Itchy scalp: are you sure it is head lice?

An itchy scalp can be incredibly irritating, particularly if it has been causing discomfort for an extended period. Whilst the temptation to scratch the area is very strong, you are as likely to inflame the situation further as you are to relieve your symptoms. It is important that you understand while you have an itchy head: is it head lice, or something else?

Many people, especially if they have children at school, think of lice when their scalp or their kid’s head is itching. But there are many other causes of itchy scalp, and there is no need to panic.

In most cases, the irritation is caused by inflamed skin, possibly relating to a mild infection. In this case, scratching the area can cause the symptoms to spread across a wider area of the scalp, very rapidly making the problem worse.

Some people can suffer with the itchy scalp symptom at the stage in their life where their hair changes, perhaps when hairlines recede in men, or for women during pregnancy where hair may thicken or fall out and become more thinly spread.

Often doctors will see a redness of the scalp, which can be caused by infection or scratching, so it is important to inform your doctor if you have been using your hands to try to reduce the irritation.

One often overlooked cause of the tingling sensation can be dandruff, which is a fairly mild version of the condition, sometimes caused simply by the skin drying out and flaking away. This can be relieved by changing your shampoo to a medicated version. If you have already tried this approach, experiment with a few brands, as sometimes different people can find success with a product that proves useful for others.

Before we move onto the treatments available for more serious episodes of scalp itchiness, it is important to note that you should consider getting professional health advice if you also experience any of the following conditions. Feeling very cold or shivering when others feel warm can indicate blood circulation may be poor, and as a result the skin may not be effectively looked after by the body.

Extreme tiredness can be a sign of a viral infection, and this can result in the body focusing on eradicating the virus rather than the skin care, so your itchy scalp may be a secondary effect. Similarly, colds and allergic reactions can have a similar effect on the body, so try to identify recent illnesses which may have caused you to feel run down. Finally, large changes in your weight (either weight gain or loss) can make your body behave in unexpected ways. For example, losing weight may mean your skin needs to tighten up where there used to be fat, causing the itchy feeling.

If the symptoms are temporary or intermittent, treating your condition is most likely going to be straightforward. If you have identified live lice and lice eggs in your hair, you should apply a head lice treatment.  If you don’t have lice, start with moisturizing shampoos or changing your current products, as this can be a simple and fast solution. If that doesn’t work, or you have additional symptoms, visit your doctor for some advice. They will not only be able to prescribe lotions or other medications, but also check you over to make sure there is nothing else which needs to be treated to get you back to life without scratching.

Any parent of children that have reached nursery or school age will know the frustration of dealing with head lice. Among all the treatments available, some people think about dying their hair. But does hair dye kill lice?

What many people are unaware of is that head lice can quite happily live on adult heads too. The reason head lice is more common in children is that as they play their heads frequently touch, allowing for the passage between carriers. For this reason the transmission of head lice from child to parent is easy too, as there is usually plenty of close contact.

For example, neutral henna is a great natural hair dye, although you should be careful to use high quality products to avoid unwanted discoloration associated with cheaper brands. The quality neutral henna products will not only kill and remove head lice, but also can be very effective for dandruff treatment and is even believed to strengthen hair.

When treating any scalp that is infested with head lice and eggs, pay particular attention to any remaining eggs after treatment. Get a nit comb, which is a special type of comb, made up of metal teeth with very small gaps between. The idea is that the comb can separate the lice and nits from the hair. Make sure to comb all live adults and all live eggs out.

It is very common for sufferers to believe they have successfully eradicated lice, because they can see no remaining live lice. As you might imagine, in a matter of hours or days, any remaining eggs will begin to hatch and the lice will return, quickly gaining in number and meaning you will have to start treatment all over again.

Will hair dye kill lice? Yes, it will in some cases, but you should keep in mind that not all dyes will work, and some people may find more success than others. As with all home remedies, you should seek professional assistance from your healthcare provider if problems persist, or appear to get worse.

Today the growing resistance of head lice to traditional pesticide treatments has caused scientists to look for more efficient remedies. The Benzyl Alcohol Lotion for head lice is one of them.

The Benzyl Alcohol Lotion for lice treatment was the first one of similar alcohol treatments to be approved by the FDA. It is considered safe and is not flammable. The trials showed that a 5 percent Benzyl Alcohol Lotion treatment was at least as effective as a pyrethrin treatment for head lice (such as RID lice killing shampoo). Moreover, head lice do not get resistant to the Benzyl Alcohol Lotion treatment.

The Benzyl Alcohol Lotion suffocates head lice more effectively and dehydrates them, too. Besides, it has to be kept on the hair for only about 10 minutes, while oil or mayonnaise need to stay on the head for 3 to 8 hours.

