Here is a favourite Auntie’s guide to breaking the head lice life cycle, so should the wee nasties embark on a full scale war at your child’s school, you have your own battle plan drawn up.

First and foremost, in order to prevent head lice, you must first understand the habits and the life cycle of the wee nasties.

Studies have shown that head lice are almost certain to only be spread through head to head contact alone. Start your prevention mission by having a quiet word to your wee darlings before they head out the door. Let them know it’s not ok to share Susie’s scrunchie, or to try on Jim’s new hat.

Try keeping girl’s hair up and out of the way so head lice can’t swing across on a stray hair with those powerful front legs, and try to mix a little tea tree oil in with some gel for the boys. This makes it hard for the wee nasties to move around and lay their eggs.

Another false impression is head lice can be caught from pets or animals. Head lice are a human parasite and very rarely leave the head, as this spells almost certain death for them. As long as your children know to try to avoid head to head contact, this is a good start.

Preparation is key, and prevention is by far the best cure. Hopefully, you can avoid them completely this year.

Pesticide preparations are out of the question in our home, as should they be in yours. If you are unfortunate enough to pick up an infestation , please, don’t use chemicals on your children. The head lice are more or less resistant to 80% of the pesticide based preparations we are advised to use on the highly permeable scalps of our precious children anyway.

Our children on the other hand, are not.

The best way to get rid of them, is to find a natural head lice cure, and break the head lice life cycle.

The first 6-8 days of a head louse’s life is spent as an egg. The mother will attach it close to the scalp where it is warmest, with very, very strong glue.

For the first 7-10 days of its life, the immature lice (also known as nymphs), shed their skin three times. They cannot lay any eggs in this time.

The adult head louse lives for around 30 days, with the female louse laying around 88 eggs in this time.

So, in order to break the head lice life cycle, it is important to time it just right, so the live lice don’t have a chance to lay more eggs.

1). Go ahead and use your natural remedy on your child and kill all the live lice on the head. If the first nit hatches immediately after you have killed all the lice, you have seven days until that head louse can start to lay eggs.

2). So, one week later treat again. This will kill all the nymphs that have hatched, before they are able to lay more eggs.

3). One week later, just to make sure no stray lice have laid any eggs and they have hatched, treat one more time, just to be sure. By now the head lice life cycle is completely broken and you should have no more problems with them.

So as you can see, to break the head lice life cycle without killing the eggs (as most products don’t), you need to treat once a week for three weeks. I feel that chemical products are simply out of the question for this method, yet to kill all the lice and get rid of them completely, this is the only way you can do it.

Be sure to find yourself a natural head lice cure, and say goodbye to the nasties forever.

If you have your own personal headlice recipe, you are able to make this up at a moment’s notice. You will then need a series of prevention steps to ensure they never return, but should the worst happen, you can always make up your own family remedy if need be.

Having your own headlice recipe on hand means should family members or friends have the same problem you can share your success with them. There will be no need for them to buy expensive chemical products, because they will have something on hand at all times.

Avoiding toxic chemicals should be the main priority at all times. When you have your own completely natural remedy, you need never use potentially harmful pesticides on your children again.

Besides being potentially harmful, the pesticide treatments that are on the market right now are simply not working any more. Headlice has built up a resistance to just about every chemical humans throw at them. This has caused headlice outbreaks around the world to almost epidemic proportions.

Luckily head lice cannot harm us or cause us any damage, so there really is no need to panic.

What does cause panic however is the fact that these preparations can quite easily break the bank, especially when the price of necessities has risen sharply lately. Any amount is too much to shell out for remedy that is simply not working.

Not only are they expensive, potentially dangerous are quite simply not working any more. Also the build up of these chemicals in our waterways is causing so much damage to the point that California banned the use of Lindane for this very reason. This is not to mention the damage that Lindane has caused and the fact that it causes a host of interesting problems, such as tumours, and death.

One weapon in your arsenal that is very handy to have on hand is the trusty nit comb.

If you’re infestation is not too bad, or if you only have a couple of live lice and no eggs, you may get away with not having to have your own family remedy. You may only need the services of a good nit comb. This will swiftly remove the live lice and you shouldn’t have any more problems.

