Questions about Lice?
Out all of the questions we get here at Tea Tree Wonders, questions about lice are at the top of the list. Most of them, are because somebody in their house, usually one of their children or grandchildren, have picked up a few unwanted friends.
For instance here's one of the questions about lice that we recently received...
"Hi.. I have two children who go to school and have had lice. We have tried the harsh treatments for head lice but we still have them. Does Tea Tree Oil help prevent lice and does it get rid of them as well???
The quick answer is, there are lots of stories from readers of tea tree oil working to get rid of lice, completely.
There are also studies that show that tea tree oil works better than DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, abbreviated DEET, is an insect repellent chemical) in repelling head lice.
I quote here from a study by the International Journal of Dermatology from April 2007...
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A comparison of botanical and synthetic substances commonly used to prevent head lice (Pediculus humanus var. capitis) infestation.
Clinical trial International Journal of Dermatology. 46(4):422-426, April 2007. Canyon, Deon V. PhD, MPH; Speare, Rick BVSc, MBBS, PhD Abstract: Background: Pediculosis, caused by head lice (Pediculidae: Pediculus humanus var. capitis), is experiencing a global resurgence, with the prevalence in primary schools averaging as high as 40% in some areas regardless of socioeconomic factors. Control efforts using chemical treatments are becoming increasingly ineffective, with insecticide resistance recorded in several countries. Prevention using repellents and oils would be useful if they limited transmission. Many commercially available substances reputedly have effective repellent qualities, but remain untested. Methods: This study tested the preventative efficacy of N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET) against several commercially available botanicals to clarify their value as transmission inhibitors, irritants, repellents, and antifeedants. Results: The transfer of head lice to treated hairs was limited by the slippery nature of the oils rather than their repellent qualities. Irritancy was not important because lice proceeded despite being highly irritated, except in the case of coconut. Tea tree and peppermint caused the most repellence, and tea tree and lavender prevented some blood feeding on treated skin. Comparatively, tea tree oil was most efficacious, with DEET ranking equal second overall with coconut, peppermint, and a botanical mixture. Conclusions: Neither DEET nor any of the botanicals tested showed sufficient preventative efficacy to be endorsed. Copyright (C) 2007 Blackwell Publishing Ltd. |
Most of your questions about lice will most likely be answered by this pagethere is also a great story from one of our readers about how she used tea tree oil to treat her daughter's hair, after over-the-counter treatments had failed several times.you can read her story by clicking here, it's titled "Lice by the millions" Finally, take a deep breath, relax, it's not the end of the world. From the stories and the letters I get, it seems that many times the over-the-counter treatments and prescriptions cause more problems than the lice themselves. That's usually why they write to me in the first place. They've had questions about lice, and they've tried everything else, but it just hasn't worked.
Some of those things they've tried, have included covering their head in mayonnaise, soaking their head and hair in vinegar, bleach, shaving their infested hair, and even resorting to pet shampoo meant for fleas,ticks, and lice. The pet shampoo and bleach are by far the most dangerous of these "home remedies".
By the time you've finished looking at these pages, and the others we have on lice, you'll be well educated and know more in than the average person who's trying to deal with this problem. I hope that all of your questions about lice will be answered here. But if not, or if you have questions about lice. You can find the answers to, I love to help folks find uses and understand the benefits of tea tree oil and tea tree oil products, if you would like to know more about getting the world's best tea tree oil products, or if you just have more questions. Click here