I have a new appreciation for this saying now that it’s been about 24 hours since finding the first louse in our house.  No, I’m not talking figuratively about anyone living here, but literally about head lice.  There was the original panic (as in, “WHAT is THAT?!?), then the gathering of information (as in put the offending critter in a plastic bag and then start researching on the internet).  Then there was the run around town to purchase nit combs (visiting no less than four stores).  And, since I know most people don’t want to admit much less talk about a lice infestation, I think it’s important to share some of the things that I’ve learned through this affair.

  1. When you’re feeling weary and not able to gather the strength and energy to make the holidays happen at your house, there’s nothing like a case (or 5 or 6) of head lice to make you wish you were decking the halls, or baking cookies, or even writing out Christmas cards for heavens’s sake, anything, but picking nits out of people’s hair.
  2. Most common suggestions are to use a product with an actual pesticide in it.  On your child’s head.  And you’re supposed to leave it there for a certain amount of time.  Now, I’m thinking that if I don’t want to use pesticides on my lawn, is there really a good reason to use them on my child’s scalp?  Lice are nothing more than a nuisance; they carry no diseases, they do not leave you weakened for something else to attack you.  So, I went in search of a cure that didn’t involve pesticides.
  3. When you talk to the school nurse, she will tell you that as soon as you use the product with the pesticide, your children can come back to school.  And, if you can’t afford the product, she will give you some, because she has lots.
  4. The information that I found on the internet basically said that whether or not you use the pesticide, you will still have to thoroughly comb your child’s hair with a nit comb (a fine-toothed comb) twice per day.  Many people use the pesticide and think they can skip the combing, only to become re-infected once the chemical wears off.
  5. There is a LOT of laundry to do if your family becomes infected with lice.  The school nurse said to wash “everything that your child has come into contact with in the last 48 hours.”  That’s a lot of stuff, especially if more that one child is affected.  And it all has to be washed on hot water, and dried on hot for at least 30 minutes.
  6. If you happen to notice the infestation on a cloudy, below freezing day, when your solar hot water heater can’t keep up with all of the laundry, you can take your bedding outside and freeze the critters out.  I’m very much appreciating Wisconsin winters today.
  7. Spraying or fogging the environment in your home, school, or day care is not recommended.  This is unnecessary exposure of people to yet more pesticides, and lice only really survive on their host.
not even close to all of the bedding

not even close to all of the bedding

So, after the panic, and the research, and the talking to a few good women (here and here), I came up with a protocol with which I’m comfortable.  The school nurse may think differently, but that’s her problem.

First, I made a hair oil.  I filled an opaque 4 ounce bottle with olive oil.  Then I added 8 drops each of the following essential oils:  sweet thyme oil (Thyme vulgaris L. France), eucalyptus oil (Eucalyptus radiata Australia), and rosemary oil (Rosmarinus officianalis Spain), and 5 drops of Neem oil.  The aromatherapist I consulted with assured me that it was safe for use on children, contrary to the content on the Wiki entry.  Neem is used widely as an anti-bug agent, and though it is an essential oil, it is not lovely smelling.  Fortunately, the other oils are nice, so we all smelled a little like a pot roast for a while.  This oil gets liberally applied to the hair, and sits for at least an hour.  A shower cap comes in handy for this.

non-toxic treatment for lice

non-toxic treatment for lice

Second, we wash out the hair oil with a shampoo I made.  I used Dr. Bronners unscented baby mild liquid soap in the 8 oz bottle and added the same essential oils that I used for the hair oil.

Third, we comb.  And comb, and comb, and comb.  We spritz with a hair tonic made from 6 ounces of water in an opaque spray bottle and the same essential oils that are in the oil and the shampoo.  If the hair dries out and gets hard to comb, we can spritz with this concoction to help with combing.  This is painstaking and time-consuming, but very important to comb, no matter if you use the natural remedies or the pesticide.

We spent the day oiling, washing, and combing through hair–everyone times three.  In between we laundered.  It’s been a tiring day, and hopefully our efforts will pay off.