Once you have used your family remedy and the lice are dead, you can use a nit comb to remove any nits or eggs that remain. Even when the nights are dead, a child generally doesn’t want them left in there for all to see. A nit comb will take care of this fairly swiftly.

You can also use a nit comb to spread your own natural remedy through the hair. This will ensure every strand is coated from the root to the tip, to ensure maximum damage on your head lice infestation.

Try to find a natural remedy containing Neem Oil as this renders the head lice incapable of breeding, so they are unable to build up a resistance. Using chemicals is potentially dangerous and simply does not work any more, so please avoid using pesticide preparations on your family.

For our UK readers x.it head lice treatment is giving away a free lice comb. You can find it here:

http://www.xitheadlice.co.uk/index.php?option=com_chronocontact&Itemid=31

Having a nit comb on hand is a good idea as it may help you if you have a mild infestation. It can also help to ensure that hair is coated with your natural remedy.

With this next video, notice how the head louse is almost absolutely useless when off the human head. They are perfectly adapted to moving through hair, but as soon as they are off the head, they are almost certainly doomed.

Watching this it is not hard to see why they don’t last more than a day off the head under normal circumstances.

First of all you must determine whether or not it is actually lice that you have, and not something else. This article will show you have to find out whether or not you actually have lice and how to check for them. If you discover you do have a head lice infestation, we will discuss what will be required to ensure the safety of your child and others.

If you have been alerted to a head lice outbreak at you school, or the parent of a friend has phoned to say their child has lice, there is a chance your child may have contracted them. Head lice are almost certainly spread through head to head contact, and if your child has been in this situation with other children, there is a good chance they may have them as well.

The one thing that usually alerts parents however is itching, mainly behind the ears and at the nape of the neck. As this can be caused by other reasons like a shampoo change or dandruff, further investigation is necessary.

First and foremost, you need to establish for a fact you are facing a head lice infestation. Take your child into bright light and check the head for live lice. They tend to stay where it is warmest, so first check behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.

If you discover live lice, you must then find out whether or not that have had time to lay eggs. Look for tiny, tear shaped droplets close to the scalp that are stuck fast to the hair shaft.

If you find both lice and eggs, you have a full blown head lice infestation.

There are now several steps that must be taken to ensure you get rid of the lice and eggs and also ensure that others do not contract them as well.

Now you are sure you have lice, you must choose a totally natural head lice removal system that does not expose you child to dangerous chemicals. This should include steps to ensure they never return.

Next you need to let friends and family know your child has lice so they too can check their children. It is also important to notify the school there is an outbreak. They will then send out the head lice notice so that other parents have the opportunity to check for a head lice infestation before it gets out of control.

Now you know the steps that need to be taken to establish a full blown head lice infestation. Our totally natural system will now help you get rid of head lice and make sure they never return!

In order to cure a chronic head lice infestation, you need to know where it is they come from. There are many misconceptions about this and this article will clear them up. Then you need to break their life cycle, and finally, stop them from ever coming back.

It is a common misconception that you can catch head lice from furnishings, floors, car seats and even pets. This leads to unnecessary pesticide bombing and chemical treatments of homes and cars.

The truth is, head lice can only be contracted from another human who currently has live lice present on the head. They cannot be contracted by the transferal of the nit, as this needs the warmth of the human scalp to survive.

In order to control an infestation quickly, you must break the life cycle.

The head lice life cycle lasts for around 32 days from when the nit is laid until the adult louse dies. There is an incubation period of around 6-7 days from when the egg is laid until it hatches. As it is extremely difficult to kill the eggs, any treatment that is carried out needs to be repeated in 7-8 days so the nymph has no time to mate, therefore cannot lay any more eggs.

Once you have broken the initial life cycle, it is then wise to treat one more time 7-8 days later. This will ensure any eggs that hatch in this time are taken care of as well.

Once you have control of the lice and you have completely eliminated them from the head, it is then just a matter of ensuring they never return.

There are many recommended method for preventing head lice, the most common being tea tree oil. You can add a few drops to your brush before putting hair up for the day, or add it to some water and spray on before play. As tea tree oil is very strong the louse no longer regards you as human, and will stay well away. This is because leaving a human spells certain death, so they rarely, if ever do it.

