Eliminating Lice

By Evelyn Spence

Talk about the creepy crawlies. About one in 100 kids in the US comes home from school with lice every year, and desperate parents—along with creative scientists—have tried drowning, suffocating, shrink-wrapping, heating, combing, and electrocuting the little buggers with pesticides, olive oil, tea tree oil, hair dryers, zapping combs, mayonnaise, antibiotics, and even kerosene.

But many of the chemical treatments—such as lindane and malathion, in the form of harsh shampoos and lotions—come with potentially dangerous side effects (blood disorders, seizures, nervous system problems like headaches and vision loss, to name a few). “Lidanes are actually banned in California,” says Barbara Frankowski, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Vermont. “And malathion can cause respiratory problems if you ingest it.” Lice are becoming resistant to these fixes anyway—much like bacteria have to antibiotics. Unfortunately, a good number of down-home remedies aren’t very effective either. Case in point: A 2004 study in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing found that six common home remedies (like petroleum jelly and vinegar) did kill eggs—but failed stop adult lice from laying more of them.

So what do you do when you’re faced with an infestation? We did some nit picking to find out the best—and safest—ways to mount a counterattack.

• Go crazy with a comb. Often stainless steel, with precisely spaced teeth, special louse combs can pull the varmints out of your child’s mane. Wet the hair, put a little conditioner on the comb for lubrication, and work the comb through the hair section by section. A study in the August 2005 issue of the British Medical Journal showed that this wet-combing technique worked as well as a single dose of malathion. Repeat every day or two for 12 to 14 days (close to the life cycle of the bug). At this point, if you see nits, they’re probably just the empty shells of already-hatched lice.

• Take it to the next level. If you still see adult lice, you have a few options: You can try HairClear 1-2-3, a natural remedy that combines coconut, anise, and ylang-ylang oils. A 2002 study in the Israel Medical Association Journal found that this treatment (in Israel, it’s called Chick-Chack) was about 90 percent effective—about the same result as the chemical cocktail of permethrin and malathion used on the control group. Or look for products containing perythrum, which is extracted from chrysanthemums—though technically an insecticide, countless studies have found the plant and its extracts safe and effective.

• Be wary of gimmicks. Recent research shows that a new nontoxic treatment—Nuvo Lotion applied wet, blown dry, and left for eight hours—was 96 percent effective against lice. Yes, it works well, but it turns out that the product is actually Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser but with a higher price tag.

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