Yikes! Help, headlice!!!! What natural treatments have you used? ***Update in OP***

[o_mom]

I guess I mean they are not FDA approved methods and are not recommended by the CDC or the FDA for treatment of headlice. I prefer to use methods that have been proven and tested to work...but that is the scientist in me.

http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/treatment.html

You might be interested, then, in this recent study showing suffocating cream to be more effective than malathion. link

I think there is a huge distinction between 'not FDA approved' and 'not proven effective'. Use of products off-label does not automatically make them unsafe/ineffective - it depends on the data that is out there.

For a really GREAT guideline, google "Spokane Regional Health District Lice Guidelines". I tried to link it here but it is a PDF and too big to link. It explains why some of the home treatments are not recommended. It is VERY helpful.

Here's the link. Very interesting. It also lists malathion (Ovide) under treatements not recommended.

Now my head is itching from reading all this!

[kerridean]

You might be interested, then, in this recent study showing suffocating cream to be more effective than malathion. link

I think there is a huge distinction between 'not FDA approved' and 'not proven effective'. Use of products off-label does not automatically make them unsafe/ineffective - it depends on the data that is out there.



Here's the link. Very interesting. It also lists malathion (Ovide) under treatements not recommended.

Now my head is itching from reading all this!

I am just trying to be helpful. We had to use Malathion because NOTHING ELSE WORKED. Not nix, not the other home treatments. Malathion worked for us, finally, and got rid of the lice after 3 weeks of failed treatment. I am well aware it is listed on the "not recommended" section. I had to make an educated decision along with my doctor, otherwise my daughter would still have lice. I am glad the other methods worked for others, however they failed for us. I hope it works for the OP.

[o_mom]

I am just trying to be helpful. Forget it now. We had to use Malation because NOTHING ELSE WORKED. Not nix, not the other home treatments. Malation worked for us, finally, and got rid of the lice after 3 weeks of failed treatment. I am well aware it is listed on the "not recommended" section. I had to make an educated decision along with my doctor, otherwise my daughter would still have lice. I am glad the other methods worked for others, however they failed for us. I hope it works for the OP. Geez

Sorry if I sounded harsh, that really wasn't my intention. I was trying to provide the link to the document since you said it didn't work and really did find the info interesting. There was a lot of good stuff that discussed the risks of all treatments, not just the home remedies. I understand that after other things have failed making a decision to go to something stronger, but I don't think that it makes all other treatments not worth trying.

ETA: Since you didn't mention at all the risks of Ovide, said that it was from an urgent care visit and said how you would go straight to it the next time, it really didn't come across as a 'not recommended' treatment in your previous post and I thought that might be important for others to know. I was a bit flippant about it, I apologize.

[annex]

I would also reiterate what has been said above - don't rely on any chemical or natural product to kill everything. Use a lice/nit comb every.single.day for at least 2 weeks. Or hire a professional nitpicker to do it for you. Throw hats, jackets, and pillowcases into the dryer on hot heat once a day as well to kill anything that you may have missed. The students in my DD's school who kept getting lice were the ones whose parents thought the pesticide alone was enough to do the trick.

[ThreeofUs]

I guess I mean they are not FDA approved methods and are not recommended by the CDC or the FDA for treatment of headlice. I prefer to use methods that have been proven and tested to work...but that is the scientist in me.

http://www.cdc.gov/lice/head/treatment.html

While I believe O-Mom has done a great job of addressing the problems with this post, I would like to add one last thing.

The CDC only lists FDA approved treatments, many of which have been proven to be ineffective in the treatment of some lice strains, given that the lice are now immune to the pesticides they contain.

From the UK's National Health Service web site:
"Head lice can sometimes be difficult to treat due to a high re-infestation rate and their ability to develop immunity (resistance) to traditional insecticides contained in some medications.
It is thought that head lice will not develop immunity to the newer silicone- and oil-based preparations because they have a physical rather than a chemical action on lice."
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Head-li...Treatment.aspx


This web site goes on to say that the wet combing method is the best method for removal, as does the NYTimes article.



