Head Lice - Indianapolis,IN

Our homeopath recommended we use a cup, or more depending on hair length, of olive or veggie oil with a drop of Tea Tree Oil (optional. Lice don't like the smell though the olive oil does the job of smothering just fine) mixed in with it. Cover the head and hair with this mixture and then cover the head with a plastic shower cap. Leave this on for at least half an hour then shampoo. The dead lice will come out in the shower. You can do a final rinse with Apple Cider Vinegar being careful not to get it in the eyes. This will help loosen the nits that you will have to comb and pick out of his hair. I found that shining a flashlight on the hair helped to find the nits. They reflect in the light.

Repeat this every 3 days after that about 3 more times. This will assure you that any nits you missed won't hatch and lay new nits.

This method worked great when my oldest was 2 and got lice at his daycare. The over the counter products you can buy are a pesticide. They don't work all the time and why risk adding that chemical to you little ones head when olive oil works just as well.

I have to say. When my daughter got lice we did try the over the counter but the over the counter do not work. We went to a center that used natural alternatives and they actually cut out all the lice. This worked great. So I'd say to waist the money over the over the counter items.

I got my son a Bug Bag. It prevents head lice form spreading and, as far as I know, is the only product around that does that.
You can find it on www.bugbagusa.com
Good luck

We had an infestation a few years ago, lots of little girls with long hair in the family. We did get the Rid product, I'm not sure it really did anything, the fine tooth combs were what did the job. Every night until we saw no more particles on the comb. After reading the risks involved we didn't wash the youngest girls hair and still got rid of the lice (she has very thick, curly hair), so my thought is that we never needed the harsh chemicals. I didn't read the report, it was kind of long, but thought I would give you my take on the subject from experience.

I would like to thank you for posting this. I did a search on this website to try and find advice on head lice since both kids seem to have become infested with the little buggers. Anyhow, I was really surprised to note that "nit picking" is not really necessary - only 2 treatments 9 days apart of Rid, Nix, or similar. Also I was shocked to learn that there is no need to go to heroic lengths to sterilize or sanitize everything - just change the pillowcases and be done with it. And only a 4% chance of getting head lice if you share the same pillow as a person with lice! Who knew! This article is very interesting and obviously well-researched, being a publication of the AAP. Thanks again for posting!

According to our health department nurse, head lice is at epidemic proportions. I feel strongly that headlice.org gives really good advice. We have had it in our circle of friends a couple of times and never used any shampoos. The infestations were years apart, not a re-infestation.

One of our friends is a patient soul and sat for hours picking through every child's hair and removing nits and bugs as she found them. She used a lighted magnifying glass that attaches to the table top from Staples, the one that uses the bulb that doesn't get hot. She put the bugs and nits into a glass of water and they died. She did this several days in a row and every nit and bug was gone within a few days. We did not do all the old wives tales methods like spraying Lysol everywhere and boiling everything. We did stop sharing dress up clothes and hats, crowns etc...but we NEVER used a shampoo with anything in it other that regular shampoo. I am allergic to Ragweed and most of the shampoos have that substance in them. I never got one bug or nit.