Dear friend,
When I started my publishing company back in 1994, it was with the goal of educating consumers about the harms of toxic chemicals in household products. At the time Melaleuca was one of the only companies offering safe options in household cleaning and personal care products. Since then our slogan has been "because educated consumers make healthier choices." Over the years, Melaleuca has continued to be the leader in developing naturally-based household and health-related products. And our mission is still the same -- to help consumers make healthier choices by providing them with timely and relevant information. This newsletter is our latest attempt to help you make healthier choices for your family.
I sincerely hope this information will be helpful to you or someone you know.
Regards,
Richard M. Barry
Richard M. Barry
Lice Prevention and Treatment
The Centers for Disease Control report that in the United States, an estimated six to twelve million lice infestations occur each year, among children three to eleven years of age.
It is normal to feel distress at the thought of tiny blood sucking insects crawling though your child's hair. But there is no need to feel ashamed, or embarrassed. Getting lice is not related to cleanliness. Instead some experts report that lice are actually attracted to clean unscented hair. Since lice cannot jump or fly, they spread by close head to head contact. And even though they only live about a day or two without feeding, it is possible to catch lice by sharing hats, clothing, combs, and brushes. Symptoms of an infestation include intense itching, a "something is crawling on my head" feeling, and some kids will scratch so much that they can develop a bacterial infection.
If you think your child has lice, do not panic. There are three basic things you will need to do: 1. Kill the living lice. 2. Remove the attached eggs, also known as nits. 3. Avoid re-infestation.
There are safer alternatives than using a pesticide on your child's head. Chemicals can be absorbed through the skin and inhaled, by both the child and whomever is applying the chemicals. Using a pesticide to kill the lice can be more dangerous than the lice infestation.
An Australian study compared the efficacy and safety of three lice treatments. 1. A formula with Melaleuca oil and lavender oil. 2. A lice 'suffocation' product. 3. A product containing pyrethrins and piperonyl butoxide (pesticide). The results demonstrated that the Melaleuca oil and lavender product, and the lice 'suffocation' product, did a better job eliminating lice than the pesticide product.
After killing the lice, attention needs to be focused on the removal of the lice eggs (nits). Nits are laid by the adult louse at the base of the hair shaft, nearest the scalp. Nits are very tiny, and tightly cemented to the hair shaft. The nits hatch in seven to ten days. The CDC tells us nits located more than 1/4 inch from the base of the hair shaft may already be hatched, or be empty nits. And while those nits probably will not hatch lice, some schools still have a no-nit policy, requiring that the child stay home until all traces of a lice infestation, especially the nits, are gone.
The Melaleuca Wellness Guide recommends that immediately upon suspecting or seeing evidence of lice, shampoo with Melaleuca Original Shampoo, and bathe with one ounce Sol-U-Mel and one ounce Renew Bath Oiladded to the bath water. Afterwards massage T36-C5 into the scalp and hair to soften and dislodge the nits. Comb the oil through the hair. To fumigate the live insects, wrap oiled hair in a hot, moist towel for ten minutes. Repeat every other day for at least five treatments (ten days). Generously applyingSei Bella Leave-In Detangling & Smoothing Spray, or one of the Affinia Moisturizing Conditioners, will make it easier to run a fine tooth comb, or nit comb, from the scalp to the hair ends. The nits should comb off easily.
For prevention: In a four ounce spray bottle of water, add three drops of T36-C5, and three drops of lavender oil. In the morning lightly spray your child's hair. The scent will be pleasant to you and your child, and unattractive to lice. Melaleuca and lavender oils are natural insect repellents, and as we have learned from the above cited Australian study, this combination also kills lice. Another simple preventative measure is washing hair regularly with Melaleuca Original Shampoo, which is rich in pure T36-C5 Melaleuca oil and natural conditioners, like sunflower and silk amino acids.
The start of a new school year is an exciting time. Along with shopping for all those needed back-to-school supplies, make sure to have a supply of natural lice killing and prevention products because "lice happens."
~ Richard M Barry
Lice Success Stories
The people below will receive a free copy of The Melaleuca Wellness Guide for submitting their stories.
The first time I ever saw head lice was two years ago on my nine and ten year old daughters! I immediately called a friend who had dealings with lice before (she has five children), to verify that what I was seeing were actually head lice! She only knew the traditional way of getting rid of them......
