When I talk with families that have gone through a cycle of head lice in the home, they always want to know what they can do to keep it from happening again. Questions like, "Should I shampoo with tea-tree oil?" "Should I spray my furniture?" "Should I ban my child from having sleepovers?"I think people should forget about "treatments" for head lice prevention. Claims about various natural repellents have not been sufficiently proven as effective or even safe and they are certainly not regulated. In my travels, I have seen many a case of head lice where the family used rinses and sprays as prevention but still found themselves with active cases of head lice. These so-called preventative treatments are costly. Spending tons of money, changing our household routines in significant ways, or limiting the activities of our children only gives more power to the head lice paranoia and does little or nothing to actually protect us.
What do I do with my own family to keep head lice at bay? Once a week, my kids and I