So, the realistic answer is “No, you can't drown lice.” The best treatment for lice is to get them picked out by a professional – Lice Geeks, for example – using the right comb. Even over-the-counter shampoos and products aren't as effective as a well-trained professional wielding the proper comb.
Why can't you drown them by taking a long bath or going for a swim? Lice have evolved with humans, and we have always put our heads in water. They are designed to resist it. The louse shuts itself down, it is called sham death, and when you take it out of the water it recovers within five minutes.
Permethrin lotion 1% is approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice. Permethrin is safe and effective when used as directed. Permethrin kills live lice but not unhatched eggs.
Head lice can survive in chlorinated water, and are firmly attached to the hair when a person is under water. It will also have no impact on the nits or eggs. So, swimming in a hot tub or pool is not a good solution if you're wondering how to treat head lice.
Lice are also tenacious and can't be killed with a hot shower or strong shampoo. If you find evidence of lice treat all members of the household. Also, wash linens and towels on a hot setting of the washing machine.
Hair gels, hairspray, oils or other non-medicated products do not kill lice or their eggs. Cutting your child's hair or shaving their head to get rid of lice won't keep them away. Lice stick to short and just “grown in” hair too.
It is not usually possible to get rid of lice in one day, as an infestation needs to be treated. However, there are treatments that can help get rid of lice and symptoms caused by lice more quickly. Lice infestations must first be treated by improving the hygiene of the infected person.
Typically, 10–15 head lice are found. The number of lice often depends on personal hygiene, for example, how often the person bathes, shampoos, or changes and washes his/her clothing.
Vinegar contains properties that kill and get rid of nits and lice. This mixture should be applied directly to the whole scalp. Mix 1 cup of vinegar with 1 cup of warm water. Next, distribute this mixture onto the scalp and cover your hair with a hair cap.
Do not use a conditioner. It can keep the lice medicine from working. Rinse well with warm water and towel dry. Do not use the towel again until it has been laundered.
Some people try to suffocate and kill lice by putting large amounts of a greasy substance on your scalp, covering with a shower cap, and leaving it on while you sleep. You can try petroleum jelly, mayonnaise, or olive oil.
Suffocate the Lice
Soak your child's head in olive oil or coconut oil. Cover with a shower cap for at least 2 hours (or preferably overnight). When ready, remove the shower cap, and separate the hair into small sections, then use a metal nit comb to carefully remove the lice and eggs. Rinse the hair well with shampoo.
Head lice may be spread by sharing towels or other items that have been in contact with an infested person's hair, although such spread is uncommon. Children should be taught not to share towels, hair brushes, and similar items either at poolside or in the changing room.
If you try to drown lice, you would need to keep them submerged for more than 8 straight hours in order to ensure they have indeed drowned. No coming up for air. Adult lice can “hold their breath” for up to 8 hours – they close their air holes and stay where they are until they can breathe again.
Head lice survive less than one or two days if they fall off the scalp and cannot feed. Head lice eggs (nits) cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they do not remain under ideal conditions of heat and humidity similar to those found close to the human scalp.
They found vinegar was actually the least effective treatment method for getting rid of lice or suppressing the hatching of nits. Vinegar wasn't the only home remedy that didn't do well. No home treatment prevented lice from laying eggs. Even with prolonged exposure, most home remedies were unable to kill nits.
Wash any lice-infested item in hot water that is at least 130°F (54°C), put it in a hot dryer for 15 minutes or more, or placing the item in an air-tight plastic bag and leaving it for two weeks to kill the lice and any nits. You can also vacuum floors and furniture where lice may have fallen.
So if you look on the scalp and see no visible adult lice and several small nits, it's likely that you've caught lice in the earlier stages and had them for less than 2 weeks. Nits and nymphs: 1.5 to 2 weeks. If you see nits and small, moving lice, you've likely had lice for 1.5 to 2 weeks.
THE INFESTATION
An infestation with lice is called pediculosis. In a normal healthy child, an infestation usually involves less than 10 live lice (7). Infestations may be asymptomatic.
If you're infested with body lice for a long time, you may experience skin changes such as thickening and discoloration — particularly around your waist, groin or upper thighs. Spread of disease. Body lice can carry and spread some bacterial diseases, such as typhus, relapsing fever or trench fever.
As head lice can live on pillows, you'll need to clean them. Adult lice can only survive for two days without a host. However, they can still lay eggs. If the infected person has had a lice treatment and then picks up stray lice from their pillow, the lice infestation cycle can start all over again.
The conditioner does not kill lice but stuns them for about 20 minutes enabling easier removal. The long toothed metal comb will remove nits and the stunned head lice. Wipe the comb on a white tissue and check for any lice or nits. Keep combing until no more appear on the tissue.
Because the active ingredients have remained the same all these years, new generations of head lice have become immune to them. Once lice become immune, the product no longer works. Scientists call this resistance.
Heat Method:
There are recent studies that show that treatment of lice with heat can be quite effective in killing head lice. Products such as Lousebuster are very effective but even a home hairdryer can successfully treat lice.