subject: The Wonder of Vinegar - Its Effect on Nits and Lice [print this page] The Wonder of Vinegar - Its Effect on Nits and Lice
When your child starts scratching his/her head and complains that it itches, you might be dealing with head lice. Nits and lice are so common with children because of the level of interaction they have with their peers and playmates. They get too much exposure to this certain pest that infestation is inevitable. Head lice are very contagious. Just by merely sharing combs, towels, and other personal effects with a person that has lice, you are posing yourself to the risk of contracting the pest. Lice and their eggs (called the nits) can also hang on to upholsteries, couches, pillows, mattresses, and clothes. Being in contact with these contaminated items can also put you in a compromising position. On top of it all, lice can survive for several hours away from their source of food so they can easily jump on the next head of hair that comes too close.
When your child gets lice, your entire household can get it as well. The things inside your home that are shared by everyone can be the media for louse transfer. Furniture, pillows, towels, and the like are items where lice can stay and then relocate to the next user's head. Upon detection, it is important that you have your child's lice problem treated immediately. There are several shampoos in your local drug store that are specially formulated to get rid of nits and lice. But know that simple home remedies can actually cure a lice infested head.
One of the most popular home remedies for head lice is vinegar. Hundreds of people have sworn to its successful effect on nits and lice. Not only is vinegar readily available in your kitchen, it is also all natural and safe for continued use. Come to think of it, you do not even have to spend so much money on special shampoos if you have vinegar to do the job. Vinegar is basically a fermented substance from fruits or plants say for example apple cider, palm, grape, cane, coconut, rice, raisin, etc. It is referred to as a "sour wine" and because of the fermentation process its ethanol compound gets converted into acetic acid. Some types of commercial vinegar also contain citric acid from the fruit juices that they are made from.
The acidity of vinegar effectively kills nits and lice. Nits are very stubborn to remove because they are way smaller and finer than lice. To understand the effect of vinegar on nits, it is important to know that nits stick to the hair with a glue-like substance. Soaking or rinsing the hair with vinegar loosens up the bonding element of the glue-like substance and therefore eliminating what will soon hatch as the next generation lice. The acidity of vinegar has a tremendous effect on lice as well. It denaturizes the exoskeleton of the lice especially when you allow the vinegar or a vinegar-based mixture to steep on the hair.
These critters do not readily fall off your child's hair. Grab a nit comb and comb through sections of hair meticulously. Additional vinegar rinses can further improve its effect on nits and lice until such time that these pests are totally eradicated.
