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HandWiki. Treatment of Human Head Lice. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/30374 (accessed on 24 September 2026).
HandWiki. Treatment of Human Head Lice. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/30374. Accessed September 24, 2026.
HandWiki. "Treatment of Human Head Lice" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/30374 (accessed September 24, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, October 20). Treatment of Human Head Lice. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/30374
HandWiki. "Treatment of Human Head Lice." Encyclopedia. Web. 20 October, 2022.
Treatment of Human Head Lice
Edit

The treatment of human head lice infestation is a process for removing head lice parasites from human hair and it has been debated and studied for centuries. However, the number of cases of human louse infestations (or pediculosis) has increased worldwide since the mid-1960s, reaching hundreds of millions annually. There is no product or method which assures 100% destruction of the eggs and hatched lice after a single treatment. However, there are a number of treatment modalities that can be employed with varying degrees of success. These methods include chemical treatments, natural products, combs, shaving, hot air, and silicone-based lotions.

pediculosis head lice human hair

References

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  2. Mumcuoglu, Kosta (2006). "Effective Treatment of Head Louse with Pediculicides". Journal of Drugs in Dermatology 5 (5): 451–452. PMID 16703782.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16703782
  3. Mumcuoglu, Kosta Y.; Barker, CS; Burgess, IF; Combescot-Lang, C; Dagleish, RC; Larsen, KS; Miller, J; Roberts, RJ et al. (2007). "International Guidelines for Effective Control of Head Louse Infestations". Journal of Drugs in Dermatologist's 6 (4): 409–414. PMID 17668538.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17668538
  4. Henn, Steve (April 9, 2012). "The Key To Keeping Lice At Bay? A Lot Of Hot Air". https://www.npr.org/2012/04/09/150299564/the-key-to-keeping-lice-at-bay-a-lot-of-hot-air. 
  5. Goates, Brad M.; Atkin, Joseph S.; Wilding, Kevin G.; Birch, Kurtis G.; Cottam, Michael R.; Bush, Sarah E.; Clayton, Dale H. (5 November 2006). "An Effective Nonchemical Treatment for Head Lice: A Lot of Hot Air". Pediatrics (American Academy of Pediatrics) 118 (5): 1962–1970. doi:10.1542/peds.2005-1847. PMID 17079567. http://www.zoologia.hu/pediatrics.pdf. Retrieved 2010-08-01.  A number of clinics across the country have popped up in recent years specifically offering the heated air treatment.
  6. "Hot air for head lice" (in en). Archives of Disease in Childhood 92 (3): 241–241. 2007-03-01. doi:10.1136/adc.2006.113431.  http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=2083419
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  15. Jacobi, Tillmann (22 September 2011). "The Basics – The management of head lice". GP: 38. http://www.gponline.com/Clinical/article/1092178/Basics---management-head-lice/. "All in all, the evidence for alternative treatments, such as tea tree oil and neem seed oil, remains weak.". 
  16. "Tea tree oil". Medline Plus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine from the National Institutes of Health. 27 July 2012. https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/patient-teatreeoil.html. 
  17. Eisenhower, Christine; Farrington, Elizabeth Anne (2012). "Advancements in the Treatment of Head Lice in Pediatrics". Journal of Pediatric Health Care 26 (6): 451–61; quiz 462–4. doi:10.1016/j.pedhc.2012.05.004. PMID 23099312.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.pedhc.2012.05.004
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  20. "CDC – Frequently Asked Questions – Healthy Swimming & Recreational Water – Healthy Water". Cdc.gov. 2012-10-22. https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/swimming/faq/#get_lice. Retrieved 2012-11-22. 
