When my beautiful niece came home with a dose of lice from school, we were all silently horrified, to say the least. I think we did pretty well to contain how we felt, but in our own way, we never expected or were prepared for how much it would affect our lives.

In my quest to find the perfect cure for lice, I spoke to many mothers at my niece’s school, on forums, and anyone else who would like to talk to me about their lice problems. My goal is to try these remedies and discuss them with others so that we can all come up with something that works quickly, efficiently, and with the least amount of fussy eaters.

During this time I have heard of mothers who have tried some home remedies for lice that have been enough to make my own hair curl.

Many speak of the wonders of Vaseline. What should be remembered here is that another name for Vaseline is Petroleum Jelly. Any product derived from petroleum is flammable and therefore dangerous.

One mother had used ½ cup of kerosene mixed with ½ cup of oil. He had combed it and killed all the insects at once. Then he combed out all the nits and dead insects.

In further investigation, I found that kerosene is easily absorbed through the skin, is highly toxic, and can even be fatal.

A grandmother had used diesel with her daughter, who was now a mother of two. I was glad I caught her before she actually used it on her children, to warn her that diesel was not only highly flammable but also extremely toxic.

The scalp is extremely permeable to anything that is placed on it, absorbing up to 60%.

Other mothers had also used rubbing alcohol, lighter fluid, and gasoline, all of which are highly flammable and extremely toxic.

With gasoline, it must be remembered that it is not actually the gasoline that ignites, but the fumes, so an open flame anywhere in the room or in the immediate vicinity could mean that everything exposed to the fumes will be engulfed in calls. Some children have been admitted to the hospital with horrible burns from the misuse of these highly flammable agents.

Please don’t use diesel or kerosene on your kids’ ballast, you want a quick trip to the ER!

A mother washed her daughter’s hair with dog flea shampoo. He ran it through his hair and left it on for about an hour, then washed it off with dandruff shampoo. Another had sprayed his son’s head with flea spray. He said he had never seen them die so fast.

This was just one of the stories where desperate mothers had turned to veterinary chemicals. Any chemical that kills pests is a pesticide, and all pesticides have the potential to cause serious side effects. These are even worse because they weren’t even labeled for lice and are not intended for human use!

Online, in one forum in particular, I spoke to a mother who had used chemical lawn care products because she claimed to kill insects in her lawn. I was absolutely horrified. It MUST be remembered what these toxic products are for and the human risk that each toxic chemical carries.

Children’s scalps are especially absorbent, and parents must decide whether these pesticides are worth the risk.