The fact that the CDC even lists the Lindane prep as "approved" (which it is) is because of industry pressure on the FDA. Lindane, for those that don't know, is an organochloride that is so highly toxic that it was banned for use on food by the EPA in 2006.

Even the CDC says "it is not recommended as a first-line therapy. Overuse, misuse, or accidentally swallowing lindane can be toxic to the brain and other parts of the nervous system...". And the FDA has issued statements and warnings about the deaths and neurotoxicity problems associated even with normal use of the product.


As a research scientist, I find myself very concerned that people might not know that all things listed as "approved" by the CDC are not necessarily good choices for use - especially on children. In this case, this is especially true, because (1) the treatments don't work and (2) the treatments may be harmful. I really can't agree with equating "approval by the CDC/FDA" with "good practice".

[mommy111]

Oh goodness, I sure am staying away from the mayo!!!!! Salmonella in hair, who knew!
I really want to avoid the chemical treatments if necessary, I am not a huge fan of any kind of pesticide unless absoluteley necessary (and I do realize that may be the case here at the end, sigh, but I at least want to give it a shot without chemicals) DD will be easier, she is so cooperative, she will easily sit for an hour every day getting her head checked and wet combed. DS, though, at 2, hates anyone touching his head. I tried to do it last night in his sleep and he woke up extremely angry. I may well have to shave his hair off if all else fails. So now the kids have had oil in their heads for 24 hours, I have found 2 big lice and innumerable nits in DD and one louse with nits in DS. I am going to wrap up their heads to see if the suffocation works.
Sorry to lay out all the gross details This is not my idea of a fun weekend

[kijip]

Head lice are becoming resistant to the active ingredients in the OTC meds.

We had an awful exposure in the summer of 2007. We initially used the OTC meds. Most of the bug were still quite alive after using as directed, to say nothing of the nits. So my situation was the reverse of kerridean's- we tried the OTC meds and then went to the suffocation methods (why it would need to be FDC approved to use a soap or food product and a hair dryer is totally beyond me, it's totally non-toxic). For us, the problem was solved rapidly after that point. Lots of combing but when we combed after drying cedaphil on the hair, the lice were actually DEAD as opposed to after the OTC treatment.

Getting rid of lice is comb dependent. You need a metal tooth licemeister type comb. The plastic ones in the OTC med boxes are worthless pieces of junk. Then you need to use it. A lot.

[o_mom]

Oh goodness, I sure am staying away from the mayo!!!!! Salmonella in hair, who knew!
I really want to avoid the chemical treatments if necessary, I am not a huge fan of any kind of pesticide unless absoluteley necessary (and I do realize that may be the case here at the end, sigh, but I at least want to give it a shot without chemicals) DD will be easier, she is so cooperative, she will easily sit for an hour every day getting her head checked and wet combed. DS, though, at 2, hates anyone touching his head. I tried to do it last night in his sleep and he woke up extremely angry. I may well have to shave his hair off if all else fails. So now the kids have had oil in their heads for 24 hours, I have found 2 big lice and innumerable nits in DD and one louse with nits in DS. I am going to wrap up their heads to see if the suffocation works.
Sorry to lay out all the gross details This is not my idea of a fun weekend

Go as short as you can with your DS to start. A friend had lice a couple years ago and she waited and waited and finally took the clippers to her DS and it was a huge improvement in ease of treatment and checking. I wouldn't shave him bald, but even going down to 1/2-3/4" would make it so much easier. With a 2 yo, I think it would help immensely to make it less stressful on him for checks.

[kerridean]

It is correct that the only way to REALLY get rid of them is through wet combing. I did it twice daily. Once I finally got the metal comb....it really made a difference. Bottom line...whatever you use....you HAVE to get rid of ALL of the nits so they do not hatch. I was SO diligent and some still hatched. I think I need therapy from going through this...while Dh was deployed

[AJP]

I forgot to say that fairy tales has great products for anyone who is still looking for/trying methods. They also sell the metal tooth licemeister comb. We used suffocation methods AND the fairy tales with great success and were diligant with combing, laundering, drying things on high heat etc. GOOD LUCK!
http://www.fairytaleshaircare.com/in...age&Itemid=107