I ran for The Melaleuca Wellness Guide and quickly gathered all the products I needed. No home with children should be without these products: T36-C5, Sol-U-Mel, and Original Melaleuca Shampoo.
My husband went on the internet to gather information, while I put the number one kid in the tub. I added Sol-U-Mel to the water, washed hair with the shampoo, added some extra oil, left it on for a bit, then had her lay back in the tub. Would you believe it? Presto! All the bugs slid right off her head! Dead! My daughter was so relieved! Then, kid number two, same process, with the same great results! I have to say it was pretty gross, but I was thrilled to see them all dead.
I then made sure the tub and bathroom was fully cleaned. I sprayed extra Sol-U-Mel around just in case. Next, I went to work on thoroughly cleaning the house. I washed all the bedding, pillows, etc., with MelaPower laundry detergent in hot water. Spayed beds and carpets with Sol-U-Mel, then vacuumed everywhere. I washed some of their stuffed animals and ran them thru the dryer. I took all the remaining stuffed animals and dolls, put them in plastic bags, and stored them away for a few months. It was hours of work.
I repeated the process on my daughters heads daily, along with adding T36-C5 to the hair, and combing it with the lice comb. It's very difficult to see the eggs that they lay, but the oil and the Sol-U-Mel did the job, and made it a lot easier.
I checked their heads daily for weeks. It was amazing! No signs of them anywhere! I found out afterwards that the neighbors had them. (They never informed us that we could be at risk. They had our girls over to their home while they were in the battle of bugs!!!) That family used four or five treatments of the traditional chemicals. Suffering months of frustration. At our home, lice came and went, thanks to our wonderful Melaleuca products!
I used the same products on a puppy we took in that was flea infested, and had skin mites. It took care of it in one application. The dog is now almost two years old and has never had a problem since. I have many testimonials of how awesome Melaleuca products work. Thank you Richard M. Barry for publishing such a great book.
~ Judy and Family
I was called by the school nurse on the second to last day of school. My daughter had lice. I was horrified! I never had any experience with lice, but I knew they could be very difficult to get rid of. So, with Melaleuca products and The Melaleuca Wellness Guide in hand, I knew this must be another opportunity for the products to prove themselves.
Prior to picking up my daughter, I looked up 'Lice' in The Melaleuca Wellness Guide and decided to tackle the house first. I gathered all of her sheets and clothing, and dumped them in the washing machine in hot water with MelaPower and Sol-U-Mel. I sprayed diluted Sol-U-Mel anywhere I remembered her sitting to ensure that any lice in the house were destroyed.
When I brought my daughter home, I sprayed her hair with diluted Sol-U-Mel and used the Naturals Melaleuca Oil Shampoo to wash her hair (I always have the shampoo at home because I use it all the time to keep scalp psoriasis at bay). After fifteen minutes of soaking in the shampoo, we rinsed her hair out. You could see all of the lice go down the drain. She had a full infestation! I combed through her hair to remove any remaining nits, and this went really well. The next day, she was checked by the nurse and was cleared to finish her last day of school. Everything was gone!!
We are so thankful for Melaleuca. Our three kids are rarely sick, but when they are, with the use of our Melaleuca products they improve very quickly. As far as the lice, our daughter continued to use the Naturals Shampoo over the next couple of weeks as a precaution, and we never saw them again. I don't know what we would have done if not for Melaleuca products and The Melaleuca Wellness Guide!! They go hand-in-hand
~ Valery
This is our "lice story". About a month ago we got a call saying most of our extended family had head lice. Being a very close family, I thought "oh darn!" Our family gets together at least once a week, and we just had a couple of kids for a sleep over (one ended up having lice).
We started checking each other, and our kids. We couldn't find any lice or eggs. We were not taking any chances, I washed EVERYTHING! Then I called Melaleuca to find out if anything killed lice and their eggs. I was told that, although no research had been done, customers have always called in and said that Melaleuca oil will kill lice and eggs.
I added a few drops (ok, a lot of drops, I was worried) to our Affinia shampoo and we lathered up. We let our hair soak for a few minutes every day until we thought we were safe. We never did get lice. Now we use our Melaleuca Original Shampoo every day to prevent head lice. We tell everyone how to prevent head lice!!!! Thank you Melaleuca!!!
~ Londa and Family
