If you get a letter from your child's school nurse that someone at school has lice, you might be concerned; finding the crawling bugs in your child's hair may cause you to panic. You are likely to want to get rid of the lice as soon as possible, but if you can't run out to the store for a lice hair product what do you do? Here are some ideas.

Use a Fine-Toothed Comb to Pick Them Out

Before doing anything else, you might want to sit your child down and pick through their hair to remove living lice. This may sound absolutely disgusting, but doing this can prevent additional eggs, or nits, from being laid. If weather permits, you may want to do this outdoors so that you don't have to worry about combing lice out of your child's hair just to have them sit on your couch or floor.

Have your child sit down and separate a small square section of hair from the rest of their hair. Using a fine-toothed comb where the teeth are close together, comb very close to the scalp and look tiny, living bugs. You should be able to comb them out. Remove any that you see, either putting them into a small jar or plastic bag, and then move to another square section. This process can be time-consuming but effective. The comb may also remove some nits, but sometimes they can be stubborn because they are attached to the hair strand and you may need to take other steps.

Mayonnaise

After combing out the living bugs, you've still got the nits to deal with, as they can hatch. To suffocate any hatching lice, you can use any heavy oil on your child's hair. One oil-containing substance that can be effective for this purpose that you're likely to have right now is mayonnaise. This may seem silly, but putting it on your child's scalp and hair, and putting a plastic or shower cap on your child might stop new lice from thriving. Leave their hair under that cap overnight and wash it the next morning. Coconut oil or baby oil may also work without being as messy as mayonnaise, if you have them.

With this information, you are more aware of how to handle lice in your child's hair. Remember to clean bedding, stuffed animals, and other materials so that your child doesn't end up with the problem again. For further assistance, contact local lice treatment professionals.