Lice affects close to ten million North Americans each year. Children between the ages of four and sixteen are particularly likely to get the infection. Lice is not always easy to detect. The only major symptom is extreme itchiness. Fortunately, the infection doesn’t spread infectious disease. It is highly contagious when in close contact with others. Sharing items such as coats, hats, hair brushes and towels or sitting or lying on anything that has been contaminated will transmit the infection. They are most often found attached to hair shafts around the back of the neck and above the ears. Conventional lice treatments include the insecticides: permethrin, lindane, pyrethrin and malathion.

Over the counter shampoo treatments contain toxic ingredients that absorb into the bloodstream and can cause a variety of serious health conditions. Several deaths have been caused by unsuspecting parents trying to rid their children of the infection. Children are particularly vulnerable to the toxic effects of these treatments because of their developing organs and lower body weight. Another drawback with these treatments is that lice has built up a resistance to them and they are not nearly as effective as they once were. Healthy and effective treatment is essential to prevent lice from reoccurring.

Effective natural treatments for lice include essential oils such as cinnamon leaf, lavender, geranium, eucalyptus, anise seed, sassafras, oregano, thyme, nutmeg and tea tree oil. Tea tree oil has powerful antibacterial and anti-fungal properties. Because of its complex chemical composition, infectious organisms such as lice have a difficult time building up a resistance to it. Research has shown that tea tree oil has the ability to attack mature lice and dislodge them from the scalp. Most of the lice will die after the first application.

To make an effective treatment add thirty drops of one hundred percent pure tea tree oil to the recommended amount of tea tree shampoo. Massage into the scalp and leave for about five minutes and then rinse. Keep a close eye on your scalp for the next week or so to make sure all lice is gone. If even one egg remains repeat the procedure again.

Your local health store will contain several types of lice killing kits containing many of the ingredients mentioned. Whatever method you use to get rid of lice, it is important to make sure you wash everything that has been contaminated. Add about twenty drops of tea tree oil to the laundry wash. When drying the clothes, set the machine on the hottest setting. If items cannot be washed place them in a bag for a couple of weeks before using again. To make sure all lice has been removed from your home do a thorough vacuuming and cleaning.