Archive for October, 2007

Lice Information and Remedies for the Bedroom

headlice October 31st, 2007

continued from Lice Help - Removing Lice from Bedroom Furniture

Human hair lice could find their way onto bedding, and survive a few hours – long enough to climb back onto a child’s head. Because of this information about head lice, linens from the bed of the infected person must be washed in boiling water. This would include the pillows, quilts and blankets used by the infected child as well. You do not have to ruin your linens in order to remedy head lice problems.  If the linen cannot be washed, then it should be put into the dryer on high heat for at least 20 minutes. The reason this will help, is because of the factual lice and nits information:  lice and nits cannot survive in heat that is too hot for a human being.
 
If the linen absolutely cannot be put into the dryer, there is another option. The linen should be placed into large garbage type bags, and sealed. Tying the top of the bag with a knot or a twist-tie is a sufficient method for this home lice remedy. The purpose of this, is that in the case that there is a live lice bug on those linens, it will die within 24-48 hours because it has no access to human blood.
 
In the case of stray hairs that may have a nit on them, the fact that they are in a sealed bag is an equally beneficial home remedy for headlice.
 
Normally, on the head, once a nit is laid, it will hatch 7-10 days later. This is the reason that some people recommend bagging the linen for 2 weeks. As discussed in a previous post, lice lay their nits near the scalp because they need human warmth to grow. A newly laid nit will likely not grow and remain viable once the hair is off of the head. A nit that is already close to hatching, can theoretically still hatch. Sealed inside a plastic bag, the nymph, or new baby louse is doomed, since it needs to eat blood right away in order to survive. At Licenders, we have professionally treated thousands of families and been to thousands of homes. Our experience at Licenders, is that bagging these items for 48 hours is sufficient. Specially formulated remedies for home removal of head lice are superfluous.
 
Exaggerating the information about home head lice removal, will not remedy the lice problem! Look for information in future blogs about equally simple remedies for removing lice from articles as clothing, accessories and toys.

Lice Help - Removing Lice from Bedroom Furniture

headlice October 30th, 2007

Licenders' years of treating headlice at home for thousands of clients, puts us in the unique position to offer expert head lice help. When you are dealing with lice, help from our professional experience can keep you from getting overwhelmed.

Previously, we have given guidelines for head lice removal in the main rooms of your house during a "lice epidemic". Now we will guide you in removing head lice from the bedrooms, bathrooms and any personal areas of your home. Rooms that are used for sleeping, dressing, or washing by the adults or children who have head lice in your home, need more care than the other rooms. Once you have taken just a few more steps, you will confidently remove all the lice in those rooms too.

We will start with the bedroom. The first thing to recognize is that human head lice are not bed bugs. Lice are completely different than bedbugs in the way they feed, the way they behave, and their life cycles:

Bedbugs can live for several months without feeding. A louse, on the other hand, will die, usually within 24 hours off of a human head! Lice need to be on a human head in order to thrive. They suck blood a few times in any given day.

Another major difference is that bed bugs hide in mattresses, carpets, behind peeling paint or wallpaper, and in crevices in wooden furniture. Bed bugs lay their eggs in cracks and crevices.

Headlice do not embed themselves into mattresses, quilts, pillows or any other such items. You do not have to worry about removing lice from furniture. Lice cannot lay nits (lice eggs) anyplace off of a human head either. Your furniture cannot be infested with lice!

The lice problem in the bedroom is, that sometimes a louse can crawl off of the infected person, and survive on the pillow or linen for a short amount of time. During that time, it is possible for the louse to crawl back onto the head of a person who was already treated, shampooed, and had the lice removed by combing. This would lead to a lice re-infestation in the child, because if they crawl back on to the head, the lice can feed (suck blood) again, and continue to thrive. If there is a surviving louse on the linens of an infested child, it will find a human head again the next time that child lays down on his bed - if that happens within a few hours, before it dies!

Another consideration is that a sibling who did not previously have any lice and nits, may lie down on his sister’s bed. If there is even one louse on the linen of that bed, it can crawl onto the sibling's head, and it could be missed, because that child was already found to be lice free! In this way the child who did not originally have lice at all, can re-infect his family.

In order for maintain the efforts you put into removing head lice from your kid's head, linens from the infected child must be treated properly to remove any possibility of lice re-infestation. It is not difficult to properly treat bedroom linens if your child has lice. We will explain how to do this correctly.

To be continued.

