Preventing Head Lice Over the Holidays

Head lice in children is an issue that doesn’t take a break for the holidays. In fact, the holiday season is prime time for family gatherings, meaning there’s a real risk of coming into contact with affected individuals and catching head lice. This is one “gift” that nobody wants! So here is some information on just how naughty lice can be, and why getting them is definitely not nice:

How Head Lice is Contracted

Lice require head to head contact in order to spread. So the critters can’t jump from one person to another, and even wearing hats and clothes used by those who had lice isn’t a major risk.

For kids, head to head contact can involve playing with lice-infested peers, huddling together, or dozing off in close proximity with them during sleepovers or afternoon naps.

How to Check for Head Lice

Louses (adult lice) are quite small and fast-moving. They tend to avoid light and don’t stay on the outer layers of one’s hair. This can make them especially difficult to spot. Common symptoms of head lice in children and adults include itchy scalps (though this is shared with dandruff, eczema and other conditions). If you want to find out for certain, you’ll have to:

Sit the child in a brightly lit room.
Spread his or her hair apart and look at the scalp to find lice and nits.
Lice eggs, called nits, are tiny white or cream-colored and oval-shaped, like beads, and are attached to the hair at their base, near the scalp. They can be mistaken for dandruff or dirt. If it’s easily removable then it’s probably not a nit.
Comb through the hair in small sections, systematically, to find and remove lice or nits.

If you find lice and nits, check everyone else in the house to be sure the infestation hasn’t spread.

How to Get Rid of Head Lice

Over the counter medications usually involve harsh chemicals that have alarming side effects. Moreover, we now have Super Lice, which are drug-resistant and can’t be killed by OTC head lice treatments.

This is why Fresh Heads Lice Removal stands by AirAllé— The Best Way to Get Rid of Head Lice. It is a completely non-toxic, FDA-cleared and science-based method that kills lice and eggs using heat, air flow, time and technique – dehydrating lice and ending infestations. No more wasting time and money on ineffective OTC treatments or messy in-home mobile lice services.

What about Natural Treatments and Home Remedies?

The herbal route avoids the dangers of pesticides, but these concoctions mainly repel lice and don’t do much when the buggers are already on the scalp. They’re not very good at killing them and do nothing to kill nits.

Home remedies, on the other hand, are unproven and unreliable. Hair dyes are ineffective. As are hair straightening treatments.

Other Advice to Limit Lice

If someone has an infestation, wash their clothing, towels, linens, hats, etc. in hot water and dry them in high heat. It is very unlikely that lice will be spread by bedding, clothing or linens, but it’s better to be safe than sorry!

Unwashable items can be stored in sealed plastic bags for a couple of weeks, which will starve lice to death.

Happy Lice-Free Holidays

Finding head lice doesn’t mean the holiday festivities have to stop! At Fresh Heads Lice Removal Clinics, we can take get rid head lice and their eggs in a single, chemical-free treatment with no follow up necessary. Don’t waste your time with over the counter treatments or sit around waiting and hoping a mobile lice treatment service will actually show up on time just so they can take over your kitchen or living room for hours. If you find lice call Fresh Heads today and we’ll have you back sipping eggnog and eating gingerbread cookies in no time.

So may you and your family have a very merry and lice-free holiday season!