Schools in Port Washington have opened their doors for students for the fall session after six months of remote learning. As children flock back to school for masked instruction, the annual outbreak of head lice lurks beyond classroom doors. Even though schools and child daycares have strict social distancing protocols in place, daily group activities, playground times, music, and exercising sessions all present opportunities for lice infestations. And before you know it, kids who have head lice will carry the parasites and their eggs home, passing them back and forth between siblings and other family members, turning into a full-blown lice infestation! We know that the mere thought of these tiny parasites crawling on your child’s hair can lead to stress, panic, and rushed decisions, but just know that you’re not alone. Nearly 6 million lice infestation cases are reported every year among school-going children, and there has been a steady increase in these numbers in recent years due to the emerging treatment resistance.

Traditional Lice Treatments Do More Harm Than Good

Lice can be the cause of severe nuisance for teachers and families. Parents typically turn to pesticide-based treatments and shampoos for relief. The problem is that these chemical-based lice treatments aren’t working for people anymore. Studies have shown that head lice have mutated over the years, developing resistance to the active ingredients in pesticide-based products, mainly permethrin and pyrethrin. These drug-resistant lice are referred to as “super lice.” Super lice don’t look different from normal head lice, and are only identified by their resistance to traditional “lice treatments.” Research published in the Journal of Medical Entomology revealed that drug-resistant lice have not only spread to 48 states, but 99% of head lice in the U.S. are, in fact, super lice. Unfortunately, people continue to douse their children’s hair in chemical-based lice treatment products to this day. Since head lice are becoming drug-resistant, this can often mean that parents are shampooing their children over and over again using these chemical products, which is a dangerous practice, especially if they ignore the strict time limits between each treatment. A national survey that inquired moms about lice removal found that 50% of mothers were of the opinion that they should apply multiple treatments for head lice—which can be quite dangerous if the treatments are chemical-based. What parents don’t realize is that not only are these products not effective, but they dry out the scalp, causing dandruff, flaky skin, and brittle hair. However, the horrors of OTC treatments don’t stop there; excessive exposure to these insecticidal treatments can be potentially toxic. Research has linked pyrethrin to asthma and breathing problems in children. It can also result in skin irritations, rashes, and feelings of tingling or burning. Similarly, the neurotoxic properties of permethrin have experts questioning whether OTC and prescription shampoos and lotions should be applied to kids’ heads. After all, most parents aren’t aware that the products they use have pesticides or chemicals in them. Plus, there’s hardly any mention of the pesticide-related concerns on the products’ labels. While some doctors deem these pesticide-based treatments safe for use in low doses, experts say that there’s still a chance for the treatments to be administered incorrectly, and many pediatricians may not recognize the signs if something did go wrong. Health experts argue that putting a pesticide—albeit in low quantity—on a child’s head to treat head lice is overkill in itself and poses the potential of causing attributed problems down the road.

Pesticide Free Head Lice Treatments Emerge Has Safe and Viable Solution

And no, we don’t mean dousing your child’s head in mayonnaise, coconut oil, or tea tree oil. In fact, tea tree oil, if used in excess, can cause skin dryness, redness, skin irritation, or allergic skin rashes. Our lice specialists advocate chemical-free, natural, and organic lice treatment solutions offered at our lice treatment center in Port Washington, NY. We not only aim to educate families on the dangers of chemical treatments, but we also empower them on how to treat lice infestations safely and effectively! With the aim of getting rid of lice completely—without poisoning your little one or the environment—our professional lice removal services use a non-toxic treatment to remove all lice and nits. Adults and children that come to our lice salon are thoroughly screened for nits and head lice. We then comb the hair, one section at a time, using state-of-the-art fine-toothed lice removal combs. The scalp and hair are then meticulously checked following lice removal to ensure complete elimination of those pesky critters—there’s a reason why we offer a lice-free guarantee! Our natural treatments are free of toxins and remove all traces of live bugs without compromising your child’s health. We even have a solution for parents who wish to tackle lice infestation in the privacy of their own home: in-home lice removal services and lice extraction kits that can be ordered from our online store.

Head Check Guidelines for a DIY Home Treatment

For parents that want to do a quick and easy head check of their kids at home, our lice specialists have some expert tips that they can follow. First and foremost, you need a fine-toothed nit comb—preferably a metal one. These are great for head checks and comb outs.

Checking Lice with a Nit Comb

• Use a non-toxic shampoo on your little one’s hair that can help soften and detangle hair, aiding in lice and nit removal.
• Drape a towel on your child’s shoulders to prevent rouge lice from attaching on to the clothes.
• While the hair is still damp after the shampoo-wash, start at the nape of your child’s neck (a common head lice hotspot) and comb straight up with the teeth of the comb gently touching the surface of the scalp.
• Make sure to pull the comb all the way through the hair. It’s great if you could do the nit combing session over a sink to prevent lice from infesting the rugs and carpets.
• After every comb, tap the comb onto a sink or a bowl of water, or wipe it with a paper towel. Nits and nymphs can be identified as brown specks.
• Other hotspots of lice are above and behind the ear, the center of the head from the hairline to the crown, and around the nape.
• After a thorough and meticulous nit combing session, make sure you keep checking your child’s hair at least twice a week to ensure no new case goes undetected.

