Earlier this year, an 18-month-old child died while undergoing a home treatment for head lice involving mayonnaise and a plastic bag. As the child slept, the bag apparently covered her face, suffocating her. (Link: Massachusetts toddler dies during head lice treatment – CBS News) This was an extremely tragic accident, which might have been avoided if there was more factual information readily available about how to effectively treat head lice.

Lice can be very annoying, leading desperate moms to try home treatments such as mayonnaise, vinegar, petroleum jelly, rubbing alcohol and Listerine. All of these home remedies may have some rate of success in killing the lice, but there is no documented evidence that these home remedies are effective at killing the eggs. Some of these home remedies are not only ineffective, but can also be considered unsafe. Some people have even poured kerosene on their child’s head.

It’s time to spread the truth about what works and what doesn’t so the tragic occurrence with the toddler mentioned above never happens again.

Click here for a comparison of lice treatments that have been clinically tested.