How to Deal With Head Lice and Nits in Kids

Head lice and nits are common in school going children as they are transferred through head to head contact. Here are ways to deal with head lice and nits without harming your child’s hair.Head lice and nits cause severe discomfort for children and this happens usually when the child goes back to school. The main reason is that children share their heads often when in school and this gives the lice chance to travel to another head where they hide in hairs. But you can follow some simple solutions to deal with head lice and nits without harming your child’s hair.Once your child starts going to school it is quite obvious to come across the most annoying problem and discomfort that is caused due to head lice and nits. Though common, getting rid of these pesky critters is botheration for most parents. Head lice and nits spread through head to head contact and they feed on blood staying close to the scalp causing severe itching. In this articleWhat are Head Lice and Nits?How to Treat Head Lice and Nits EffectivelyMedicated ShampooContinuous TreatmentUsing Lice CombDisinfect Affected ItemsPrecautions for Dealing with Head Lice and Nits in KidsProtect Child’s EyesAvoid Raw ChemicalsWhat are Head Lice and Nits?Head lice are parasitic insects that live close to the scalp hiding in hair and they feed on blood. When they lay eggs, which are known as nits, it causes severe itching on the scalp. If you find that your child is having an itching scalp most often, take a closer look at his or her hair and you will either find the eggs stuck on hair or live louse crawling over there.Head lice can easily travel from one head to another when the other head comes closer to the infected one. They can also be transmitted when hair brush or comb is shared. Although, head lice affects children of primary school, it is not surprising if you find some on your scalp also while treating your child’s hair and scalp for lice and nits. However, it is not necessary that head lice appear only due to bad health and hygiene habits.How to Treat Head Lice and Nits EffectivelyIf you go looking for over-the-counter treatment you will find many in the market each claiming to be the best one. However, most of these contain chemicals even if they market their products as natural treatments.Medicated ShampooWhen using head lice shampoos you should make sure you apply it properly covering the entire hair area and close to the scalp as well. You can use the method which is used when colouring hair. However, you must ensure that such shampoo does not enter your child’s eyes or mouth.Continuous TreatmentSince head lice lay eggs and eggs hatch at different times, the cycle goes on. So, the treatment should continue for at least four weeks so that you cover the entire cycle of louse to complete the treatment.Using Lice CombUsing lice comb is one of the traditional and oldest ways to get rid of head lice in kids. Make sure that you comb your child’s hair with lice comb at least twice a week to get rid of lice. Oil your child’s hair nicely so that it is easier for you to comb your child’s hair with lice comb. To get rid of head lice you must make sure that you use lice come regularly. Using lice comb is one of the best and safest ways to keep your child’s hair lice and nit free.Disinfect Affected ItemsThere is no use of treating clothes and combs if you do not pay attention to treating lice in hair. Only when you are treating your child’s hair and scalp you should make sure that the clothes and comb that come in contact with your child’s hair are also cleaned and disinfected so that further spread is confiscated.Precautions for Dealing with Head Lice and Nits in KidsHere are some precautions which you must take while treating head lice and nits in your child.Protect Child’s EyesCover your child’s eyes when treating head lice with shampoo or any other solution. You can ask your child to hold a towel near the eyes even after he or she closes his eyes.Avoid Raw ChemicalsDo not use harmful chemicals for treating lice as it may harm your child’s hair, eyes and skin.When you apply medicated shampoo on your child’s hair it is advisable to wear gloves. Also, use fine toothed comb after shampooing kid’s hair to let the dead lice come out of the hair. Treat the comb in warm water to disinfect it. Do keep checking your child’s hair even after treating it because they come back and reappear.Why are lice and nits common in children? How to deal with lice and nits without harming child’s hair? How to get rid of lice and nits permanently? Discuss here.