  21. JF Marriott. 2010. Pharmaceutical Compounding and Dispensing. p.77: https://books.google.com/books?id=J5vE3Z_ZXJcC&pg=PA77#v=snippet&q=lice&f=false p.77:"ALCOHOL. After water, this is probably the next most important solvent used pharmaceutically. Although ethanol (ethyl alcohol) is rarely used as a lone solvent for preparations for internal use, it is used in the manufacture of some of the galenicals used in pharmacy (e.g. tinctures, see Chapter 2). In extemporaneous dispensing it is normally used for the production of lotions for external application to unbroken skin. It is particularly useful if rapid evaporation is required (e.g. for insecticidal lotions applied to hair for the treatment of lice)..." Ethanol as an arthropod killing solution, e.g. Szinwelski, N., Fialho, V. S., Yotoko, K. S. C., Seleme, L. R., & Sperber, C. F. (2012). Ethanol fuel improves arthropod capture in pitfall traps and preserves DNA. ZooKeys, (196), 11–22. Advance online publication. http://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.196.3130 "...It has been shown that at concentrations higher than 95%, commercial alcohol preserves DNA (Nagy 2010), but the use of highly concentrated commercial alcohol as a killing solution may be prohibitively expensive when needed in large quantities, such as in large-scale biodiversity sampling. In Brazil, for example, it is illegal to carry large amounts of commercial alcohol on long journeys, which could hinder its use in extensive field expeditions. Here we propose the use of ethanol fuel as a cheaper and logistically feasible alternative..." Sociedad Argentina de Pediatria. Actualización en pediculosis. http://sap.org.ar/docs/publicaciones/pediculosis.pdf: "La cuasia amarga (palo amargo) se extrae de un arbusto que crece en el norte de la Argentina. El principio activo que se extrae de la madera es la cuasina y químicamente es un hidrocarburo soluble en alcohol. Popularmente se lo usa como repelente de piojos y como pediculicida. Es efectiva únicamente en solución alcohólica y no en solución acuosa. Así es tan efectiva como una solución pura de alcohol por lo cual se duda de su efecto pediculicida “per sé” y es irritativa."
  22. "A Simple Treatment for Head Lice: Dry-On, Suffocation-Based Pediculicide". Pediatrics – Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. 2004-09-01. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/114/3/e275.full. 
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  28. Frankowski, Barbara L. (September 2004). "American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines for the prevention and treatment of head lice infestation". The American Journal of Managed Care 10 (9): S269–S272. PMID 15515631. http://www.ajmc.com/article.cfm?ID=2704&CFID=14635274&CFTOKEN=65325173. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  29. National Association of School Nurses (July 2004). "Pediculosis in the School Community: Position Statement". Silver Spring, Maryland: National Association of School Nurses. http://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=237. Retrieved 2008-10-10. 
  30. "The No Nit Policy: A Healthy Standard for Children and their Families". The National Pediculosis Association. 2008. http://www.headlice.org/downloads/nonitpolicy.htm. Retrieved 2008-10-12. 
  31. National Health and Medical Research Council (December 2005) (PDF). Staying Healthy in Child Care: Preventing infectious diseases in child care (4th ed.). Commonwealth of Australia. ISBN 0-642-45631-3. http://www.nhmrc.gov.au/publications/synopses/_files/ch43.pdf. 
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  34. Bacot A (1917). "Contributions to the bionomics of Pediculus humanus (vestimenti) and Pediculus capitis". Parasitology 9 (2): 228–258. doi:10.1017/S0031182000006065.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1017%2FS0031182000006065
  35. Nuttall, George H. F. (1919). "The biology of Pediculus humanus, Supplementary notes". Parasitology 11 (2): 201–221. doi:10.1017/S0031182000004194.  https://dx.doi.org/10.1017%2FS0031182000004194
  36. "Epidemiological studies on head lice infestation in Israel. I. Parasitological examination of children". International Journal of Dermatology 29 (7): 502–6. September 1990. doi:10.1111/j.1365-4362.1990.tb04845.x. PMID 2228380. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-4362.1990.tb04845.x. 
  37. Buxton, Patrick A. (1947). "The biology of Pediculus humanus". The Louse; an account of the lice which infest man, their medical importance and control (2nd ed.). London: Edward Arnold. pp. 24–72. 
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