Repeat treatment every day or every other day for 2 weeks. Some lice eggs (
In fact, it is best to not shampoo again for 2 days, in order to give the medicine time to work. The medicine will kill the live lice bugs, generally within 12 hours. Comb your child's hair. This is the MOST important step!
A second treatment is recommended 9 to 10 days after the first treatment to kill any newly hatched lice before they can produce new eggs.
Good lice treatment back-up player
Treatments made with these substances generally work well. Most lice treatments need to be used twice, seven to 10 days apart, along with combing wet hair with a fine-toothed comb to remove nits.
Many lice medicines recommend a second treatment in 9 to 10 days. This will kill any new nymphs that have hatched since the first treatment. Do not treat a person more than 2 times with the same medicine without talking to your doctor. Do not use conditioner for 10 days after any treatment.
DO NOT over treat. Some louse shampoos can be neurotoxic and overuse can damage the nervous system. Wear gloves when treating more than one person with head louse shampoo. If more than two treatments are required to control an infestation, talk to the School Nurse(s) or the Health Department about alternative methods.
The drug, lindane, is safe when used as directed, the FDA said. But problems can arise when zealous parents pour too much on a child's head or reuse it because the child still itches after a first application, the agency said.
Repeat the anti-lice shampoo in 9 days. Be sure to do this or the lice may come back. Two treatments are always needed. The second treatment will kill any new lice that have hatched from eggs.
Treatment Didn't Work
Over-the-counter lice treatments and prescription ones kill live lice and their eggs (nits), but they might not catch all of them. Because of the life cycle of lice, over-the-counter and prescription treatments may require two treatments, 7-9 days apart.
The two treatments 9 days apart are designed to eliminate all live lice, and any lice that may hatch from eggs that were laid after the first treatment.
If you begin to find that the nits are further away from the scalp, they may not be viable. Using a magnifying lens will make it easier to search for nits close to the scalp. You'll want to make sure that there are no clusters of nits close to your child's scalp for at least two weeks before you are in the clear.
Killing Live Head Lice
The shampoo, cream rinse, or spray kills the live lice on the head but may not kill the nits. While the nits don't need to be removed from the hair, some people use a comb to remove nits after using lice treatment because they don't like the look of nits in the hair.
Rinse the nit comb often during use. Place removed nits into a sealed plastic bag and throw it into the trash. Check the scalp again daily to make sure all nits have been removed. If you still see lice 7 days after your first treatment, use a second application.
This means that some residual or lingering activity of Nix® remains on the hair for up to two weeks, even with regular shampooing.
Nits are often confused with other things found in the hair such as dandruff, hair spray droplets, and dirt particles. If no live nymphs or adult lice are seen, and the only nits found are more than ¼-inch from the scalp, the infestation is probably old and no longer active and does not need to be treated.
Seven days after the initial visit, NIX was determined to be significantly better than RID for eradicating the lice infestation. Of the 27 subjects receiving NIX, 26 were lice free vs 14 of the 31 RID-treated subjects.
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.
Smothering agents: There are several common home products that may kill lice by depriving them of air and smothering them. These products include petroleum jelly (Vaseline), olive oil, butter, or mayonnaise. Any of these products may be applied to the scalp and hair, covered with a shower cap, and left on overnight.
In particular, you should change and wash the bedding every single day until your house is free from lice. If even just a few nits remain alive, a re-infestation can occur. Head lice can be stubborn. Even though they don't fly, it's easy for them to transfer from one person to another.
After treatment, your skin may still itch for a week or more. This is because of your body's reaction to the lice.
Adult lice can't live longer than 24 hours or so on nonhuman surfaces like carpets, hardwood floors, clothing, furniture, sports helmets, headphones, or hair accessories. However, if you have identified lice in your home, isolate and wash those items and areas within at least 72 hours.
If a head lice treatment that you can buy without a prescription fails to work, the CDC recommends that you see a health care provider. Highly effective prescription treatments that you apply to the scalp are available.
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.
4 You cannot get rid of lice with a hair brush or with a hair dryer. 4 The best way to find head lice is by using a fine toothed lice comb on hair that is dry, wet or wet with conditioner. 4 Only treat when you find a live louse on the head.