Lice Extermination for your House (Part 2)

headlice October 25th, 2007

Another lice problem in the house is that people typically shed some hair in places that they rest their heads. Such a hair can have a nit on it. Nits are laid near the scalp because they need human warmth to grow. However, a nit that is a few days old, and closer to hatching may not die even if the hair falls off the person. If the nit hatches when the hair is off of a human being, the nymph, or baby louse is doomed, since it needs to eat blood right away in order to survive. But sometimes, stray hairs “attach” themselves to another person’s head via static electricity. These stray, loose hairs will likely fall off within a few hours or in the shower. There is a chance that in the short amount of time that a stray hair with a nit may “hang” onto another person, the nit can hatch into a baby louse, and start the cycle again on the new child! You can prevent this problem of lice re-infestation.

In an occurrence of lice, removal of stray hairs from places where someone typically rests their head is absolutely necessary.
 
The simplest and safest way to eradicate the problem of lice, or fallen hairs with attached nits, from upholstered furniture, rugs, or car seats is to use a vacuum cleaner. Vacuuming the areas that a child or adult has likely rested their head, will remove the hair from these places.  This makes it impossible for a louse or nit to find its way onto another head, and it will die. Pesticides and other forms of insect extermination are completely unnecessary, and will not remove the hairs. Most pesticides contain chemicals, are dangerous, and do not kill head lice successfully anyway! Paying for "professional head lice home extermination" or anything of the sort, is simply a waste of your money. In just a few minutes in each room, the appropriate surfaces can be vacuumed. Save your time and energy for combing out nits from your kid's head.

Bedrooms, and other personal spaces and items do need more specific attention. We will address those parts of the house in another post in this series.

Easy Lice Extermination for your House (part 1)

headlice October 24th, 2007

Lice extermination in the house is necessary, but there is no need to get overwhelmed. As we said in our previous post, there are things that must be done when you have a headlice problem in your house. It is simple and easy to clean out lice in furniture and main living rooms in your house. In just a few minutes, you can easily treat most of your home for headlice.

The problem is a louse can crawl off of a head onto a pillow, the head rest of a couch, or any other location where a person typically rests their head. Although this is not where head lice thrive, it can happen. The louse will die usually within 24 hours off of a human head. Without human blood it simply can’t live. It cannot lay nits (lice eggs) anyplace off of a head either. In such an instance, it is possible that once it has crawled onto furniture, a louse can crawl back onto a different child’s head in the short time that it is still alive. Despite the fact that this situation seems unlikely, it can happen, and the risk is significant enough to warrant some attention.

to be continued

Lice Removal - Is Your Home Infested?

headlice October 23rd, 2007

Sometimes the reaction to finding out that a child has head lice, causes more distress than the actual lice removal itself. We have had parents call us wanting to know if we provide a lice removal service to clean their home. They feel overwhelmed at the thought of thoroughly removing headlice from their home. Some people think that if a child has lice or nits, their home is “infested”. The term lice home infestation can be used to describe a situation, but it does not describe the house!

A lice infested home, is a description of a family whose members have lice or nits in their hair. The reference is to the people who live in the home, not the home itself! Wood, concrete, sheetrock, or other materials that make up walls, or flooring can not “have lice”. Head lice are human parasites. That means that headlice need human blood to survive. On the head is where lice live, and on the head is where lice lay nits.

To remove head lice from a house, the main thing is to remove the lice and nits from the people. Lice should be removed carefully with a proper lice comb. Head lice removal is time consuming – the nits are glued tightly to the hair, and they don’t come out easily. A professional lice comb should be made specifically to remove nits. The lice comb must be used properly, methodically combing through every single strand of hair to comb out every nit. Licenders provides professional, comprehensive removal of headlice, by treating the infected person with our all-natural lice shampoo, and then thoroughly and methodically, removing the head lice with our professionally designed lice comb. Our clinicians treat clients, removing lice in the comfort of their home, or in our salon in New York City.

That being said, there are certainly things that must be done in a house where one or more family members has caught head lice. Those things are specific and not complicated. We will address some of those things in upcoming posts.

Why My kid?? These are the True Lice Facts (part 2)

headlice October 22nd, 2007

Continued from Why My kid?? Not all Lice Information is true!

We have had very unusual cases, in which some kids do not get head lice, even though their siblings are infested with hundreds of nits or bugs. It is definitely not because those children are cleaner, dirtier, or in any way superior to the other kids. It is unusual, and there is no known reason for this. Our recommendation, based on these facts about lice, is that siblings should be treated for lice anyway (without chemical lice shampoo). In most cases, the fact about headlice is that they spread quickly - by crawling - to any available human head.
 
Despite the erroneous information about lice that has made its way among communities, our professional experience here at Licenders has shown that lice and nits are very happy to set up house in a clean head. Think about it - if you were looking for a hotel, wouldn't you look for a clean one?! Head lice are parasites. To a louse, a human scalp is just like a hotel. Fortunately, with the right products, the right method, and accurate lice information, you can get control of the lice problem and move on!