So now you know where they come from and realise that getting rid of curing chronic head lice is as easy as breaking the life cycle. I’m positive now you will find it much easier to get rid of them. It does take persistence and effort, but as long as you stay on top of them, you will cure your chronic head lice, and keep them away, forever!

Due to the tiny size of head lice, they can be very difficult to identify properly. They are one of a few types of lice that can invade the body, all of which have symptoms that are impossible to ignore.

The first dead giveaway is the scratching that is caused by the saliva and faeces of the head lice, but this may not start until the child has been bitten a few times and the irritation starts to occur. The child may complain of a tickling sensation in their hair against their scalp or they can feel something moving around in their hair.

If you know that have been exposed to a carrier, it is a good idea to be proactive and try to check whenever possible of an infestation.

When you have been alerted to the head lice symptoms, part your child’s hair at the nape of the neck or just behind the ears. Head lice congregate where the hair is thickest, warmest and most humid so check these places first.

What you should look for:

Head Lice Adults: You will see lightning fast creatures, about the size of a sesame seed. They move so fast they are most likely only to see a flash and then they will be gone. Females are bigger than male lice and will lay 6 eggs a day in her lifespan of 30 days.
The louse is perfectly adapted for moving through hair and has a powerful claw like hook at the end of their front legs, making it very easy for them to swing from person to person. They can get around the head very easily and quickly making it very difficult to catch them.

Head Lice Nymphs: These look just like adult lice only smaller. The only difference is they change colour to suit their surroundings, so will closely resemble the hair they are living in.

Nits, or head lice eggs: You will usually find these tear shaped droplets around 2cm away from the scalp, where it is warmest.

Live eggs are brown in colour; the dead eggs are white or clear. The adult will attach these eggs with it own glue; this is a bond that is extremely difficult to break. The result is an egg that is attached to the shaft with a small donut of glue, meaning the egg needs to be slid all the way down the shaft in order to be removed.

While you are hunting down eggs and lice, you may come across small red welts where the child has bitten already, causing irritation. This may show as a rash or reddened area of skin. If scratching has already occurred this may have led to infection, in which case you will see crusty sores and oozing. The infection may have cause the area to be hot and inflamed and very sore to the touch.

If this has occurred, I strongly urge that you do not use a chemical formulation for head lice, as some of these preparations are highly toxic and can be harmful, even if used 100% as directed. Most will instruct that they should not be used on broken skin, as this gives a direct route for the chemicals to be absorbed straight into the bloodstream. As children’s scalps absorb up to 60% of anything used on it, it is best to never use pesticides to kill had lice at all.

Instead please try to only use a natural remedy to kill head lice and some chemical head lice preparations have been known to cause brain tumors and even death in children. Try to use one containing Neem oil, as this causes the lice to become sterile, therefore unable to build up a resistance.

Wait a minute, head lice?

Yes, head lice. The thought of which is enough to make even the strongest parent (who has seen it all) shiver to the bone, shift uncomfortably and unconsciously itch their head.

Winter is a time of crowding together to stay warm, sharing hats, coats and mittens, coloring together, huddled on the floor in front of the fire. This is a veritable free for all for head lice, who will only leave one human for another. Leaving for any other reason spells certain death, so as soon as they smell another, they are off in search of fresh blood for them and their nits.

Thankfully there are several ways to avoid the wee nasties launching a full scale invasion on your child this winter.

