Lice infest people of all ages, rich or poor. Lice prefer clean hair because their nits (eggs) stick to cleaner hair much better than oily hair. Beside direct physical contact, using infected person's personal belongings such comb, hair brush, towels, bed linen, etc also spread lice. Children are the most infected with lice than adults.

You know you have lice when you experience intense bouts of itching on the scalp and the back of the neck and soreness on touch. When you see the scalp, area in and around the nape of the neck, you will see small white eggs called nits attached steadfastly to hair shafts. Unlike dandruff, these nits can be bit stubborn; hence pulling them out with fingers can prove to be difficult.

Easy to prevent, but difficult to treat - good hygiene is the most effective prevention of head lice.

-Avoid sharing personal items like combs, brushes, towels, pillows, hats, headwear, etc.

-Avoid head to head contact with any person.

-Trim your hair to a shorter length as lice can not find suitable environment in short hair.

-Do a regular check in and around the nape of the neck, behind the ears and scalp, especially for children.

-If one member of the family is infected with lice, treat all the members of the family at the same time to prevent lice spreading from one head to another.

To get rid of lice, you should get rid of all its nits or eggs. Nits are difficult to kill by any treatment. Since they attach themselves firmly on the hair shafts, they are also bit difficult to be pulled out? Vigorous brushing of your hair 2-3 times a day using a bristle hair brush will knock off most nits. Try using flea combs instead of lice combs for better results. Try some of these home based treatments to cure lice problem

-Mix ? cup olive oil with 2-3 tbsp of tea tree oil. Rub into scalp and leave it on for 30 minutes. Wash your hair to remove the oil. Then rinse your hair with vinegar as it loosens the holding properties of the eggs and nits on your hair. Wait for 10 mins and rinse with hot water. Repeat vinegar rinse twice. Comb your hair using lice or flea comb to remove any remaining nits.

-Mix 4-5 drops of tea tree oil with your daily shampoo and use as usual.

-Warm few tbsp of mayonnaise (depending on who is using it either a child or adult). Slather it on the scalp just like shampoo. Wear a shower cap and sit for 30 minutes. Then wash your hair with normal shampoo. Then use fine toothed comb to get the eggs and bugs out. The oils in the mayonnaise provide lubrication to the hair and scalp, eliminating the ability of the eggs to hold on to the hair shafts. The shower cap cuts off any air flow the eggs needed to remain alive.

-Saturate your hair with olive oil and wear a shower cap with clip leaving it overnight. Brush out your hair using nit/flea/lice comb. Then wash your hair as usual with your shampoo and conditioner. Next take plain white vinegar and rinse your hair with it. Use warm water to remove vinegar. This dissolves the eggs. Repeat the vinegar rinse till needed.

-Completely soak hair with olive oil and wrap it in towel for 1-2 hours. Rinse and wash as usual. Work through your hair with fine tooth comb to remove eggs and lice. Repeat in one week.

-Mix any type of edible oil (vegetable, canola or olive) with vinegar in equal proportion. Add 18-20 drops of tea tree oil. Mix all the 3 ingredients well to get a creamy paste. Apply to damp hair. Massage well onto the scalp and comb through the ends of hair. Wrap a plastic bag around your head for 3 hours or more. Lice and nits will suffocate and slide off easily. Do this at least once a week.

Do not leave the young children unattended if you're covering their heads with plastic bags during any of the above home based treatment - as plastic bags can lead to suffocation.

The reader of this article should exercise all precautions while following instructions on the recipes from this article. Avoid using if you are allergic to something. The responsibility lies with the reader, not the site, and the writer.