There’s Nothing Neat and Nice about Nits and Lice

Natural Remedies for Nits and Lice You May Not Know About

We (Australia and New Zealand) Are Not Alone

An article in the December 2008 issue of the medical journal, Emerging Infectious Diseases, successfully determined the worldwide prevalence of head lice infestation. They gathered all available data and arranged it in a table. It seems that nits and lice are also a problem on other continents. Here are some of the results per country:

What the Results of Their Study Tell Us

This graph is just a small sample of the complete results gathered by the authors of the study. Many more countries were included. Multiple studies were done in some of the countries including in different socioeconomic groups. Sorry fellow Kiwis, no studies done in New Zealand yet.

Head lice infestation is a worldwide health problem. It’s very difficult to eradicate, actually nearly impossible. One thing is for sure though, it can be prevented.

They also discovered that head lice infestations are blind to the rich (higher socioeconomic groups) and deaf to other members of the society. This means that the creepy crawlers aren’t racists, they don’t discriminate, as long as they have their hosts to feed on.

The creepy crawlers are also sensitive to temperature. They can’t survive without your warm head, and scalp to feed and suck on. They also like crowds. Whenever there’s overcrowding, you can expect them to gatecrash the party. Expect uninvited and nasty crawling guests.

The Difference between the Terms Nits and Lice

The terms nits and lice don’t refer to two different insects. They both refer to the louse. They just refer to different life stages of the louse.
Nits refer to the eggs of the adult louse or can also refer to the egg cases when the nymphs emerge from the eggs (after hatching). Different scientific communities and personalities pick different sides.
Louse is the singular of lice and refers to the adult insect. The nymphs are the immature ones.

For a complete representation of their life cycle, please refer to the infographic below:

The entire life cycle of head lice can last up to 5 weeks. A female louse can lay up to 10 eggs per day!

Meet the “Suckers”

Head lice belong to a group of insects known as sucking lice. They obtain food by sucking blood from their hosts. It’s not only your head which provides a humble abode for these creepy crawlers. The other members of its family seek refuge in your body (torso) and pubic region. Let’s meet them and get acquainted.

	*Head LicePediculus humanus capitis***	*Body LicePediculus humanus corporis***	*Pubic Lice/Crab LousePthirus pubis***

Part of your body they’re fond of.	Scalp	TorsoClothes	Groin area, but may also inhabit the beard, eyebrows and eyelashes!
How you become infected.	Head-to-head contact. Sharing clothes, pillows, couches etc.	Using infested bedding, clothing and furniture.	Sexually transmitted
Health concerns.	MinorNOT a carrier of any disease	MajorCarries Borrelia recurrentis that causes Lice Borne Relapsing Fever (LBRF) Can cause typhus & trench fever epidemic	MinorNOT a carrier of any disease
Relation to Personal Hygiene	Not related	Directly related	Directly related

Note: If you find a louse on your body or groin area, don’t attempt to treat it yourself using remedies for head lice, and consult your healthcare provider immediately.

How to Spot Them (Nits and Lice)

Before you apply any form of treatment, you have to make sure that your child really has a head lice infestation. Itching is the main symptom that will catch your attention unless the density of infestation is already large enough to show you the flourishing community of lice and nits.
Other symptoms include a crawly, tickly feeling in the hair and irritability at night after dark because the lice are most active at this time.
With a fine-tooth comb or louse comb, start from the bottom of the hair shaft, close to the scalp. Comb your way down to the tip of the hair. If no lice are found, repeat again. Move to another section of the scalp and repeat the procedure until all areas of the scalp have been inspected. More often than not, it takes less than a minute before a louse is discovered using this procedure. Head lice especially like the areas behind the ears and the base of the head at the back.
To know if your kid really has an ACTIVE head lice infestation, you NEED to find adult lice and not just the nits. But finding just the nits should raise your suspicion of a possible ongoing infestation.
By visual inspection (best done with a magnifying glass), you may be able to identify them and distinguish between males and females (if you’re that curious). Adult lice measure between 1-2mm long. You can distinguish the males from the females by identifying brown transverse bands on their abdomen. These bands are absent in the females. Females are also 20% larger and have a more plump abdominal region.
The nits are located near the scalp, glued to a hair shaft. Viable eggs are usually white in colour. Hatched eggs are mostly yellow in colour.
Pediculosis is the medical term of lice infestation on any part of your body. For this article, we’re talking about head pediculosis.

