Head Lice Prevention
Head Lice has been a common problem throughout human history and most people will have some of their own stories of Mum shaving all their hair off in despair, having their hair yanked out and perhaps even some dousing of the hair in turpentine to kill the lice.
Now days it can be a little overwhelming walking into a pharmacy as the shelves are lined with so many options for both treatment and prevention, yet head lice still go round.
As Brisbane Naturopath and Mum I am all to aware and familiar with head lice and have found the following seems to work well in our home and is a great natural treatment head lice treatment.
Prevention - is ideal and there are a few things you can do to help including - keeping children's hair tied back daily when going to school. If there is an infestation I will use a preventative spray daily. There are a few good ones on the market or you can make your own - see list of essential oils below.
Treatment - Dousing my child's head (or mine if I should be so lucky) in a lot of conditioner, leaving for 10 minutes then combing through with a special comb - removing eggs and lice as you go... the kids and I get very excited when we find some.
This procedure will need to be repeated in 48 hours and then again on 7 days and 14 days to break the life cylce of the eggs/lice. Using a preventative spray in between will also help reduce re-infestation.
Chemicals used in most commercial products are quite toxic and scientist are finding links to mood and behavior changes with repeat exposure to these chemicals.
There was a great article published today with some more information about new research and and links with exposure to chemicals found commonly in head lice treatments.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/pyrethroid-insecticides-linked-to-abnormal-behaviour-in-children-study-shows-20170301-guo1dd.html
HEAD LICE PREVENTATIVE SPRAY
In a small spray bottle add the following essential oils-
* 30 drops of Essential Oil Soluboliser
* 5 drops Eucalyptus
* 2 drops marjoram
*10 drops rosemary
* 5 drops Tea-Tree
Spray onto hair and comb through daily as a preventive measure during increased activity of head lice.
