Two Home Treatments For Lice That Do Not Work And Why
Lice treatment has had to keep up with the way that lice have evolved. One of the first treatments for lice used to be kerosene, but that was quite dangerous for people who lived by lamp, candle and fireplace light, to be sure. After some time, kerosene was proven ineffectual for lice and too dangerous to humans, so medical science had to catch up. Then people wanted all-natural home remedies for lice, but many of those do not work anymore, or they never really worked to begin with. Here are two home treatments for lice that do not work, why they do not work, and a good argument for sticking to what your pharmacist or doctor recommends.
Vinegar
This is, by far, one of the more ridiculous of treatments for lice. Sure, vinegar is bitter, but it cannot kill lice, nor can it deter them from biting. More to the point, it will not cause lice to release their sticky grip on the shafts of your hair and it has no effect on the nits (eggs) whatsoever, meaning you would have to wander around with your head soaked and wrapped in vinegar bandannas for months with no real relief. Some people also falsely assume that drinking a lot of vinegar will cause your blood to be very distasteful to these pests, but lice are not picky and will consume a blood meal however and wherever they can get it.
Mayonnaise
While mayo may actually be a very good conditioner for hair (it contains protein from eggs and vegetable oil for moisture), it it not a good retardant or lice killer. The idea is that you mayo up your whole head, then wrap it in plastic wrap and a towel or large bandanna for several hours, thereby suffocating the lice. Unfortunately, lice are able to wait for you to get impatient and rinse out the mayo, since they are arthropods and have an exoskeleton with spiracles through which they breathe.
They can close the spiracles off and wait for quite some time, and you make it easier for them to hang on to your oily head by wrapping it with plastic wrap and a towel. In the end, all you are really doing is causing your head to heat up, which opens pores, dilates blood vessels, and provides an easier way for lice to feed. Just leave the mayo in the fridge and use what the doctor ordered instead. Click here to learn more about effective lice treatment.
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