The discovery that you or your child has a case of head lice is never a fun one.
But there are ways to treat a case of lice at home, in some cases even without the aid of medication.
One of the most effective ways to get rid of lice
(and nits, which are unhatched lice eggs) is by carefully combing through the hair with a specially-designed lice comb.
What is a lice comb?
Lice combs are very fine-toothed combs that are designed to actually get underneath the hair shaft, close to the scalp, to pull those sticky little lice eggs (nits) off the hair.
A lice comb will also pull any live lice and empty egg sacs off the hair as you go.
How to use a lice comb
You can use a lice comb on wet or dry hair.
But most people prefer to use a lice comb in wet hair, as water causes lice to stop in their tracks.
In dry hair, live lice will attempt to crawl away as you comb, which can be unpleasant to deal with and make for a less effective removal process.
It’s also helpful to add conditioner to wet hair before using a lice comb on it.
This helps the lice comb to glide through without getting tangled between the strands.
Once nits (lice eggs) are pulled out of the hair, you don’t have to worry about them reattaching to the scalp or hair shaft there are still any lice eggs on the comb.
However, live lice picked up by the comb can indeed be transferred back to the hair, so cleaning the comb as you go will be particularly important if live lice are present.
How to clean a lice comb
As you are combing through the hair with a lice comb, be sure to take frequent breaks to clean the comb off, and definitely do this each time you move into a new section of hair.
As the comb picks nits and bugs up in its teeth, it becomes clogged and therefore less effective.
For a quick unclog between strokes, you can wipe the lice comb off with a paper towel or piece of toilet tissue and then rinse the lice comb under hot running water.
You can also use dental floss to get any stubborn remaining pieces out of the comb.
When you’ve finished combing the entire head, you don’t have to discard the lice comb.
If you properly clean a lice comb, you’ll be able to use it again – whether for another family member concerned about an infestation, for follow-up lice treatments, or for any future lice outbreaks.
Even though nits and lice can’t survive very long without a human host, you should always be on the safe side and thoroughly clean your lice comb after each use.
You can clean a lice comb with regular hot soapy water.
Other ways to clean a lice comb include boiling it
(only do this if your comb doesn’t have any pieces made of plastic that could melt), running it through the dishwasher on “sanitize” mode, or soaking the lice comb in rubbing alcohol for 10 minutes.
In some cases, a lice comb alone may not be enough, and medication may also be necessary to completely get rid of lice.
However, a lice comb is an excellent and highly effective tool for lice removal, and sometimes a thorough comb-through with one is enough to get rid of lice and nits for good!
