Lice and nits are small parasites living on human hair and on eyebrows or forehead in extreme cases. Usually, they infest and carry on their life on our scalp and hair. They live off of our blood and increase in numbers. Leaving it on the way is a huge mistake.
Why you ask? Are Lice dangerous? No, these parasites are not life-threatening and do not cause any diseases. Rather, their crawling and sucking blood cause itchiness and discomfort. Soon, you will see small red bumps all over your scalp and if the itchiness increases, it becomes unbearable. Dirt and dandruff will show up, and people get a serious bacterial infection when they scratch their scalp to the point of torn skin.
As for Fleas, they live all over the body of animals, especially cats and dogs, and non-human hosts as well. They hide behind the long fur and cling to them by biting their skin. It causes itchiness, and pain, and sucks up our furry friends’ nutrients. Any longer delay will cause them malnutrition, loss of appetite, fever, serious infection, and more harmful diseases. Human lice do not cause them this type of harm but those little animals will be harmed more.
Fleas cause more irritation to the skin and sometimes allergic reactions too. You can check lice for yourself easily but checking fleas take more time and effort as they hide and run faster.
Moreover, fleas are much more resistant and tenacious than lice. While nits take less than a week to hatch, fleas’ eggs can stay in that environment for months without hatching. They need to be taken care of with higher products. Since Lice shampoo is in the somewhat same category, people are curious whether Lice shampoo can kill fleas or not.
Can Lice Shampoo Kill fleas?
Fleas do not only infest non-human bodies but also humans. If you are in constant contact with flea-infested animals such as cats, dogs, etc, you are most likely to get infested with them. There are lots of treatments for fleas in non-human living. As they are full of chemicals, we humans are not sure whether it is good for our scalp or not. Our hair and scalp need a lot of care. Chemical products are a medium to make these go bad. There are many FDA-approved Lice shampoos with non-harmful chemical products on our scalp or hair.
Shampoo for Lice and fleas has almost similar particles. The question is whether lice shampoo is capable of getting rid of fleas or not. Yes, it can kill fleas. Tea tree oil is one of the common products of Lice shampoos and is a recognized louse home remedy. This element also works on fleas. Moreover, over-the-counter lice treatments are more than enough to kill these persistent parasites.
However, it is either a hit or miss. It depends on the environment and surroundings also. Suppose, you killed or got rid of fleas but are still open to a flea infestation. There will be nothing to do. Moreover, these parasites, be they lice or fleas can live without a host on non-living things for days.
Home remedies or alternatives to Lice shampoos such as vaseline, mayonnaise, neem extract, rubbing alcohol, etc can help kill fleas somewhat. The point we want to make is, that lice and fleas may be of the same family but they have different species and has many different remarks. If you can kill lice in one hit, two hits will be needed for fleas.
Does regular shampoo kill fleas in humans?
The regular shampoo does kill fleas in humans. However, killing a few and getting rid of all of them is different. Still, it is great progress. Along with using regular shampoo, use the wet comb method and the result will skyrocket. Just like regular shampoo get rids of some lice, it happens the same with fleas as well.
Gently shampoo your hair and scratch all your scalp with the fingertip, not your nails. Keep going for some time and when it comes to conditioner, use more than regular. Get a lice comb, if it is metal, better. Comb down your hair from the roots of your hair. You will see those little fleas attached to the comb or on the surface you are doing it. But it does not kill all the fleas on your head. To get rid of all of them, you should take proper measures. For your furry friends, combing or using a tweezer help a lot. You can consult with your vet and get flea shampoo to make things work better.
