Can Toothpaste Kill Head Lice

There is this belief that toothpaste can be used to treat head lice. Head lice are small, wingless, blood-sucking insects. They live in the hair on your head and feed off the blood from your scalp. A louse (a single adult) is about the size of a sesame seed. A nit (louse egg) is about the size of a small flake of dandruff.

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Treatment consists of anti-parasitics. Medicated shampoos may often help, but lice are becoming increasingly resistant. Patiently combing and removing nits, sometimes over several days, is sometimes necessary.

Head lice

The above methods are expensive as they are becoming increasingly failing. Toothpaste to the rescue.

Can Toothpaste Kill Head Lice

Most chemicals are toxic to lice. That means they kill lice. Unfortunately, most of them are not effective against the nits. This is where the problem is. It takes days for the nits to hatch into lice. Time the drugs applied must have worn off.

Toothpaste has not been proven to kill head lice. But it is possible. Because it contains antiseptic which may be toxic to the lice. However, the strength of the antiseptic may not be strong enough to kill head lice.

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Just as we have noted, many chemicals are not effective against the nits. Besides that, applying toothpaste to hair scalp may cause damage. The chemical on prolonged exposure to the skin can cause irritation.

For example, toothpaste is made with detergent, the foaming agent. This agent on prolonged exposure to the skin can be dangerous.