How do I treat my child’s head lice?

Head lice affect school-aged children and their families. Picture: Supplied

Head lice affect school-aged children and their families. Picture: Supplied

Published Jul 27, 2022

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If you have ever experienced hair lice with your children, there was always a sense of panic caused if they were ever caught scratching their heads.

And while going to school is extremely important for a child's overall development, with children returning to school and the back-to-school energy amongst young kids and mothers, there is a persistent fear of the child catching either infections or bringing home hair lice from school.

Head lice affect school-aged children and their families.

They can attach to the hair of anyone's head, irrespective of the hair being clean or dirty.

Head-to-head contact with an infected person is common during play at school, home, and outdoors (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp) which can easily lead to the spread of lice.

Some of the common symptoms of lice include itching in the scalp, feeling of ticklishness, irritability and difficulty sleeping (head lice are most active in the dark), sores on the head caused by scratching.

One bout with lice and we have to start washing everything in the house and picking through hair strand by strand looking for nits.

And yes while lice combs can give you temporary relief, they are never the answer to curbing the problem of hair lice at the root level.

The sharp tooth of lice can manage to kill the lice present on the scalp but are ineffective in the removal of lice nits. These sharp edges also damage a child's scalp.

Neem oil is effective and contains insecticidal ingredients that helps disrupt the lice reproduction cycle and the goodness of lauric acid in coconut oil can help treat lice. The medicated shampoo stuns big and small lice which can be removed by comb. Eggs hatch in 1-2 weeks and in the next 2 weeks Mediker removes these new lice. In the last week, Mediker helps remove any lice left and hence breaks the cycle of lice. The medicated shampoo is clinically tested by doctors for lice removal in kids.

Dr Neha Rastogi, consultant infectious diseases, Fortis Hospital MBBS, MD. DM From AIIMS Delhi according to her expertise she mentions, "Using an anti-lice shampoo is the most effective solution of eradicating hair lice.

“But these anti-lice shampoos need to contain natural ingredients and be clinically proven to eradicate lice in a natural manner without being toxic to your child's health.

“The medical benefits of neem and coconut are proven ways to tackle this problem which is why I recommend parents to opt for medicated shampoos that are made of herbal ingredients and are clinically tested to be safe."

Hair expert Mridula Kini who has a rich experience of over 27 years in the pharma and personal care industry says: "Being in the pharma and personal care industry for so many years, I can effectively say that parents should opt for only medicated shampoos to effectively treat the lice problems in a more permanent and sustained manner.“