In April 2009, the FDA approved the use of Ulesfia Lotion (Benzyl Alcohol Lotion) for the treatment of head lice on people age 6 months and older. Because safety and effectiveness studies have not been conducted in people over 60 years of age, use this product with caution in this age group. However, you should know that Ulesfia kills adult lice, but not lice eggs or nits, and thus requires two treatments separated by a week.

It is recommended that a second treatment be done one week after the first. DO NOT use on infants less than 6 months of age. The use of Ulesfia on premature infants could put them at risk for serious side effects. Follow your doctor’s instructions exactly and only use this product on the persons for whom they were prescribed.

Again, only a few head lice treatments are capable of killing head lice eggs, called nits. The Benzyl Alcohol Lotion is not one of these treatments. It cannot help to get rid of nits, this is why a repeated treatment is needed to kill all the newly hatched lice. For this purpose, you can use vinegar or lemon juice, and make sure you comb all nits out with a lice comb.

The main drawback of the Benzyl Alcohol Lotion treatment for head lice is financial: this treatment can be quite expensive. A bottle sells for more than $50 at the time of writing and if you’ve got long hair, you would need several bottles of the product to treat head lice and wet the entire hair. Keep in mind that you would need at least two treatments to get rid of head lice for good.

One of the best home remedies for lice is lemon juice. This treatment is pretty safe and highly affordable. Let us take a look at why and how lemon juice for lice works to get rid of nits and how it should be applied.

Lemon juice contains citric acid at a concentration of about 5%. This acid helps to dissolve the cement that glues the nits to the hair shaft. This helps to remove them manually or comb them out more easily.

There are several ways you can apply lemon juice for lice. Take a sufficient amount of lemon juice to wet your hair. The amount you need depends on how long your hair is. Apply the juice to dry and clean hair and leave on for at least 10 minutes.

You apply this mixture to your hair and scalp and leave it on for about half an hour. Then you wash it off with warm water and shampoo your hair with normal shampoo. Next, you proceed with combing out all the dead or live lice and nits from the hair. You should use a special head lice comb to do that. Note that lemon juice might not help you to kill adult lice, but it is usually very effective to unglue the nits from the hair, which makes it easier to comb them out.

The person being combed should be sited in the bright light or sunlight. A head lice comb has fine teeth, so it can help you to remove unglued nits. This lemon juice lice treatment should be repeated for several days in a row to make sure you get rid of all the eggs.

Keep in mind that lemon juice can cause a burning sensation on your skin if the skin is damaged. It can also cause chemical burn of the damaged skin. Use it with great care and avoid getting it into your eyes. Take special care when applying it to kids. Screen their heads for scratches before you apply lemon juice and make sure they don’t get any in their eyes.

Many people do not want to apply strong pesticide shampoos to their kids’ heads to kill head lice. That is why home remedies are so popular. There are a lot of home treatments for lice, and alcohol is one of them. But does rubbing alcohol kill lice?

It is a fact that people have successfully used alcohol to kill lice, especially adult head lice. However, it is by no way a proven home remedy. Although rubbing alcohol can kill head lice, it is not recommended to put alcohol directly on the hair or scalp.

This warning is especially relevant for those who intend to use alcohol for treating young kids for head lice. Kids rarely can sit still for a long time. If they come near a heat source with alcohol on their hair, they can catch on fire and be severely burned.

Another thing you should be careful with is treating head lice with such products as Listerine. This is a mouth wash which is often used to kill head lice. It contains 21.6 percent of alcohol, plus menthol and eucalyptol. It may be efficient for treating head lice, but it also might produce a number of undesirable side effects for your health.

Rubbing alcohol for lice is only recommended for soaking brushes and nit combs. When you comb out head lice, you can dip the comb in water and alcohol and then brush it through the hair. Again, make sure not to sit close to a heat source and not to smoke during or after this treatment.

Lavender essential oil

If you are looking for safe and natural ways to treat head lice, you should consider using lavender oil. This treatment does not contain any pesticides and can be used as a home pediculicide in case you are not allergic to lavender and lavender essential oil. Let’s take a look at how lavender oil for lice works and if it can kill or repel head lice.

Lavender oil is considered to be a natural insect repellent. It affects insects with its smell. Of course, no matter how much lavender or any other essential oil you use, such as tea tree oil, it cannot guarantee you that you will not get lice and nits. You still get chances of getting infested with head lice, but what happens is that you reduce your risks of getting infested when using lavender oil or lavender shampoo for lice.

