Head Lice Treatment: It’s About More than Just the Hair!
If you’ve already been using head lice treatment products for several days, or several weeks, you may have tried just about every spray, shampoo, and home remedy out there for your child’s hair. But sadly, head lice treatments products alone won’t do the job. Once head lice are brought into the household, they can get into bedding, carpets, draperies, furniture, stuffed animals and many other fabric surfaces. In addition to using head lice treatment products and lice removal techniques, it is important to make sure those surfaces are washed or cleaned before you can finally say good bye to the Lice!
The child’s bedding will need to be washed while using head lice treatment products are and until treatment is no longer needed and no lice are present. A thorough washing in very hot water and followed by drying in high heat for at least 20 minutes will be enough to make sure any lingering lice in the linen are killed. Draperies and other fabric items that can be washed should also be treated in the same way. But, what about those items you can’t just throw in the washing machine?
Larger items that can’t be thrown in the washing machine should to be placed in a large, plastic airtight bag. Then, if you have enough room in a chest freezer, place the bag in there. This will freeze the lice to death. If you don’t have enough room, you can simply leave the bag closed for at least 2 weeks. After you remove the items from the bag, place them in the dryer with a fabric softener sheet to make sure all of the lice are killed. You can also do this when you first start head lice treatment. So when you’re done, everything is already to go!
While you are using head lice treatment products, it’s also important to thoroughly wash anything that comes into contact with your child’s head. Wash all hats, fabric hair bands, and hoods regularly. Also, make sure that any plastic head bands, hair accessories, combs and brushes are always soaked in alcohol for at least an hour. This will kill the lice, so that they won’t linger on the item and jump back onto your child’s head.
Don’t set yourself up for more bad news after finding out that your child has head lice. By taking the time to go through these measures, you will prevent a recurrence of lice infestations and prevent yourself and your family from having to go through the whole process again.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Back to Blog