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mystery cures from the internets (and more!)

By | January 2, 2010

can you guess what these people are talking about?
real-life comments, from real live people on the internets, in italics below:

what is all the names of head treatments.

i am going to put mayonaise in my hair today will it work??

the ONLY thing that works is TEA TREE OIL SHAMPOO

the thing that works the best is mayonnaise.

Does it help if you have a little girl and you put her hair in braids.

We do the olive oil/saran wrap/comb treatment and it always works.

dip and wipe the comb with rubbing alcohol. go over head repeatedly.

Try 1/2 part mineral oil and 1/2 part white vinegar. Put it over head, wrap with plastic bag for one hr, then rinse.

what are we talking about?
that’s right… head lice!

nobody really likes them, but some people – including school officials -
just plain go crazy, when they find a child has head lice.

I had heard all of the horror stories and now we are dealing with our own horror of it… I feel like it has taken over our lives.

I am at my wits end and have broken down in the nurses offices twice.

I have used every shampoo, conditioner, apple cider vinegar, mayo, I’ve combed, picked, laundered, stuffed animals in bags, I’ve even gone so far as to have a little party with all the friends she hangs out with, so I could check their hair.

after picking out the varmints place them on a paper towel place another on top but damp and cook them in your microwave and viola.

I shaved both of my boys hair.

TAPE! Any kind of tape works, scotch tape or packing tape.

What if you have done all of this and they still will not stay away and the school is calling child protection services? They are also telling people not to let them go to the absent parent’s home for visitation.

rumors abound – people have some strange notions about these bugs.
here are some false ideas:

i heard that lice come from certain types of trees?

My mother in law says that we may have a nest of them in our house. Does anyone know if that is possible?

I looked up on the web and found that lice originates from dirty laundry that has been there for a very, very, very long period of time.

Lice like the cold! They can’t live over like 52 degrees or something!

I’ve heard they don’t like mint, lavender, coconut.

No one seems to know how it gets started in the first place!! Like for example how does the initial person get head lice??????

well, be mystified no more! here are…

dr. leigh’s true facts about head lice
~~ head lice are biting insects which are very tiny – about the size of a poppy seed.
~~ head lice can only live and reproduce on the scalp of a human – not in the eyebrows, eyelashes, body hair, hats, sheets, hairbrushes, or teddy bears of a human. they can not live on cats or dogs, chickens or rabbits, or anywhere else.
~~ they can not survive longer than a day away from the person’s scalp, and can not survive more than about 20 minutes of hot water or air (in a washer or dryer).
~~ they can not fly, jump, or burrow. they can only crawl around and cling to hairs.

~~ they spread by direct contact of one head touching another, or by sharing combs and brushes.
~~ the amount of blood they drink in a day is about 0.003 milliliters, or four hundredths of a drop. twenty-five headlice would, working together, drink one just drop of blood from a human, per 24 hours.
~~ when the mother gives birth to her eggs, she glues them to the strands of hair, where they look like tiny bumps, tiny grains of sand, or tiny pearls. they are called “nits.”
~~ the eggs can not hatch unless they are stuck to the hair near the person’s scalp. they need to be within 1/2 inch of the scalp – farther away, they’re unlikely to hatch. they can not hatch and grow on combs, hairbrushes, or hats.

~~ head lice do not spread diseases. they do not even spread blood borne infections or viruses.
~~ some people become more itchy than others, due to becoming allergic to the bites.
~~ it is normal to feel itchy when thinking about head lice. it is a psychological reaction. it does not mean you have head lice.

~~ pubic lice (“crabs”) are a different species! they can live in pubic and body hair (but not in head hair, teddy bears, dogs, chickens, etc.). otherwise, they are basically the same as head lice.
~~ body lice are completely different! they live on skin and in clothing, not hair. they can also be killed by hot water and hot air.
~~ head lice are nothing to be afraid of, or ashamed of, or revolted by. they are not dangerous. they are not dirty. they are just tiny bugs.

some folks end up with these big elaborate routines to try to get rid of them.
these really are not necessary. please do not put yourself through this much struggle:

Sit next to a window with the sun coming in, section hair into about 12 sections with tiny rubber bands, and go through each section in thin rows, using a white rat-tail comb against the back of the hair row you are checking to help you see the nits, and cut them out… It can take a few hours… This needs to be done about every other day… Do this and in about 1 1/2 months you should be lice free.

