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Head Lice and How to Treat Them Essay

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There is a myth that head lice only affect the poor or uneducated children. This is furthest from the truth, these creatures affects everyone regardless of the socio-economic status of the family. Lice are transmitted from individual to individual, and are not preventable. Once they grasp onto the scalp, the female lice reproduce an average of ten new eggs daily. There are various ways to treat this condition with vinegar and Listerine with a proven track record of eliminating these annoying pests.
Head lice symptoms Head lice symptoms include itching and cresting on the scalp, but this condition sometimes does not exhibit any symptoms. In the instance where they have symptoms, the child might scratch the area. This can result in …show more content…

It is common for children to share items in a classrooms setting for example; this is good breeding ground for infestations between students.
Listerine Treatment
Listerine is a proven method to treat lice; it is effective due to its content of alcohol, eucalyptol, thymol, and menthol and methyl salicylate. These ingredients are toxic for the lice, but safe for the user. This procedure eliminates the bonding agent that lice eggs stick to on the hair shaft. Treat the affected by washing followed by toweling and drying the hair. Massage the Listerine into the child’s head and hair this is the safest way to avoid eye contact. The next step is covering the head with a plastic cap or towel. Leave the treatment on the child’s head overnight or for a few hours. Comb the hair out with a lice comb, and shampoo the hair after. Normally infected condition is resolved with one use, but you can repeat the treatment again if you are concern there might be remaining nits. Vinegar Treatment Vinegar is widely used for various purposes, and is highly effective in treating head lice. The child hair should be shampooed and towel dried as normal, and followed by equal amounts of white vinegar and water. This solution should be massage in to the head gently. The mixture acts as a dissolving agent eliminating the dead lice, and removing any remaining nits. An added advantage of using this method, the

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