Now, let’s see how you can use lavender oil to kill head lice. The best way to use it is in combination with some carrier oil. This head lice treatment method is called physical pesticide. Here is what you do. You take a sufficient quantity of the carrier oil. You can use coconut oil, corn oil, olive oil, sunflower oil or any other kind of natural plant oil as your carrier oil. Then you add a tea spoon or just a few drops of lavender oil to the carrier oil. Now you are ready to apply it to your hair. Apply the mixture to dry and clean hair, and cover the head with a shower cap.

Leave the oils on your hair and scalp for several hours. Does lavender deter head lice? Yes, lavender oil helps to suffocate and repel head lice. The mixture of oils gets stuffed into the head lice breathing tubes, preventing them from breathing, and they die. However, it is very important to keep in mind that lavender oil does not kill nits. This is why a repeated treatment is needed 7 to 10 days later.

You can also use lavender oil for combing out head lice. You put it on a special lice comb and comb out your hair lock by lock. Lavender oil remains on the hair and repels head lice. They find it hard to return to the combed and clean locks.

You can also use lavender shampoo for lice. You can make it yourself by adding a few drops of the essential oil to the shampoo. Using such shampoo can help you to repel head lice and keep them away once you have gotten rid of them. However, it may not provide a sufficient treatment on its own to get rid of head lice.

As you may see, lavender oil for lice can offer you safe solutions for treating lice at home. Make sure you are not allergic to this essential oil before applying it.

Many parents in a search of safer home remedies for treating head lice think of Listerine. You may find many recommendations regarding using Listerine for lice online. However, this product was not created for head lice treatment. It is a mouth wash with an antiseptic in it. The product also contains a lot of alcohol. Let’s see if using Listerine for lice treatment is a good idea or not.

Listerine contains menthol and eucalyptol. These are two ingredients that make this product work as head lice repellent. It also contains 21.6 percent of alcohol, which is a pretty strong concentration. Does Listerine kill lice? Yes, because it contains alcohol, which is an effective head lice treatment.

Make sure you never use Listerine to treat head lice on children. Listerine’s product label speaks for itself:

“WARNING: Do not administer to children under 12 years of age. Keep this and all drugs out of reach of children. Do not swallow. If more than used for rinsing is accidentally swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center right away.”

Listerine is an alcohol-based mouth rinse. This product is not sold as a head lice treatment.

Of course, the best and safest way to treat lice is combing them out manually with a metal nit comb. It is time consuming and requires a lot of patience. If you want to use home remedies to get rid of both adult lice and nits, you can use olive oil or mayonnaise for adults and vinegar for lice eggs. There are ways to prevent head lice, too. Applying tea tree oil can be an effective way to repel these parasites and keep them away.

Sometimes people don’t want to use pesticide shampoos for treating head lice. Vaseline might be an alternative if you are a pregnant or breast feeding woman or if you have to treat kids for head lice. Let us take a look at the pros and cons of using Vaseline for lice.

Vaseline is also called petroleum jelly. It is made of petroleum, thus it is safe to use for people with plant allergy. Does Vaseline kill lice? Yes it does, although it is no miracle remedy. It works as a suffocant, which means that it does not kill head lice by its chemical composition, but it rather kills by suffocating them. It gets stuffed into the head lice’s breathing tube and as they cannot breathe, they die.

Petroleum jelly should be applied to dry hair. You should wet the hair of the treated person well with it. Make sure to cover up all the scalp, too. Vaseline takes a long time to work. After you have applied it to the hair and scalp, you should put a shower cap on to cut off the air. Leave Vaseline on the hair for at least 8 hours. You may leave it on for the night, but if you are applying it on children, you might not want to let them sleep with a plastic wrap on their hair, as it can be hazardous.

Now, here comes the hardest part of the treatment, and these are the cons of such head lice home remedy. Vaseline is sticky. It makes your hair feel extremely oily and it is very hard to remove. Dish soap is generally recommended for speeding the removal of Vaseline. You should be aware of the fact that dish soaps, though generally mild, are not intended for a concentrated application to the skin and may pose, at a minimum, a severe eye irritation risk.

So, you the dish soap sparingly and try to wash it off ASAP. Once you are done with washing Vaseline off your hair and scalp, you should proceed with combing out your hair. There might be some dead or live head lice left on your hair. Get a special head lice comb and get to work.

Comb the hair lock by lock. If you’ve got long hair to comb, you may braid each combed lock to prevent the clean hair from mixing up with the hair that has not been combed yet. Dip the comb into water or wipe it on a white cloth to remove any lice from it. This way you can see if any head lice remained on your hair.

Another thing to know about Vaseline for head lice is that this product does not kill nits. Nits are the head lice eggs. Lice lay their eggs on the hair close to the scalp. It takes 7 to 10 days for the nits to hatch. This is why another Vaseline treatment is needed to get rid of head lice completely. And to remove nits, you can use vinegar.

