Will tea tree oil kill lice on humans? If so, are there any side effects?
By K
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I don't know if tea tree oil will kill lice. My daughter got it last year (I still shudder thinking about it). I think I caught it very early. The first night I treated her with the store bought stuff (Nix or Rid). I didn't trust my husband when I asked him to look at my hair, because he didn't see what I was trying to show him in my daughter's hair. So I used tea tree oil cut with some jojoba oil, and rubbed it in my scalp and through my hair. My scalp is sensitive, so that's why I diluted it. I wrapped my head with a towel and left it on for several hours. I hoped if I had any that the oils would suffocate them. I've since read conflicting information on whether or not that works. I had to wash my hair a couple times to get the tea tree oil smell out. A few days later I had a friend check me, and she didn't see anything.
I'll tell you what worked for us. As I said, I used Rid or Nix the first night. I did a lot of reading up about how lice have become resistant to those treatments, plus I didn't feel good about using them anyway. I kept combing her hair with that crappy little plastic thing from the kit, but I felt it was ineffective. I ended up ordering this kit:
www.amazon.com/
It says it's a three pack, but it's one kit with three items in it. The items are available individually, but I wanted all three. There is also a Nit Free shampoo. I think the crucial items are the comb and the foam (in that order!). The comb is excellent! It is important to comb the way they say to. Take a small section, and comb four times: from the left, from the right, from the top, and from the bottom. Using other stuff I kept finding a nit or two every time I'd check her. But after using this comb and foam one time, I never found any more nits.
A new school year is about to begin, and I plan to buy another thing of the foam, just in case, and some of the repellant spray. I was shocked that they didn't send a note home to the kids in my daughter's grade. I told a couple moms about it, so they could keep an eye on their kids' hair. I have no idea where it came from, and I hope we never get it again.
You just have to be persistent. I truly believe that comb made all the difference in the world. Good luck getting rid of the lice.
I used to staff at a summer camp every year, and I've learned there's always going to be one kid there with lice. I got lice one year and I was able to treat it pretty easily. First, buy a lice comb. NOT the plastic one, it's junk. Buy a metal one, it gets the nits and everything, every time. Then, get either mayonnaise or karosene (I used karosene) it smothers the lice. Use it one your head like shampoo. I recommend the lather-rinse-repeat method.
Play it safe and cheap. Smear mayonnaise on the head, leave on with a shower curtain for the time suggested in these many sites. Good luck!
www.google.com/
I believe that there is a tea tree oil product in the drug store, alongside the regular Rid and Nix products. If it is sold there, it likely works. I would use that product rather than a home remedy. Use as directed. It is misuse and overuse of products that causes the insects to become resistant to them.
My mother says they used kerosene in the depression; I think we have less horrific and less dangerous substances now. I would not pour a flammable fuel on my head if there was an alternative.
Prevention is a must. I taught school, survived many lice outbreaks, with never a louse. Nor did my kids get it. But, they had short hair, didn't share combs or toques nor coats and scarves. Little girls with long flowing locks who play games where they sit close, get their little heads together, and hug each other are the ones who most often caught it from others at school. Sometimes, however, it can seem totally random. Just like a cold, sometimes you just get them from "life".
I don't have a solid answer on that either. But wanted to let you know that every morning , especially during the school year, after brushing my daughter's hair I spray it w/ TT Oil.
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