Cranberry against lice is a method that gets rid of lice without harm to health. This remedy is easy to prepare at home from a few handfuls of berries. At the same time, you won’t have to spend money on expensive medications and damage your hair with toxic substances. Most patients report good results from this method.
Composition and properties
Lice are highly fertile, laying up to five eggs at a time. They cause a lot of discomfort and carry some diseases. Therefore, everyone who has encountered this problem is trying to get rid of it by any means. Among them is cranberry juice. Under its influence, not only adults die, but also their eggs.
The acidity level of cranberries is detrimental to nits, but the condition of the skin and hair does not worsen. Therefore, this method is considered quite safe and fast-acting.
This effect of cranberries is due to the presence of a large amount of acids in the composition. They help relieve inflammation, eliminate fungi and bacteria, and also have antioxidant properties. They can corrode organic matter, which is why cranberries are used for head lice.
Compound
Lice are very prolific, one individual lays 4-5 eggs (nits) daily. The eggs are attached to the hair, at a distance of about 1 centimeter from the roots. You can find out more about how quickly lice reproduce on our website.
Cranberry juice does more than just treat adult lice. It is capable of eating away eggs laid by lice. Nits are unable to withstand the level of acid contained in cranberries. This leads to the death of the larvae. At the same time, it does not have a negative effect on human skin and hair. This method is not only effective, but also quite safe.
By the way, about acid. Cranberries are rich in acids:
- lemon;
- benzoin;
- chlorogenic;
- cinchona;
- ascorbic acid;
- oleic;
- sorrel;
- apple;
- amber.
They have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, and antibacterial effects. In addition, these acids are capable of dissolving substances and corroding organic compounds. This feature is the main reason why cranberries are so effective in combating lice and larvae.
Advantages and disadvantages of the method
Doctors say that cranberry is not suitable as the only remedy for the treatment of head lice. Although this disease is safe, it causes a lot of trouble, so due to poor treatment, it will progress and drag on for a long time. Therefore, it is quite difficult to cope with parasites without special drugs.
The juice of the berries has an aggressive effect on adults. But to achieve good results you will have to take a long course. Cranberry is most effective against larvae. It helps to achieve the destruction of nits in just a few applications.
Expert opinion
Semenova Victoria Viktorovna
Doctor of the Sanitary Epidemiological Station. Moscow
Doctors believe that cranberry juice is one of the most effective remedies for head lice. It helps to cope with the problem better than other natural remedies.
Among the disadvantages is the fact that to achieve good results you will need a lot of berries. It is not the shell that is used, but the juice itself. Therefore, to treat the head once, you will have to use a large amount of cranberries.
When not to use
Cranberry for lice and nits is not suitable as a treatment if there is an individual intolerance to the body.
Treatment should be carried out with caution if the scalp is too sensitive, as irritation will occur. This treatment is well tolerated by adults and children. In rare cases, it leads to allergic reactions. If rashes, redness, or itching appear, you should stop the procedure and visit a doctor to prescribe another remedy for lice.
Where can I buy
According to patient reviews, cranberries can remove lice within a week. How much such therapy will cost depends on the length of the strands, since they need to be completely treated. In general, one procedure will require juice from one hundred grams of berries.
The procedure is carried out once a day, so a full course will require about a kilogram of berries.
The price of cranberries differs in different cities. On average, in Russia you can buy berries for an amount in the range of 130-165 rubles per kilogram. This cost of treatment is quite reasonable, considering that one bottle of anti-lice medication costs about 500 rubles.
Uses of cranberry juice
It is necessary to squeeze the juice from fresh berries and then strain it from their remains. To treat shoulder-length hair, you will need approximately 100 grams of berries. Using a sponge or gauze cloth, generously lubricate the entire length of the hair, carefully making sure there are no dry, untreated areas. Let the juice sit on your hair for 1-1.5 hours under a shower cap. When finished, remove the cap, rinse your hair with water and immediately begin thoroughly combing out nits and lice with a fine-toothed comb. You can take a closer look at this comb. Our service specialists use it. After combing, rinse your hair with shampoo. This treatment must be carried out every other day for 10 days.
Methods of application
To carry out the treatment procedure, use fresh cranberries.
To obtain more juice, the berries are first placed in an airtight container in the freezer. When exposed to low temperatures, the berries burst. After some time, take out the cranberries and let them melt. As the years defrost, they will begin to release large amounts of juice. You can also place fresh berries in cheesecloth and squeeze. A juicer is also used for the same purposes. Preparation of the medicine involves squeezing the juice. No other components are added to the medicine.
It is important to determine the amount of juice depending on the length of the hair, since all strands need to be treated completely from roots to ends.
After preparation, use cranberry juice for lice and nits as follows:
- First, the hair is cleansed of impurities using shampoo.
- After washing, you need to dry your hair a little.
- A certain amount of berry juice is applied to the hair affected by parasites.
- The hair is collected and covered with polyethylene and a towel to keep it warm. Periodically knead the strands.