Even though such treatment is messy and it takes a long time to work, Vaseline can offer a safer alternative to pesticides. You can use this treatment on younger kids, too. It works well enough on long and on short hair, but it is certainly easier to remove from shorter hair.

If you have live lice or nits in your hair, you have a head lice infestation and you will probably start looking for all possible effective treatments to get rid of them. You might ask yourself the following question: does Head and Shoulders kill lice? Some people think Head And Shoulders shampoo can be a treatment and can help them get rid of lice. However, nothing is further from the truth.

If you apply Head And Shoulders shampoo and think that you have gotten rid of lice, then it most probably means that you didn’t have lice at all in the first place.

The reason why some people believe Head And Shoulders can help them to treat pediculosis is because they take dandruff or seborrhoeic dermatitis for head lice.

First of all, head lice eggs, also called nits, truly resemble dandruff. Especially dead nits look very much like dandruff. Then, dandruff, dry scalp or dermatitis symptoms are also similar to head lice symptoms, mainly an itchy scalp and irritation.

Live nits are firmly attached to the hair. They cannot be easily removed, unlike dandruff. They have a light yellowish or whitish color.

Even though zinc pyrithione provides a very efficient treatment for dandruff and other skin problems, it is incapable of treating any degree of head lice infestation. So, does Head And Shoulders kill lice? No, it doesn’t. Neither can it kill nits.

Now, can head and shoulders shampoo prevent head lice? No, it cannot be used for preventing head lice infestations.

What is lice? Lice are parasitic insects that live on the human hair and scalp, body and pubic area.

They survive on human blood. The head lice, body lice and pubic crab lice are completely different from each other. Among them, only the body louse is known to spread diseases.

Lice infestation commonly spreads through close personal contacts.

Different types of lice:

• Head lice:

Head lice infestation is commonly known as pediculosis and spreads through close person-to-person contact. Head lice infect the head and neck and lay their eggs on the base of the hair shaft. They cannot fly or hop but move by crawling.

The female louse lays its eggs on the hair and glues the eggs onto the hair shaft with glue that it secretes from its body. This secretion is very similar to the keratin of the hair, and the louse attaches its eggs at an optimum distance from the scalp so that it is at the right temperature for hatching. The eggs hatch in around seven to ten days. The eggs hatch into a nymph which remains attached to the hair.

A female louse lays about three to four eggs daily, that is more than seventy eggs in her life span. Adult lice live for about four weeks (see head lice life cycle for more details). The quick multiplication is the main reason why lice are able to infest a person’s hair very quickly.

• Body lice:

Body lice live and lay their eggs on cloths and only move to the body surface to feed themselves. They are known to spread diseases among individuals.  Body lice infestations spread through close person-to-person contact and are limited to individuals who live in crowded areas and have poor hygiene habits.

• Pubic ‘crab’ lice:

Pubic lice are found on the pubic regions but sometimes may be present on other parts of the body like eyebrows, eyelashes, beard, moustache etc. Pubic lice infestations, commonly referred as pthiriasis, are spread through sexual contact.

Lice infestation treatment options:

• Head lice:

Head lice treatment is recommended for a person who is infected with head lice. All family members as well as close members should be checked for active infestation. If infested, and ONLY if infested, they should be treated accordingly.

A nit comb is a very good tool that fights head lice infestations. Medicated shampoo or a prescription anti lice formulas can be used in the treatment of head lice. Lindane shampoo is a prescription medication used in the treatment of head lice, but since it is toxic to the brain, its use in lice infestation is limited. You can also use home remedies for lice and nits.

Apart from family members, anything that comes into contact with the hair should be treated to prevent further infestation. They include mattresses, bedding, clothes, towels, head rest, car seats etc.

•  Body lice:

The best treatment for body lice is to improve the personal hygiene of the infested person which includes changing clean clothes frequently (at least once in every week). Clothes, bedding, towels etc should be washed in hot water and dried.
A treatment may be used to kill the body lice of the infected person. But if proper hygiene is maintained by the infested person, then a treatment may not be required.

•  Pubic lice:

1% permethrin lotions are very effective in the treatment of pubic lice. This medication is safe and effective in the control of pubic lice when used exactly according to the instructions provided in the package. You can also apply a mousse containing a mixture of piperonyl butoxide and pyrethrins.

A lice infestation can be extremely irritating and proper precautions should be taken to remove it completely. Once the infestation is completely eliminated, proactive precautions are taken to prevent the problem from reoccurring. As far as head lice are concerned, you can take very simple and effective head lice prevention measures such as putting a few drops of tea tree oil behind the ears and in the neck area.