1. Sit down and have a chat with your child about the perils of head lice. Let them know that they need to be very careful not to share hats, coats, scarves or anything that can transmit head lice of their eggs. If you have trouble, you can visit our website below and download our totally free eBook that you can read together.
2. Talk to your girls about sharing hair brushes and combs. Dress ups and hair brushing will be common with inside play being a little more limited. Let them know that it only takes one pregnant or a pair of lice to cause an infestation and all scrunchies, hair ties, brushes and combs are off limits.
3. Boys are likely to be sitting close together playing games, either the electronic, hand held or board kind. Let them know that head lice find it very easy to reach out with those powerful front legs and swing from child to child. They do not jump or fly, but they are designed very well to transfer themselves through head to head contact. Studies have shown this is very likely the only method of transmission.
4. Remind children that head lice have nothing to do with a child’s cleanliness. Let them know that head lice actually prefer clean hair, so just because a child has contracted lice, doesn’t mean they are dirty. Try to minimize teasing by making it clear that head lice find it much easier to move around in clean hair and attach their nits, but they will live anywhere, so it has nothing to do with how clean or dirty you are.
5. Tea Tree oil can be bought from your local health food and has been proven to be a safe method of prevention. It makes the child ‘invisible’ to the lice as they no longer think they are human, so will not transfer to them. There are a variety of ways it can be used.

i). Add 10 drops to your normal shampoo so that it smells strongly of Tea Tree.
ii). Add a few drops to water in a spray bottle and spray before play.
iii). Add a few drops to a leave in conditioner and spray every morning.
iv). For boys, add a few drops to their gel.
v). For girls, add a few drops to their hair spray, as long as it is the pump bottle kind.

With head lice, prevention really is the best cure. They are a lot easier to avoid than they are to get rid of. As long as you take just a few precautions, you can avoid a full scale invasion of head lice this winter.

Happy holidays!

But how much of this compulsive cleaning is actually necessary?

Do we really need to go to such extremes to get rid of head lice? Why the head lice HOME remedies? Don’t CHILDREN get head lice, not houses?

When a parent is presented with the head lice notice or they receive the dreaded phone call from the school to pick up their child because they have lice, there is the inevitable knee jerk reaction. The patently human ‘fight or flight’ response renders them unable to think of anything other a large hole swallowing them (flight) usually followed by an almost irresistible urge to do anything it takes (fight) to get rid of their head lice problem.

The real problem with head lice is not enough studies have been done to actually prove or disprove these theories, some that have been bantered around willy nilly for centuries. We are still not sure how head lice are actually spread, due to a lack of evidence in this area.

Rick Speare (PhD, MBBS) from the Head Lice Research Centre at James Cook University in Queensland Australia has run several head lice studies to find solid evidence to try and prove or disprove these common assumptions. He and his team have come the closest to discovering the real answers to these pressing questions in my opinion.

In an article published in the Australia and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (Vol 26 No.3) one study conducted on 2,230 children in 118 classrooms in Townsville, North Queensland; 466 were found to have lice. Seven state primary schools were involved in nine surveys. A total of 14,033 live lice were removed from the heads of infected children.

108 of the 118 classrooms had infected pupils, averaging a total of 129.9 lice collected from their head for each classroom. The number of lice or eggs that were found on the carpeted classroom floors?

Zero.

It was concluded therefore that that a ratio of 14,033 to zero indicates that the risk of children being infected by transferal from carpets is, well, zero. Floors carry absolutely no risk of head lice transferal at all. There is absolutely no benefit in the compulsive cleaning of floors. The focus beyond the shadow of a doubt should be the removal the lice and eggs from the head, with minimal effort put into eliminating non-existent lice and eggs from the carpet.

Speare and his team ran another study to discover the role of bedding and therefore clothing and toys in the transferal of head lice. 48 pillowcases were collected from 47 children and one adult. Each had an average to medium intensity with ranging from 1 – 416 lice present.

The number of lice removed from the pillowcases? Two.

So while there was a 4.2% chance of the transferal of lice from the pillowcases, the risk was still there. Therefore further tests were done.

It was found that test lice enclosed in a miniature pillowcase washed in the machine were killed at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius. Being in the tumble dryer for 15 minutes had the same effect, as did ironing the mini pillowcase. The lice were found alive and well after a cold wash, as were they after being hung out on the line in the sun.

It was concluded that that a hot wash would take care of any head lice and nits found on bedding, soft toys or clothing. 15 minutes in a dryer would also spell certain death to the wee nasties, in the highly unlikely event they would leave the head in the first place.

In a study conducted on the transferal of head lice through sharing brushes, Speare concluded that “hard data was still needed,” as results were inconclusive. Four different studies showed hair brushes had no role at all to play in the transferal, one showed that they did. However the heating of hair brushes and supplies for 15 minutes in water or tied up in a pillowcase in the dryer was also sufficient to kill wayward lice and eggs.