Headlice facts and information should be based on real, professional experience, not baseless gossip!

Why MY kid?? Not all Lice Information is true! (part 1)

headlice October 18th, 2007

Having your child come home with lice is a very distressing experience. But it should not lead to shame or any feeling of inferiority. People have all sorts of preconceived notions about the causes, and implications of being "diagnosed" with pediculosis. Much of this information about head lice is blatantly false. Other supposed head lice facts are based on a misunderstanding of the actual nature and biology of the human hair louse.

Lice and nits information provided here is based on a powerful resource: our own experience at Licenders. Our clinicians have checked, treated, and combed out many hundreds of girls, boys, women and men of every race, creed and culture. We have had the opportunity to treat lice nits among members of every socioeconomic group. The facts are human hair lice do not discriminate. Anyone and everyone is susceptible to head lice.

to be continued

How Enzyme Shampoos Get Rid of Lice

headlice October 17th, 2007

Using enzymes is a method of how to get rid of head lice, using biology. Licenders shampoo contains enzymes that do the same thing to get rid of lice nits, as enzymes that are produced naturally. In nature, enzymes exist in many different living things, in order to break down their food.

Spiders, scorpions, and other living creatures rely on enzymes to break down the insects that they eat. Even plants that eat insects, like the famous Venus Fly Trap use enzymes to digest the bugs. Bacteria and mold also use enzymes to break down sources of food – often ruining the food in the process.

The enzymes prematurely break down a louse the same way that this happens in nature. The enzymes in Licenders Shampoo break down the shell of the human hair louse, leaving it without protection, and causing it to die. Enzymes digest insects, including head lice, on contact. This is how to get rid of head lice quickly. Most of the lice will die within seconds! Using enzymes, is using a resource found in nature to get rid of headlice effectively.

By using nature to eliminate the lice problem, Licenders’ success rate is much higher than other products out there. Using this natural method of safe lice treatment is more reliable than using the dangerous chemicals and pesticides found in other products.

Treating Lice Without Chemicals - Enzyme Shampoo

headlice October 16th, 2007

At Licenders, we do not use any chemicals for headlice treatment. Instead we use natural enzymes to destroy the lice. Headlice, like other insect species, rely on enzymes to shed their exoskeletons. The exoskeleton is the hard surface that covers the outside of the body of an insect. The exoskeleton does not grow with the insect. Instead, it is shed periodically, and the insect generates a new one. The insect produces an enzyme that splits open its exoskeleton, so the bug can grow. This is called “molting”. 

In the normal cycles of nature, molting is necessary for the survival of an insect species. Enzymes are always the source of the molting process. Obviously insects never become immune to enzymes. If they did, the molting process, a basic biological part of nature would stop - and the entire insect world could become extinct! Therefore, unlike the chemical lice shampoo products out there, you can be sure that human hair lice do not become resistant to Licenders Professional Shampoo. 

When hairlice become resistant to chemicals, the lice shampoo products available in stores stop working, because the louse does not die. You can read about this in a previous article we posted, about chemical lice shampoo problems. At Licenders we want to avoid chemicals in headlice treatment for safety reasons.  Using an enzyme lice treatment is also much more effective!

Enzyme lice shampoos are safe, natural and best of all, IT WORKS!

 

Lice Removal Advice from a Pharmacist

headlice October 15th, 2007

Karen's Mom sent this email to a customer, who forwarded it to us:

It was the first week of the school year. My daughter Karen came home from school With a pink note that said she couldn't return until she was free of head lice.  From the look on her face, I could tell she was shattered.

The fact that Karen was so distressed made me hurt on the inside. Not only did Karen miss school, she fell behind on her school work and became depressed because she couldn't be with her friends. I knew I couldn't let my daughter continue living like she was, so I took action.

I drove to the drug store to find a remedy. While I was there, all the products I saw were full of chemicals and came with warnings. The strangest thing happened while I was there. The pharmacist noticed I needed help and he approached me. He told me that his kids had the same problem a few months ago and how he had success with Licenders Products. His kids returned to school the very next day. Because the lice were gone. The pharmacist explained that Licenders wasn't sold in stores, but was the only head lice product he had tried that worked fast and solved the problem for good.

I was so intrigued by his story that I went online and bought some for my Karen. After the package arrived, I applied the shampoo to Karen’s head and combed out nits until all of the lice and nits were gone.

The next day, Karen returned to school. I followed the maintenance advice from licenders, and today I'm proud to say that she is lice free and happy again.

Licenders Products worked for my daughter and I'm sure it will work for your kids.
To try Licenders Products, go to www.licenders.com

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