The manual method. We must act with determination. We take a metal lice comb, with fine and tight teeth, it is essential to remove lice and nits, and we comb very carefully and every day the hair, dry or wet. We check the heads of the whole family with a fine-toothed comb once a week over a sink, and if we find any critters, we treat on the weekend.
How do you choose your lice product? We opt for those of the latest generation, based on dimeticone or containing oxyphthirine, which stick the lice. We therefore ask the pharmacist for a formula containing these molecules. We carefully check that the product is compatible with the age of the child, some should not be used before 3 years. If Lea's hair reaches her shoulders, we do not hesitate to pour half a bottle of lotion in order to cover all the hair well. It is also better to buy products that kill lice and nits in a single application.
Repellents are ok! There are grandmother's recipes, including lavender essential oil, on the temples and behind the ears, vinegar on the scalp... their scientific effectiveness has not been demonstrated. Manufacturers also offer preventive treatment shampoos and repellent lotions – most of them ineffective – that should be applied daily to obtain a result.
Thanks to Catherine COMBESCOT-LANG, Lecturer, U.F.R. Pharmaceutical Sciences in TOURS, and manager of S. O. S Poux, 02 47 36 71 68, on which she answers your (short) questions.
