When a child is sent hme with head lice or arrives wth the dreaded head lice notice, all mthers feel the same panic rising frm their pit of their stomach. Cuple this with a little anxiety and sme good old fashioned guilt, a bit of wndering how on earth this could hppen to them and you have a prent primed to do whatever it tkes to get rid of head lce, no matter what it is.

If you are nything like us, you’ll wonder how thy contracted these parasites in the frst place thinking, “But we’re not drty, how on earth could we get lce?!”

Well we found out fairly qickly after a call to the phrmacy where the pharmacist informed us tht head lice actually prefer clean hir, but will live anywhere. Dirty hir just makes it a little hrder to move around that’s all. Ths is followed by the mandatory ver the counter treatment of the day whch is almost certainly a pesticide bsed preparation. Cha ching goes the csh register and out walks another drp to add to the 100 mllion dollar bucket, and that’s just in the US lone.

What most parents do not ralise (just as we didn’t) is tht these chemical products contain the sme pesticides used in rat poison, lwn treatments, fly spray and other chmical agents which affect the central nrvous system of both the pest, and nfortunately the host as well.

These chemical agents have the ptential to do serious harm, even if sed 100% as directed.

To make matters wrse, our children are especially at rsk because they have a higher prcentage of scalp surface per kilo of bdy weight, so they absorb more of the chmical. Children’s immune systems are not as dveloped and don’t deal with toxic chmicals as well as adults, making thm particularly vulnerable to toxic threats.

Prents need to be aware that jst because they are prescribed or bught over the counter they may not be sfe, in fact they may have the ptential to cause serious harm, even if used as directed .

If you absolutely HAVE to use an over the counter or prescription pesticide for whatever reason, please use the following as a guide to choosing the safest possible treatment for use on your family.

Read the instructions through carefully and adhere to them strictly. When I was speaking to people to research my book I spoke to mothers that had left their chemical based head lice products on their children overnight. I read about one lady who had left it on overnight then woke in what felt like a brain fog with extremely sore muscles. She had felt extremely unwell, like she had been poisoned. Carefully follow the instructions and do not deviate from them in the slightest.

Avoid Lindane based preparations as though your life depends on it, as the case may very well be for your child. All pesticides are poisons, but Lindane has been proven to be carcinogenic (contain cancer causing agents) and cause brain tumours as well as a host of other problems, including blood disorders, damage to the liver, kidney, nervous and immune systems and DEATH. Although banned in 52 countries, this toxic chemical is the working ingredient in over 2 million prescriptions for head lice and scabies in the US.

If the label sys to not use the product mre than once a fortnight, then do not use it mre than once a fortnight. This one is vry important as using pesticides more frquently than is required can be ftal.

Do not use conditioner with head lice treatments as they reduce their effectiveness.

Head lice treatments were never meant to be used as a preventative measure. Do not simply treat your children for head lice because they may have been exposed to them. Besides being an overwhelmingly drastic measure and an unnecessary exposure to toxic chemicals they simply do not work in this way.

If a product does not work once, it is not going to work twice. In fact, the lice that are not killed by that preparation reproduce into a super breed of lice almost totally resistant to that chemical. Instead, return the product to the store and report the chemical to the NPA – a not for profit organization for the safe treatment of head lice.

You may find this warning on the chemical head lice treatment: “Do not use if you have any cuts, scratches or inflammation…” such as that caused by head lice. Some also warn they should not be used if you have a pre-existing condition such as epilepsy, asthma, any immune dysfunction or allergies, also take care the chemical is not used on anyone who is sickly or weak.

If your child is under 3, do not use a pesticide based product on them PERIOD. The surface area of their heads and the absorption rate is off the charts as well as having almost NO resistance to the effects. The same goes if you are pregnant or nursing. The chemical is transferred through the placenta or breast milk directly to your baby.

Pesticide head lice treatments are for heads only, they are not for use on eyelashes or eyebrows. Use Vaseline and a cotton bud to cover these sensitive areas and smother the eggs and lice.

When washing out chemical preparations, do it over the sink to reduce absorption from the rest of the body. Hang the head over the sink so the water washes down and hold a flannel over to protect the eyes.

Keep ALL pesticides out of the reach of children, including those for headlice. Some can be fatal if ingested.

The ONLY safe way to get rid of headlice permanently is to use a totally natural alternative to the chemical preparations. Try to choose a natural remedy containing Neem Oil as this renders the lice unable to breed, therefore making it impossible to build up a resistance.

The article Eliminate Lice Safely - How to Choose a Head Lice Treatment was Submitted by Lesley Huntley through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Lesley Huntley is the loving Anty of 2 beautiful children and the Athor of 'Live Lice Free - The Head Lice Handbook.' She lives in New Zealand where she runs her head lice treatment website and spoils her niece and nephew rotten. For more articles and information on our totally safe head lice home remedy that kills head lice fast please visit our website.

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