Should i use rid or nix

They have not been proven to be effective and may be hard to wash out of the hair. The doctor may order a prescription lice medicine if the over the counter medicine does not work. A prescription medicine might be needed for treating lice in a very young child. These medicines have chemicals that are different than the over-the-counter medicines. The directions for using them may be different. Some may require only one treatment. They often cost more and may not be covered by insurance.

Malathion has flammable ingredients that could set the hair on fire. Machine-wash in hot, soapy water then dry. Use the hot cycle of a dryer for at least 20 minutes. Wash all washable clothing including hats, scarves and coats and all bed linens, towels and washcloths that have had contact with your child in the past 3 days. Vacuum all carpets and furniture, including beds.

This will remove any hairs that might have nits attached that are still alive. Do not spray insecticides on carpet and furniture nor hire a pest control company to treat your home. It is not necessary and could expose children to harmful chemicals. Pillows, stuffed animals, clothing and other things that cannot be washed may be dry-cleaned.

Or you can put them in a tightly-sealed plastic bag for 3 days Picture 1. Any nits or lice on these things will die in 2 days.

Check the hair and scalp of all family members every 2 to 3 days by combing the hair until no live lice are found for 10 days. It is not necessary to treat anyone unless they have lice. Treatment that is not needed increases resistance to the lice medicine.

Tell parents of your child's closest friends that their children may also have lice since the children play together. Tell the school nurse at your child's school. The nurse can check other children for nits and make sure they're treated too. In some schools a child cannot return until he or she has received one treatment and is checked for live lice by the school nurse. If live lice are found, the nurse will send the child home.

Check your child's hair often during the school year, especially when the school tells parents there is a lice problem. Skip to Content. Urgent Care. In This Section. Conditions We Treat Head Lice. How to Get Lice Lice are usually spread from child to child when sharing clothing, hats, scarves, combs, brushes, hair trims or helmets that have strands of hair with nits.

Life Cycle of Lice Lice spend their entire life on human heads. Treatment There are no over-the-counter or prescription treatments that totally kill both lice and nits. A combination of approaches is needed: Using over the counter or prescription lice medicine Removing nits with a nit comb and by hand, the single most important treatment! Environmental control, vacuuming and washing Regular head checks followed by less frequent head checks to detect re-infestation Checking others who have close contact with someone who has lice Treatment with Lice Medicine and Removing Nits Head lice shampoo is an insecticide.

Follow these steps for most lice medicine: Read the label to be sure how long the medicine should be left on the hair and how it should be washed out. Wash your hands carefully. Be sure to scrub under your fingernails. After Treating with Lice Medicine Have your child put on clean clothing after every lice treatment. Check for lice again in 8 to 12 hours.

Use the nit comb to remove dead lice and nits. If some are still present but moving slowly, do not shampoo again. Do not use conditioner for 10 days after any treatment. Over-The-Counter Medicines There are two types of medicine that you can buy without a prescription.

Prescription Medicine The doctor may order a prescription lice medicine if the over the counter medicine does not work. Consider it one of the easiest ways to protect your kids and yourself when everyone returns to school, as well as during the inevitable lice outbreak.

The ideal first line of defense in getting rid of lice is an insect-eradicating treatment like RID Lice Killing Shampoo paired with a high-quality comb like the Nit Free Terminator Comb.

Instant Head Lice Treatment. Regardless, you need a good lice-removing comb and patience for the manual removal of louse, nymphs, and nits. Prescription treatment benzyl alcohol works by smothering the lice.

Different products both over-the-counter and prescription have different ways of killing the lice based on the mechanism of action of the product.

Many treatments need to be reapplied in seven days due to the life cycle of nit to louse. In addition to medication, combing the hair with a fine-tooth comb every three to four days for several weeks may clear the infection, but studies show it may not be as effective as the medications. This may be because of the mode of transmission direct contact or possibly sharing hats.

There is no difference in the mechanism of treatment for adults and children, but adults may need more product due to larger head sizes. We also have more safety concerns with younger children who may absorb more product relative to their size.

In some communities, lice are becoming resistant to that treatment. If a prescription is needed, I prefer benzyl alcohol or spinosad. Malathion is also a commonly prescribed medication, but it smells bad and may be flammable. It is also important to follow the directions for the specific product because they are applied for differing amounts of time, and some are applied on wet hair while others are applied on dry hair.

When blood vessels get warm, they get bigger and increase absorption through the skin. Rinsing over a sink rather than a shower or bath also lessens contact with other skin.

Many products are irritating to the eyes, so care should be used not to rinse it into the eyes. Manual vs. It is important to read the contraindications for any product to check for age restrictions or other vulnerable populations like pregnant women and for allergies.

Most over-the-counter and prescription lice treatments are safe if the directions are followed appropriately. However, many people do not follow directions. For example, when the product label says to leave it in the hair for one hour, some people rinse it out after 10 minutes. Most combs that are supplied with a treatment kit are not effective. We use and recommend the Nit Free Terminator Comb. For any person that is concerned about any ingredient in a product, it is possible to have a successful treatment using an inert product, such as a conditioner, olive oil, or coconut oil combined with the Nit Free Terminator Comb.

Combing manual or mechanical removal is also a treatment method on its own. Washing all bedding, sheets, and towels in hot water for at least 30 minutes is also important in the treatment and prevention of reinfestation. Items that cannot be washed can be placed in a Ziploc bag for more than one week as lice cannot survive without blood from a human for longer than 48 hrs. Wash all surfaces.

Any other siblings and adults should be treated also if live lice are visualized in the scalp. Also important to note, the removal of nits must be done on a daily basis manually after topical treatments. It is very important to make sure patients are aware of side effects and age recommendations of certain treatment methods.

All treatment options work similarly but can have more side effects in younger-age children. It is very important to comb wet hair with a fine-toothed comb, removing all nits. If one nit survives, reinfestation can occur. Treatment of all family members in the home, and washing all sheets, towels, and bedding at the same time of treatment is important. If the first treatment fails, I recommend Sklice or Ovide therapy prescription options. It is important to discuss with your primary medical provider all concerns relating to the safety and efficacy of different treatments of lice.

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We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification. I Accept Show Purposes. Skin Health. By Alena Hall. Nits lice eggs cannot pass on lice. Nits are attached to the child's hair. Lice cannot jump or fly. They can only crawl. Lice are only passed to others by close head-to-head contact. Even then the risk is low. Lice are rarely passed to others by sharing caps or combs. Sleepovers and sleeping together only has a small risk. Bed-sharing is the only reason the AAP recommends treating after exposure.

Most often, the spread of lice to others occurs at home, not school. Bellevue Everett Federal Way Seattle. Should your child see a doctor?

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