You would have thought that with all the modern treatments we have today we could get rid of lice completely.
Unfortunately that isn't the case.
But by exploring some simple solutions and learning how to use head lice combs we can be ready when these little itchy pests try to set up home on one of our family members.
"Nitty Nora The Bug Explorer" The struggle to control head lice has been an ongoing battle for thousands of parents worldwide for many years.
I remember quite vividly as a child, the buzz that went around the school when the nit nurse was doing her rounds.
We'd all queue outside the nurse's office in groups of 10 or 15 waiting for our name to be called out.
When it was our turn we'd trudge inside and stand there while she rummaged through our hair looking any signs of alien life.
If she did find anyone with nits, it shot around the school like wildfire.
The poor unfortunate victim was then treated like a leper and doomed to be thought of as "a dirty unhygienic person who never washed their hair" for the rest of their time at school! Some Lice Facts The thought that lice only infest unhygienic people is still something that many misinformed parents still choose to believe.
The fact is lice don't care if you are clean or dirty.
All they are looking for in a host is somewhere warm to live.
They survive on tiny amounts of blood which they extract by biting you.
The saliva which is left behind reacts with the surface of your scalp which causes an itchy sensation.
These initial tell tale signs that you actually have lice, can be strangely welcome, because if you can recognize the problem early enough it can be much easier to deal with.
Potential Health Risks And Less Effective The traditional "go to" method of lice removal is either an over the counter lice treatment in the form of a cream or pesticide shampoo or prescription solution as recommended by your doctor.
But these unwelcome little creatures are getting wise to these methods and over the years they have built up a resistance to many of them.
There have also been reports that some of the chemically based formulas are showing signs of potential future health hazards.
There is a simple solution to avoiding unnecessary chemicals and that is to check out some of the more "user friendly" home based natural remedies.
There are many weird and wonderful ideas to try, but the plain truth is many of them actually do work.
Warm Olive oil is ideal to smother the hair and asphyxiate the lice.
A simple ingredient like vinegar has acidic properties that can dissolve the glue that sticks nits to the hair shaft making them much easier to remove.
Lavender oil mixed with a little essential oils is ideal to dab behind your ear and on the back of the neck.
This is great to keep lice away as they hate the smell of lavender.
Avoiding a re-infestation Where many people go wrong, is they forget to follow the treatment through to the end correctly.
Destroying the live lice with whatever method you choose is only part 1.
If they have been on your head for a few days that is ample time for them to lay eggs or "nits" as they are also known.
If these are left to hatch you could have lots of these itchy little parasites running around your scalp.
The use of head lice combs has been proven to prevent re-infestation and therefore is something you should use as the final step.
It doesn't really get much more basic than using a lice comb.
After you have used a head lice treatment and while the hair is still damp you need to separate the hair into 3 to 4 cm sections and comb through from root to tip thoroughly.
After each pass of the comb you should wipe it clean onto a tissue to clear any lice or nits that you have caught.
This process will need to be repeated every 2 to 3 days over a period of around 3 weeks to make sure you don't miss any un-hatched eggs.
You need to be aware that is a time intensive procedure and you must be extremely thorough as to avoid an unexpected re-infestation.