Report: Insecticide-based lotions (page 8 of 28)
Rubbing insecticides onto the scalp poses obvious dangers. Which is why health professionals stress they should only be used if a live louse has been found.
And then only on the person effected – not on friends or other family members. And definitely not on infants under six months old, or women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
These insecticidal treatments are available as lotions, liquids or cream rinses.
The most powerful are alcohol-based lotions (also available as mousses), but these aren’t suitable for everyone – particularly those with severe allergies, eczema or asthma.
Liquids and cream rinses are water-based, and recommended for young children, as well as adults with allergies.
All the preparations are rubbed in and left for anything between 10 minutes to 12 hours, depending on the product, before being rinsed out.
This is designed to kill the lice, but may not penetrate and destroy the eggs. So the process will need to be repeated a week later to kill any that have hatched since the first treatment.