Natural Solutions for Nits and Lice

Don’t let your child’s hairdresser be the one to tell you that your child has a lice infestation. If your child has lice don’t be sad. It’s not your fault, it’s nobody’s fault actually. Many kids get them.

A head lice infestation isn’t a question of hygiene unlike body or pubic lice. Clean or dirty, long or short, blonde or black…it’s all the same for these creepy crawlers. All they really want is that warm scalp on top of your child’s head. From there, they secrete their saliva and suck blood. Remember dear parents, prevention is still the best form of treatment. They crawl from person to person with direct head-to-head contact or contact with clothing or furniture used by kids who already have an infestation. Lice cannot hop or fly from person to person.

Some of us don’t really like putting potentially harmful chemicals on our bodies, especially our scalp. This is especially true when it comes to our kids. Here is a table of common alternative solutions compared to some conventional treatments used today.

Various Natural Remedies for Head Lice Compared with Over-The-Counter Options:

Natural Solutions
Remedy	Kills/Removes nits	Kills/Removes adult lice	Side effects	Comments
Olive, Coconut or Almond Oil - essential oils e.g. Tea Tree, Eucalyptus, Lavender or Melia oil can be added	No	Yes	Some people have sensitive scalps so take care with essential oils and do a patch test first	Regarded as natural solution used most often for getting rid of adult lice
Vinegar	Yes	No	None reported	Your kid might hate you because of the smell
Mayonnaise	No	Yes	None reported	Quite messy
Vaseline/petroleum jelly	No	Yes	None reported	Quite messy
Hair conditioner	No	Yes	None reported	Use cheap conditioner
Electric Lice comb	No	Yes	Avoid touching your ears with the comb or you’re in for a shock	Don’t expect the carcasses of dead nits, just dead adult lice
Conventional Treatment
Treatment	Kills nits	Kills adult lice	Side effects	Comments
PermethrinOver-the-counter	Only 50% of nits are killed	Only up to 50% of lice are killed because of resistance	Redness, swelling, additional itching,	Resistance of lice to permethrin has been documented in the US, France and UK Not suitable for pregnant mums
PyrethrinsOver-the-counter	Only up to 80% of nits are killed	Less than 50% of lice are killed	Some people are allergic to this	Resistance has been documented worldwide Not suitable for pregnant mums
Malathion - You need a prescription	Highest nit-killing power > 80%, fastest acting conventional nit-killer	Up to 100% of lice are killed, fastest acting conventional lice-killer	Skin irritation, malodorous, flammable!	Resistance has been documented in the UK Not suitable for pregnant mums
LindaneYou need a prescription	Slowest acting conventional nit-killer	Only up to 17% of lice are killed	Nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, seizures, brain toxicity	Resistance has been documented worldwide Not suitable for pregnant mums
IvermectinOff-label use for lice, really intended for worms	For further testing	For further testing	More itching, rash, flu-like symptoms	No documented resistance…*YET* Not suitable for pregnant mums

Points to Remember when using Natural Solutions

1. The olive and almond oils, vaseline and mayonnaise act as suffocants. They plug up the air holes of the lice so that they have difficulty breathing. This slows them down big time. These are applied to the hair and usually left overnight. A shower cap can be placed over your kid’s head. Wash out with shampoo the following day.
2. It’s nit removal time. Use a louse comb (metal is better than plastic) to remove nits firmly attached to the hair. Nits located less than half an inch from the scalp may still be viable (alive). Remember to comb away, okay? If you see lice, remove them too. Probably best to do this out in the garden.
3. Unfortunately, no studies have been done using these natural solutions. Though experienced parents, teachers and even hairdressers swear by some of them.
4. Advantages include safety (non-toxic) and they can be repeated as often as needed. Pregnant mums and infants can also use or apply these natural solutions. Natural solutions are often repeated after a week.
5. Perhaps the most important tools needed for these natural solutions are patience, perseverance and PARENTS (or guardian, nanny)! Imagine combing for several hours on one child!