Speare’s final conclusion is that head lice are almost certainly spread through head to head contact alone. Lice are extremely adept at moving through hair, but should they find themselves away from the head they are almost undoubtedly doomed. He believes that pesticides designed to eradicate your home of head lice should be removed from the market as they are not only unnecessary, they have the potential to cause serious damage through poisoning.

So should you find yourself a victim of these wee nasties, time is far best spent removing them from your heads than embarking on a full scale war with your home. As for the floor and furnishings, hot soapy water and a vacuum is recommended, but more for your peace of mind.

Time is far best spent preventing a return of head lice to the head than finding a head lice remedy for your home.

Your first line of defence is to wash bedding, clothing and towels in hot water. A spring clean is a good idea, but compulsive vacuuming and pesticide bombing is entirely unnecessary.

Lice simply cannot survive away from the head for more than a few hours before becoming very sick and dehydrated. A louse which finds its way off the head is usually done for. They do not go on the move and only become dislodged by accident. A head louse will never leave the scalp except to migrate to another scalp as this spells certain death for the wee nasty, so it makes no sense for them to leave for any other reason.

The bagging of items such as toys and personal belongings is also a good idea, but there is absolutely no need to do this for weeks at a time. 48 hours is ample as the louse will be a shriveled skeleton without food or more importantly – hydration.

An egg cannot hatch without the warmth of a human scalp so if the hair detaches there is no way they will be able to find its way back to the head. Your time is far better spent on head lice prevention and making sure all eggs and live lice are gone from the head.

Once the lice are safely out of your hair – literally, there are certain steps you can take to ensure you’ve said ‘Sayonara’ for good.

Lice can only live on humans so that is why it is only the lure of another human which will persuade the louse to shift house. If the louse does not believe the host is human however, it will stay safely put. There are several ways to make yourself invisible to a head louse so they have absolutely no inclination to move to you. You have essentially become invisible to them as they don’t think you are human and will move on.

Here are 5 different ways to prevent head lice:

• Mix essential oils in with your shampoo so the strong smell repels the lice and makes you invisible. The most common is Tea Tree Oil. You can either mix 10 drops in with your existing shampoo or buy ready made Tea Tree shampoo at your supermarket.

• Mix 10 drops Tea Tree or other essential oil into a spray bottle with water. Put your child’s hair in a tight plait and mist over before school or playtime.

• Tea Tree oil mixed with gel. If your boy has a modern style, mix Tea Tree in with your gel and the lice will stay well away. Not only does the oil repel the lice, the gel makes it impossible to move around the head or attach their eggs.

• Alternatively for girls, hair spray has the same effect, simulating dirty hair so the lice cannot move around or attach their eggs.

• Mix a few drops of Tea Tree oil in with a leave in conditioner and make sure your child sprays this on every morning or before playtime.

Lice are a major annoyance and can cause great upheaval, but once you have gotten rid of them with a natural remedy, with head lice prevention really is the best cure.

To chemical head lice treatment manufacturers, this problem is worth a massive amount of money to them every year, with over $100 million being made on head lice control in the US alone.

The EPA (US Environmental Protection Agency) is responsible for testing and making sure most pesticide head lice treatments destined for use on US children are safe.

No pesticide to this day has been or is legally allowed to be advertised as such.

However, Pediculicides (lice-killing pesticides) are regulated by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) which causes the confusion: “If the FDA approved it, it must be safe?” This leads many people to believe (including those who prescribe and sell these medications) that these toxic pesticide products (like roach spray and weed killer) are harmless.

This common misconception leads to alarming overuse of these potent and harmful pesticides on fragile children, some of the mothers I spoke to even buying a head lice product every week with the grocery money. Some schools even share this belief and require proof that pesticide product has been applied, rather than simply checking whether or not the child still has lice.

The truth of the matter is, all pesticides have the potential to do serious harm and each individual has unique vulnerabilities and potential to react differently to these chemicals.