On day 1 of lice discovery: cover hair and scalp with olive oil… I used 1/4 cup of olive oil. I massaged the oil in for about 3 minutes… After oiling I put her in a shower cap (I pulled the shower cap tight and secured it with a large hair clip.) I put my daughter to bed and kept the oil on overnight. Ideally 8hr. On day 2 before I washed out the oil, and before she changed out of her pajamas, I ran the lice comb through her hair for approx 1/2 hour… Then I washed out the oil with regular shampoo (twice) and then applied cream rinse. Then I ran the lice comb through her hair again for about 5 minutes… I then helped my daughter change her clothes and we put everything in the wash. On day 4 we did the oil method again. And again on day 7 and again on day 10. Days 13, 16, 19, 22, and 25…

Everyone got their hair cut, and combed 2 times a day for 2 weeks. I took all linens off bed, and everyone slept in sleeping bags, I took then outdoors to frigid temp for the entire day, and brought them in at night. Every day cleaned pillow cases, as well as brushes and combs, hats, scarfs jackets were cleaned and or placed into the cold either all day or all night. All stuffed animals were either in freezer in plastic bags, or just outdoors in plastic bags…

what a hassle!

dr. leigh’s easy plan for dealing with head lice
1. teach your children (and their friends, and your friends, and their school) not to be afraid of, or worried about, head lice.
2. examine each itchy family member’s hair under bright light.
do you see tiny eggs (“nits”) stuck to the hair, close to the scalp, and live head lice that are crawling around?
if not – do nothing! check the hair again in a week.
3. if you do see head lice and nits…

4. if you can’t get or use a fine-toothed steel comb, or if you are in a hurry, you can use a shampoo or lotion that contains a pesticide (permethrin or pyrethin). buy it over the counter, and follow the directions on the box.
5. if you use the special shampoo, re-check the hair after about 10 days. you might need to repeat the treatment.
6. machine wash and dry hats, hoods, and pillowcases, and wash combs and brushes in hot water – or simply remove and don’t use them for a few days (lice and nits can’t survive away from the scalp).

please do not use harsh chemicals or your head or your child’s!
these are not good solutions:

I spray my daughters hair everyday with hair spray but she still got them.

Tried the listerine and vinegar with shower caps on both.

i read recently to use peroxide on your hair to rid the lice… it is a good alternative to using chemicals. [not true!]

Dogs flea shampoo is good.

USE SARGENTS FLEA AND TICK SHAMPOO FOR CATS ONLY… THE SHAMPOO SEEMS TO MAKE THE LICE GLOW [oh my goodness!]

some other solutions are probably non-toxic, but are bizarre, are not as effective,
and cost more than simpler treatments:

Try dawn dish detergent and baking soda the combination used EVERYDAY and BLOW DRY COMPLETELY!!!! …IT is 100 percent natural. [not true]

Peanut butter can be worked into the hair to kill lice. Leave it on for about an hour and then wash it out. [but you might need a plumber.]

Hair gel… Dep can be found along with the shower caps at the Dollar Store. [and so on.]

dr leigh’s dos and don’ts for beautiful hair (and head lice)
don’t use pure essential oils (such as lavender, eucalyptus, or neem), which may be toxic when absorbed through the scalp.
don’t use mineral or motor oil, which dry out and can damage the scalp.
don’t use solvents such as alcohol, listerine, lysol, ammonia, “skin so soft” insect repellent, peroxide, or herbal tinctures, which are much too harsh.
don’t use hot or boiling water, a hot blow dryer, curling iron, hot comb or rollers, or any other electrical appliances, which can cause burns.
don’t use expensive enzymatic or other fancy remedies, which could cause an allergic reaction. simple, inexpensive treatments work just as well.

do be gentle with the fine toothed comb! do not worry about eggs that are stuck to the hair more than 1/2 inch from the surface of the scalp, because they are unlikely to hatch.
do use pure, plain kitchen ingredients: olive or coconut oil for combing through the hair (loosens up the bugs).
yes, you can use mayonnaise, though plain oil is cheaper and works just as well.
yes, you can use a plain vinegar or lemon rinse after washing (melts the eggs), if you protect the eyes with a washcloth.

please call your doctor if you are in doubt as to whether you, or someone you care for, truly has head lice.

two final words of great wisdom from the internets:

Do not blame the children its not like they invited them to their head or anything. Do you think they really want those things feeding off them.

Big arm length hugs (no head touching please) to those that are as aggravated at this as i am.

… … … … …

where did all this come from? quick bibliography:
harvard school of public health: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.html
american academy of pediatrics: http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/pediatrics;110/3/638.pdf
indian institute of technology, madras, india: http://www.biotech.iitm.ac.in/faculty/goda_head_lice.pdf
u.s. centers for disease control: http://www.cdc.gov/lice/index.html

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