Lice treatment: How lice remedies and combing out help
If you have discovered lice in your child, you should start treatment as soon as possible. But which method and means are best suited? Here we introduce you to the recommended treatment for lice.
Many rumors about lice treatment
If you recognize lice in your child, many questions arise: Where do thelice come from? Do I have to report the lice infestation? And how do I get rid of the pests as quickly as possible? If you inform yourself on the Internet or ask acquaintances how best to treat head lice, you get many different answers. From daily hair washing with vinegar to an electric lice comb to complete shearing of the child’s head, there are apparently many ways to get rid of lice. However, most of them are not effective against the parasites at all or are very radical.
Quick lice treatment is important!
The most important thing in any type of lice treatment is always that you start as soon as possible and carry it out consistently. This is the only way to make sure that the lice on your child’s head do not survive and do not have time to spread further.
This treatment is recommended by the RKI and the BZgA
Over the years, one method has proven particularly successful and is therefore also recommended by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) as the most effective type of lice treatment. It is a combination of two measures:
- the application of a common lice remedy and
- wet combing out with care rinse.
The two treatments complement each other perfectly and ensure that your child is quickly freed from lice. In the following, you will find out exactly how you should proceed with the treatment.
Recommended procedure for lice treatment
To ensure effective treatment of lice, it is recommended that you adhere to a fixed treatment regimen. The scheme is based on the development of parasites from the egg to the adult, sexually mature louse. The following steps are planned:
- Day 1:Â First application of the lice remedy (see explanation 1) and subsequent wet combing out (see explanation 2).
- Day 5:Â Wet combing out again.
- Day 9:Â Repeated application of the lice remedy and wet combing out.
- Day 13:Â Final wet combing out to control the success of the treatment.
- Afterwards:Â Removing old nits from the hair (see explanation 3) to avoid misunderstandings
Even if the steps are relatively complex, compliance is worthwhile in the end, as it is highly likely that all lice will be removed from your child’s head. For a better overview, you can print out atreatment schemehere.
Treatment with a lice remedy
For lice treatment, there are various means that differ in their active ingredients and modes of action. Classic lice remedies, which have been used for a very long time, usually act through insecticides, which first anesthetize the lice and then kill them. Newer remedies often contain silicone or coconut oils instead. As a result of these, the respiratory openings of the lice are blocked, which eventually leads to the death of the lice.
- Drugstore or pharmacy:Â You can buy many of the common lice remedies in drugstores. However, if you are not sure which active ingredient or preparation you want to use, it is advisable to buy the product in a pharmacy. Pharmacists can also answer all your questions, for example about the correct application. Get advice on choosing a suitable remedy and clarify any risks. In addition, when buying in the pharmacy, the health insurance covers the costs of the treatment if you present a prescription from your pediatrician.
- Medical consultation:Â The lice treatment for your child with the lice remedy can usually be carried out independently. Only for infants and toddlers, sore scalp and known allergies to one of the ingredients should you seek medical advice before treatment. Even if you are affected by lice during pregnancy or breastfeeding, you should consult a doctor for safety before using a remedy.
- Application of the lice remedy:Â If you use a lice remedy on your child, it is very important that you adhere exactly to the manufacturer’s instructions regarding the amount, the exposure time and the type of application. This is the only way to ensure that the lice treatment is really successful and avoid any unpleasant side effects. Depending on the type of product, it is also advisable to wear disposable gloves when applying to the scalp to avoid unnecessary skin contact.
- Repeat treatment: Even if the package leaflet of the lice remedy says something else: asecond treatment with the lice remedy is absolutely necessary! The vast majority of means kill only the lice and the already hatched larvae, but can not harm the eggs in the nits. Therefore, a second application on day 8, 9 or 10 after the first application (day 1) is indispensable to kill hatched larvae after the first treatment. The time for this second lice treatment should be strictly adhered to in order to be able to kill the larvae between hatching and sexual maturity, if they do not yet pose a risk of infection.
By the way:Â Preventive treatment against head lice with a lice remedy does not make sense, as they can only kill actually existing lice.
Wet combing out
Although the correct use of a lice remedy is already a good start, it is more reliable to supplement this measure by wet combing out the hair at intervals of four days. On the one hand, the success of the treatment can be checked and, on the other hand, regular combing prevents any remaining larvae from developing further on the child’s head.
- To use the method, you should first wash your child’s hair with a conventional shampoo.
- So that the procedure is not so painful for your child, you apply a commercial conditioner to the damp hair as a second step. It makes it easier to comb through the hair and prevents the lice from running away, as it hinders their movements.
- Then you should comb out your child’s hair systematically, i.e. strand by strand from the scalp to the ends of the hair, with a finely zincised nit comb. Nit combs are available in the pharmacy in different designs, for example, made of metal or plastic. When buying, you should make sure that the distance between the tines is not more than 0.3mm in order to reliably catch even the small larvae. Tip: A comb with tines in a light color makes it easier to detect combed out lice.
- After each strand, you should strip the comb on a light cloth or piece of kitchen paper to check if any lice have been combed out. If you find a louse, you should comb out the same strand again. If no lice or larvae have been combed out, you can put the strand tightly to the side with a hair clip so that you do not lose track.
Removal of nits
Even if nits that still stick in the hair after a completed lice treatment no longer pose a danger, you should remove the small egg shells. This is not just for purely cosmetic reasons. This prevents old nits from being confused with a current infestation. You can also spare your child possible teasing by other children. Remove the nits by combing them out wet with a very fine nit comb. If you do not have a comb handy, you can peel the nits off the hair one by one with your fingernails.