Lice are parasites that attach themselves to human hair and feed on human blood. Female lice lay eggs which are also called nits, and these eggs attach themselves to the hair with a glue-like substance. Anybody can face a lice infestation, and it is not related to poor hygiene. It can spread from one person to other if their heads come in close contact or if they share comb, pillows or other forms of clothing.
Home remedies to treat lice
Some useful home remedies to kill lice are
- Olive oil: Apply olive oil to the hair till it gets saturated. Comb the hair after leaving the oil for 15-20 minutes. Olive oil makes it hard for the lice to breathe, and it also becomes easy to remove dead lice from the oily hair. One must wash their hair with shampoo to remove the excess oil. Repeat this process until there are no more lice.
- Garlic: Prepare a paste of garlic and lime juice and apply it to the hair. Wash the hair with hot water after leaving the paste for 30 minutes.
- Vinegar: Removing nits as important as killing the lice and removing them from the hair. Dilute vinegar or apple cider vinegar with water and apply it to the hair. This process will dissolve the glue-like substance with which nits attach themselves to an individual’s hair.
- Onion juice: Apply onion juice on the hair and leave it for a few hours. Remove the dead lice and nits from hair with a comb and wash the hair with shampoo. Repeat the process a few times a week to ensure that lice are gone.
- Tea tree oil: Tea tree oil is effective in removing lice and their eggs from the scalp. One can mix it with shampoo or olive oil and apply this mixture to the hair. They can also make a solution with water and spray it on the hair. After leaving this mixture on for some time, one can rinse their hair thoroughly. Repeat this process twice a week.
- Indian lilac oil: Indian lilac oil is useful in preventing a lice infestation. One can apply this oil by mixing it with a shampoo. Comb out the dead lice and nits from the hair after rinsing it with water.
- Coconut oil: Apply coconut oil generously to the hair and leave it overnight. Use a comb to remove dead lice and eggs from the hair the next morning. Apply shampoo to remove oil from hair. Repeat the process for about two to three times a week.
- Benzyl alcohol: It is safe to apply benzyl alcohol to the hair of children who are more than six months old. One can rinse their hair with plain water after leaving it on for some time. This process will help in killing the lice, and one can then remove them from the hair using a comb.
Lice can spread to family members as well. So, a person with lice as well as their family should use these home remedies.
