Permethrin (Nix). Permethrin is a synthetic version of pyrethrin, which is a chemical compound extracted from the chrysanthemum flower. Permethrin is toxic to lice. Before using permethrin, wash your child's hair with shampoo but not conditioner.
Washing, soaking, or drying items at a temperature greater than 130°F can kill both head lice and nits.
Lice and nits can be removed by wet combing. You can buy a special fine-toothed comb (detection comb) online or from pharmacies to remove head lice and nits. There may be instructions on the pack, but usually you: wash hair with ordinary shampoo.
Hair straighteners won't kill the nits on your hair shafts. Even if the high heat does kill any adult lice or nymphs (young lice) that might be on your scalp—which isn't guaranteed—it won't kill the eggs (nits).
for 1 to II hours, and no contact between the lice and insecticide was allowed to take place. The vapours of methylated spirits (and any insecticide containing methyl- ated spirits) and tar oil were effective as insecticides.
Disinfectants are known for killing germs and bacteria. However, they are not an effective or safe treatment when it comes to killing lice and nits.
HAND SANITIZER "STUNS" LIVE LICE FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME MAKING IT EASY TO BE REMOVED WITH NIT COMB. HAND SANITIZER WILL DISSOLVE THE "GLUE" THAT HOLDS NITS TO THE HAIR MAKING THEM EASY TO REMOVE WITH A NIT COMB. HAND SANITIZER CAN BE USED DAILY.
Heat Method:
There are recent studies that show that treatment of lice with heat can be quite effective in killing head lice. Products such as Lousebuster are very effective but even a home hairdryer can successfully treat lice.
Hair gels, hairspray, oils or other non-medicated products do not kill lice or their eggs. Cutting your child's hair or shaving their head to get rid of lice won't keep them away. Lice stick to short and just “grown in” hair too.
Can vinegar kill lice eggs? Vinegar is one of the classic home remedies for lice. However, if you are trying to find out how to get rid of nits using vinegar, you should know that using vinegar to kill nits or lice eggs is totally ineffective. Vinegar has no negative effect on the lice eggs.
Sometimes it will be easier to remove the nits if you wet the hair with white vinegar while you are combing the nits out. Vinegar helps loosen the "glue" that holds the nits to the hair. Separate and comb small sections of hair at a time.
Dimeticone 4% liquid gel found to kill all lice and eggs with a single 15 minute application.
Lotions and sprays for head lice and nits
There are several different products that can be applied to the scalp and hair to kill head lice, including: dimeticone 4% lotion or lotion spray – applied and left for 8 hours (usually overnight) dimeticone 4% spray gel – applied and left for 15 minutes.
First off, here's what not to do: don't shave your or your child's head, or coat it with petroleum jelly or mayonnaise or anything else designed to "suffocate" the parasite. You'll probably end up with greasy, smelly, lice-infested hair.
Coconut, tea tree oil, lavender, eucalyptus, rosemary, lemon grass, and peppermint are scents popularly believed to repel lice. Using any coconut scented shampoo and conditioner is an easy way to increase your defense. At 1% concentration, tea tree oil killed 100% of head lice after 30 minutes.
Permethrin lotion, 1%;
Permethrin lotion 1% is approved by the FDA for the treatment of head lice. Permethrin is safe and effective when used as directed. Permethrin kills live lice but not unhatched eggs. Permethrin may continue to kill newly hatched lice for several days after treatment.
Kill head lice by washing infested articles in hot water (at least 140°F) and drying in a hot dryer. Items that cannot be laundered such as headgear, earphones, and bike helmets, can be placed in a plastic bag and put in a freezer. If the freezer is 5°F or lower, all lice and eggs should be dead within 10 hours.
Simply washing the items in hot water and drying them at a high temperature should get rid of the critters. The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is easily killed by temperatures above 122 degrees Fahrenheit, and the typical residential hot water temperature is about 130 degrees.
Left untreated, head lice can lead to secondary infections, which can be serious. Bacterial infections, such as impetigo, can occur when scratched bites become infected; this can have serious consequences if not treated properly.
Listerine contains alcohol that kills lice. Applying a dilute vinegar solution afterward can loosen the glue that holds nits to the hair shaft and make them easier to remove. Lice also could be smothered with coconut oil.
Listerine is considered the most effective home remedy for head lice because it contains alcohol (26.9%), eucalyptol, thymol, menthol, and methyl salicylate, which are probably toxic to lice.
Can someone have nits but no lice? It may be possible to have nits but no lice. If a person cannot find any nymphs or adult lice in the scalp and the nits are more than a quarter of an inch from the scalp, these may be dead and from an old infestation.