treat-head-lice

Treat Head Lice Right: 5 Reasons Your Head Lice Won’t Go Away

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Man oh man, head lice are a pain! If you don’t know how to treat head lice, they can be hard to get rid of. If you don’t treat them right, they will keep coming back. You may have no idea why they are coming back and here are 4 reasons why you might not be able to part with head lice.

  • You’re Using Over The Counter Treatments

We’ll never stop spreading the word that drugstore/OTC lice treatments do not effectively treat head lice. The resistance of super lice to popular store lice products is well-researched and well-documented in this day and age. There are enough studies out there that prove drugstore lice treatments to be ineffective and not worth the money. Super lice are now resistant to pyrethroids and pyrethroids are found in most OTC lice products, and recent studies show that super lice are now in 42 states in the U.S.

  • Your Nitpicking Is Not Thorough Enough

While effective if done properly, nitpicking is subject to human error. This is the process of combing out live lice, then picking out each nit (lice egg). It is very difficult to get every single lice egg, without missing one and leaving it behind. It is very impressive if someone can spot every single nit and remove it with a nit comb. The reason why only nitpicking is not reliable is that if even one is left behind, then you’re stuck with a whole new live lice infestation and you’re back to square one. Don’t think those lice eggs won’t hatch and multiply because they will. You either have to treat all the head lice and their eggs or expect to another infestation.

  • You Didn’t Get Every Member Of The Family Checked

Oftentimes, parents are so focused on the child that they discovered lice on, that they fail to check everyone else in the household. If one person in the family has head lice, it is likely that someone else in the family may get it as well, especially if there are other children in the family. When you bring your child in to treat their head lice, let us check every member of your family. Head lice are spread through direct head-to-head contact or less commonly, through sharing hair accessories. If only one person in the family is checked and treated, the lice will likely come back to that person from another family member.

  • You’re Relying On Home Remedies

Home remedies can be scary. They are ineffective at best and dangerous at worst. Many internet articles and mommy bloggers will mention home remedies like mayonnaise, petroleum jelly, olive oil, or kerosene. These methods usually involve covering a child’s head with one of these substances overnight and suffocating it to the head with plastic wrap. There’s no guarantee that the plastic wrap won’t fall off the head and cover your child’s mouth and nose. The method is meant to treat head lice by suffocating the lice, which cab instead, tragically suffocate your child. PLEASE DO NOT TRY HOME REMEDIES. Mayonnaise has also been shown to cause food poisoning to children. Think about it, you wouldn’t leave mayonnaise outside of the fridge overnight and then use it the next day. Well, left out mayonnaise all over your child’s face and all over their bed is bad news.

Now you know what NOT to do. One of these might be the reason that you can’t get rid of those dang head lice. We know how to teat head lice, so give us a call if you need assistance.