- Keep the product for twenty minutes, after which you thoroughly rinse your hair with running water and shampoo and dry it with a towel.
- Comb each strand thoroughly with a special fine-tooth comb. This procedure should be given more attention, since it is very important to comb out all insect eggs. Otherwise, new parasites will hatch in a few days. This method is used regardless of the method of treating head lice.
Folk remedies
Humanity has been fighting lice for a long time. At home, all kinds of products with strong odors are used to repel insects and kill them. Some of the folk remedies are very effective.
Kerosene
The most effective folk remedy that really allows you to get rid of nits and adults in one use. This product should be used with extreme caution. It is toxic, can burn mucous membranes and skin, and ignite. Kerosene is diluted with oil in a ratio of 1:10 and applied to dry scalp, put on a plastic cap, wrap in a towel and leave for several hours or overnight. During this time, the lice die, the nits peel off from the hair and also die. After the procedure, you will have to wash your hair several times to wash out this “mask” and all the dead parasites. This method is very bad for the hair and scalp. Under no circumstances should you remove lice from children in this way.
Tar soap
For some reason it is considered a remedy against hair parasites, but in fact it has no effect on them. It is safe, dries the scalp irritated by bites, disinfects wounds, and can be used for medical purposes. It can act on lice only as a repellent, for preventive purposes.
Essential oils
Most often, tea tree oil is used to treat head lice, as well as lavender, rosemary, wild rosemary, wormwood, and mint. These oils are added to shampoo and hair masks. Due to their pungent odor, they repel insects. After all manipulations, you must comb your hair thoroughly. The disadvantage of this method is its low efficiency. It does not kill all parasites; you will have to carry out many procedures to get rid of them all. It is not possible to remove lice in one day and forever with the help of oils. But it’s worth adding essential oils to your hair care if a person works in an unfavorable environment – where the risk of getting lice is higher.
Vinegar
Vinegar rinses and wraps help remove nits from the base of the hair. Lice eggs cling very tightly to the hairs; it is very difficult to remove them even by carefully combing them with a fine comb. Vinegar breaks down the sticky substance, which will help get rid of nits faster. There is no point in using vinegar against adults and nymphs.
Hellebore
This is a herb that contains an alkaloid that is harmful to lice. A decoction or tincture is made from it. Hellebore water with the herb mashed in it is applied to the hair, left for a couple of hours, then the hair is thoroughly washed. Attention: you cannot use this method of removing lice and nits if there are wounds on the scalp. Especially in children, this causes allergic reactions and severe irritation.
Lemon, cranberry, pomegranate
These acidic foods kill insects and their eggs, but their effect is not very strong. You will have to carry out several procedures over a long period of time to get rid of lice.
Reviews about the application
Reviews of cranberry juice for lice and nits are mostly positive. Most people find this option suitable for treatment due to its effectiveness and low cost. But good results can be achieved only after 7-10 procedures.
Cranberry for nits is considered one of the best methods available for controlling parasites. It has a small number of contraindications and rarely leads to adverse reactions. The positive aspects of this option include the affordable cost of treatment.
But it is worth remembering that before using any methods you should talk to your doctor.
Pediculosis does not pose a threat to the health of the patient, but it can cause a lot of discomfort, so people try to fight it with all available means.
Cranberry juice for lice: when and how to use
Oddly enough, the problem of lice has recently become relevant for residents of large cities. If such a nuisance has happened to you or your family, do not be upset, now there are many remedies that help get rid of uninvited guests, and even if you are allergic to medications, there is an excellent natural remedy - cranberry juice for lice.
It is a mistake to think that only disadvantaged people face this problem. In a modern city, getting infected with lice is as easy as catching a cold; you just need to travel a couple of stations in a subway car or spend the night in a hotel.
What about children's summer camps?! Very often children bring similar “gifts” from them for their parents. In this case, the best way to get rid of head lice is treatment with cranberry juice.
Although this is a more labor-intensive method, you can be sure that you will not harm your child. Despite the level of modern civilization, lice, as in ancient times, are not averse to drinking our blood. We are still trying to fight them, but have not yet finally solved this problem.
In the old days, the main weapon against this scourge was shaving the head and various folk remedies against lice, cranberry juice, vinegar, even kerosene and dichlorvos. These methods still help many people today, competing in effectiveness, and sometimes even in harmfulness, with pharmaceutical drugs.
In any case, if the question arises of how to get rid of lice, cranberry juice has the least impact on the hair and scalp, and it is also non-toxic, which is important.
Causes of lice
Pediculosis is caused by parasites - head, body or pubic louse. Accordingly, pediculosis is distinguished between cephalic, pubic and body lice; mixed types are also possible.
A person’s cleanliness is not at all important here; moreover, experts say that lice prefer cleanliness; they are easier to bite, since frequent washing of hair thins the skin on the head. There is a hypothesis that lice infect people with weakened immune systems by “calculating” them by smell.