Unlike adult lice and nymphs, the nits left behind on the hair shaft don’t become the source of an infestation. So you don’t have to worry about every little brown speck left in your child’s hair. Just be sure to continue combing the hair for the next few weeks to reduce the chances of self-infestation. You can also use a magnifying glass to better examine hair strands after the lice removal. Moreover, keep an eye on head-scratching. You can assume you’re in the clear if there are no live crawling insects three weeks after your DIY head lice treatment.

What to Do After the Lice Treatment: After-Care Tips

There’s another important lice chore that you need to take care of other than combing: house inspection and cleaning. After all, you can’t guarantee a lice-free head until you ensure a lice-free home! Following the right after-care tips will help retain the effects of the lice treatment—especially after a heavy infestation—and perhaps keep you from a repeat visit to the lice salon. Nymphs and head lice can survive up to 3 days after falling off from the human host. The eggs can survive away from the host too, but they need temperature similar to that found on the scalp in order to hatch. Therefore, it’s crucial that you wash and clean anything that has been in close contact with the lice-infected member of the family. Here are some tips on what you can do to prevent future infestations:

Wash All Belongings with Hot Water

• Bedding, clothing (including hair accessories), and towels that were in used in the past two days need to be washed in hot water (at least 130ºF). Lice can survive without human blood for up to 48 hours.
• Soak brushes and combs in hot water for a minimum of 10 minutes.
• Pillowcases and pillows are a common cause of re-infestation so make sure you wash and clean them meticulously.

Vacuum the Carpets and Furniture

Don’t use any insect-killing sprays in your home for lice elimination. One, household bug sprays can cause breathing problems and pose health risks to family members and pets. Two, these sprays may not even get the job done! Instead, vacuum carpets, car seats, furniture, and other fabrics that may have come in contact. For an even thorough job, we recommend using our Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner, specially formulated to keep your home and car lice-free. The best part is that it is non-toxic, biodegradable, and doubles as a stain remover. Lice lurk on leather surfaces in your home and car. Use our bio-based Leather Cleaner that removes lice and nits from leather and also re-nourishes it—two birds, one stone!

Bag Non-Washable Items

For your child’s favorite stuffed toys that can’t be washed, put them in an air-tight plastic bag for a minimum of 5 days to kill any and all lingering lice and nits. While experts believe that head lice aren’t commonly transmitted via inanimate objects (because they can’t survive away from the host for a long period), it’s best if you take care of every variable in the equation to ensure your home and your family is truly lice-free. After all, a single live bug can potentially bring on a full-blown re-infestation. Shudders.

Get Professional Help

What’s better than seeking help from professionals to ensure lice elimination? We offer complete lice inspection and cleaning services for residents of Port Washington, NY. If you opt for our services, expert cleaners and staff technicians arrive at your home in unmarked cars and take care of all lice removal tasks, from thoroughly cleaning the beds, mattresses, and pillows to vacuuming rugs, carpets, and furniture. What’s more, our lice removal experts walk through your home, notifying you of items that should be thrown away and those that should be treated to kill lingering lice. Plus, they educate your family on how you can prevent re-infestations in the future. Gain the peace of mind that your house is lice-free with Lice Troopers.

Educate All Family Members about Sharing and Close-Contact Etiquettes

Lice treatments and post-lice treatment cleaning sprees are useless if you don’t educate your children on how to prevent lice transmission. Teach your child that the most common way for head lice to spread is by head-to-head contact. Hugging, sitting in close proximity, huddling up for scary stories at home, sleeping in the same bed at slumber parties, and sharing towels are some other situations that can lead to lice transmission. Let them know that shared items like brushes and hats can also facilitate a head lice infestation. Inform older children on how to spot lice. While you can’t completely prevent lice transmission, it’s important that your child is aware of the causes of lice infestations and knows that it isn’t something to be ashamed of or feel guilty about. As parents, be cautious of kids who scratch their heads constantly, and follow up with the child’s caregivers or the school nurse. Additionally, check your child’s hair for several weeks after the lice treatment, and periodically after that.

Reach Out To Lice Specialists In Port Washington, NY, Today!

Client and employee safety is our top priority at Lice Troopers, which is why we stay true to our promise of adhering to rigorous cleaning and disinfecting standards at our lice salon in Port Washington, NY. Our lice treatment center offers a wide range of professional lice removal services with 100% satisfaction guaranteed! What’s more, our online store has everything you need to keep those critters at bay, ranging from lice treatment home kits to home cleaning products and lice repellents. Get in touch with us at (516) 213-4540 to learn more about our lice treatment services today.