Although the FDA requires testing before the product can be approved, it cannot foresee potential problems in every individual, commonly hearing about them after the damage has been done. A process of elimination then begins, and only when it is shown that the only thing in common all the children with leukaemia have is that they have all used the same head lice treatment containing the same chemical.

Pediculicides as a class are nerve poisons designed to interfere with the nervous system of lice. Unfortunately this interferes with the nervous system of our children as well.

To make things even worse, children’s sensitive growing bodies are far less able to process these chemicals. Children’s sensitive bodies have less developed immune systems, their detoxification processes are not yet developed and their organs are still growing. This makes them far more susceptible and sensitive to the toxic threats of pesticides. i.e.:

Lindane (Kwell): Applications of lice treating medications containing Lindane have been proven to be extremely dangerous. Lab tests reported cancer causing agents, blood disorders, damage to the liver, kidney, nervous and immune systems and DEATH in animal testing from treatments containing this chemical. This toxic chemical is the working ingredient in over 2 million prescriptions for head lice and scabies.

According to PANNA (Pesticide Action Network North America): “Lindane can cause seizures and damage to the nervous system, and can weaken the immune system. Case-controlled research shows a significant association between brain tumors in children and the use of lindane-containing lice shampoos. The insecticide is also a suspected carcinogen (contains cancer causing agents) and hormone disruptor.”

New York followed California in banning the chemical compound Lindane and it is now banned in 52 countries. Despite this damning evidence, parts of the US still allow prescriptions containing Lindane in pharmaceutical compounds.

Malathion (or Maldison as it is know in NZ and Australia ): Is a highly toxic derivative of nerve gas which works by disrupting the chemical reactions in the lice’s (and our) nervous system. Extremely toxic orally, Malathion is a possible carcinogen, mutagen (Mutates DNA) and endocrine disruptor. In its raw state, malathion is readily absorbed into the skin.

Pyrethroid Pesticides: These are known to be toxic to the Thyroid and Immune System, amongst other concerns. Scientific studies of Sumithrin, Resmethrin and Permethrin also reveal serious safety concerns and are possible carcinogens. German studies link exposure to Permethrin and also Phenothrin with leukaemia, lymphoid cancer and multiple chemical sensitivity.

Yet, according to a 1996 study conducted on 300,000 primary schoolchildren at 31 schools spread across the five health authorities of Wales, the researchers concluded that as many as 80% of 316 lice tested were resistant to these very chemicals.

Are we REALLY prepared to put our children in THIS much danger for a shocking, mind boggling 20% success rate?

Chemical head lice product manufacturers also refuse to admit that their products are becoming less and less effective against head lice as the lice build up more and more of a tolerance to the different chemicals.

Resistance is caused when the host is infected with one or two adults who are naturally resistant to the chemical and do not die. These two adults then reproduce and you have a whole new batch of lice that are resistant to that chemical. When you retreat with the same chemical treatment it is then of no use whatsoever to the new super breed of lice.

Chemical product manufacturers may try to warn you that head lice can make you ill. Head lice carry no disease agents and cannot cause illness. A parent’s biggest concern should be keeping the stress of the child to a minimum to avoid long term psychological damage due to the shame and ridicule. The only way head lice can cause any physical damage is if abrasions from scratching become infected.

Using pesticide bombs also unnecessarily expose your family to dangerous chemicals. Adults and nymphs are only able to survive for 2-3 days off the host in optimal conditions. Under normal circumstances however this is more likely to be measured in hours rather than days as the adult louse is highly susceptible to dehydration and will quickly starve. Eggs can survive away from the host for up to 7 days but will not hatch without the warmth of a human host. With this in mind it is fairly obvious that compulsive cleaning is also unnecessary.

The highly profitable chemical and pharmaceutical industry will have you believe that natural remedies are ‘anecdotal’ (unreliable) and are not scientifically proven, but independent studies by average everyday parents and caregivers show that there are many different natural therapies which are proven to be 100% effective.

NO over the counter or prescription headlice preparation has been proven to be 100% safe and effective, and repeated use leads to ongoing outbreaks and resistance to the pesticides.

The ONLY safe way to get rid of headlice permanently is to use a totally natural alternative to the chemical preparations on the market, some of which have been found to be extremely toxic.