he napped next to a boy who was sent home
with lice, YS never got them, thank goodness, so it's my own personal
observation that the cider vinegar rinse works well.
I mix 1-2 tablespoons cider vinegar with about 16 oz water. After
rinsing out the shampoo with plain water, then rinse with the cider
vinegar mix, let set for a minute or two, and rinse with plain water.
This is also a good rinse to get rid of the buildup from shampoos,
conditioners, and hairspray. I use this on my hair because it has the
added benefit of softening and conditioning.
