How to Kill Head Lice Without Using Chemicals

When one of your children comes home from school with head lice, you can rest assured they'll spread quickly throughout the family. Once one member of a family gets them, head lice seem to breed like...lice. And remember, one louse can lay hundreds of eggs.

When you're attacked by lice, you can fall victim to seductive sales pitches to buy all sorts of shampoos, conditioners and treatments. Many of those products are excellent and they're used by reputable organisations. However, most have other negative side effects and they're all are more expensive than the guaranteed cure I set out here: coconut oil. What? Yes, coconut oil kills lice by suffocating the lice and killing their eggs. There's no chance therefore, that lice can become immune to its effects as they have to harsh and much more expensive chemicals.

One jar of coconut oil will be enough to kill all the lice in your family, and you can use it for other things.

Harsh chemicals damage your skin. Besides, they're no longer as effective. Here is a simple, low-cost, and absolutely safe and guaranteed way to kill lice and their eggs. It's also the best cure for dandruff and scaly scalp.

STEPS TO LOUSE-FREE HAIR
1. Buy a jar of extra virgin organic coconut oil.
2. Melt about two dessert spoonfuls of the solidified oil and let it cool a bit. You don't want to burn your scalp.
3. Apply the oil liberally to your scalp.
4. Massage well into your scalp.
5. Make sure that you put the oil on your hands and work it through the length of hair.
6. Wrap the hair in the plastic wrap you use to cover food, or wear a shower cap. If you're sharing a house and you don't want people to see you looking so weird, you can skip that step.

It's best to do this at night so that you can wash your hair next morning. Put an old towel on your pillow so that the oil doesn't stain your pillow cases.

After shampooing your hair, use one of those fine-toothed combs to remove dead lice and any eggs next morning.

TIPS
Use top quality extra virgin, and preferably organic, coconut oil. One jar will last for ages. Besides being an effective treatment for head lice, coconut oil has endless other health benefits.

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Comments on this article:

» left by Tammy Beavers from Church Hill ,Tn (1 year 356 days ago.)

If this solution works I'll be sure to tell everyone about this web site. I work with a head start program and there are frequent cases of head lice.
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» left by JP (1 year 119 days ago.)

Where do you find EXTRA virgin organic coconut oil?

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» left by Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (1 year 109 days ago.)
Yes, any health store will stock extra virgin coconut oil. I've since discovered that the same principle applies to good ol' olive oil - it suffocates the adult lice and the eggs. However it doesn't have the same nourishing effect on your hair as coconut oil.
cheers

Jeannette

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» left by Suzanne Kennedy from San Diego (1 year 59 days ago.)

We are giving the olive oil a try, as we don't have coconut oil and are desperate.  My 13 year old daughter has head lice for the first time ever, and we are just freaked out!  We tried the treated shampoo yesterday and it didn't kill all of the lice.  I hope the olive oil works until we can do the treated shampoo again in 6 days. 

Hopeful,

Suzanne

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» left by Mother of 2 from United States (1 year 57 days ago.)

My 9 year old daughter just had a case of head lice about 3 weeks ago.  I had heard that the Nix and overthecounter shampoos don't work well.  Someone suggested going to the health food store and I bought some virgin organic coconut oil.  I put it all over my daughter's scalp, massaged it in, then worked the oil down the length of her hair.  (her hair is past her waist).

I put a shower cap over her hair, a towel over her pillow, and the next morning, I washed it out.  I couldn't belive that I was seeing dead lice!  Okay, I guess we smothered them.  After washing out the coconut oil, I combed her hair with a nit comb,and did not find any eggs.  I had read online somewhere, that a couple of drops of Rosemary oil in a spray bottle with water, and misting her hair before she goes out the door, will help prevent head lice.  I also put drops of tea tree oil in her shampoo, as this also helps.  School just started today, so I will let you know how it works preventing head lice.  One more thing, I require her to keep her coat, in the winter, inside her zipped backpack, to help prevent the little critters from getting on her coat, when everyone else's hangs on the hooks, just awaiting to crawl on another child's coat, and go home with them!  If we all did a little bit of prevention, besides just the normal, don't share hair brushes, combs, hats, and things like that.  With every school having a problem with lice, why do they still allow every coat to go on a hook in the back of the room?  Not my daughter's, zipped backpack, I let the teacher's know of this rule, and she is also not allowed to hang her coat on her chair!  This method alone, has prevented her from bringing the nasty things home!!

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (1 year 57 days ago.)

Thank you so much for your comments.

 

Yes, the rosemary oil and tea tree oil are also great.  I had tried the many tea-tree oil products on their own, as an alternative to chemicals, but had little success.  The coconut oil alone or in combination did the trick.  I agree too, that making sure that kids are not sharing combs, hats and so on is another part of the strategy.  When one thinks about it, those lice are pretty hardy critters.  One louse can lay up to 250 eggs in its lifetime and that's why some people despair about them constantly returning - every single egg has to be removed.  Then it's frustrating when your daughter or son goes back to kindergarten or school and it starts again.

 

 

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (1 year 56 days ago.)

Hello Suzanne,

Olive oil will work too - it suffocates the lice as well as the coconut oil.  I suggested the latter because it's known to be good for your hair. 

 

Talk of suffocation sounds like we're vicious hunters but in truth head lice can cause quite serious ill health if not eliminated.  Apart from skin irritations, their activity disturbs sleep and as we now know, sleep is vital to good health.

 

Please don't be discouraged if the lice return.  That's often more to do with the external environment - the school and how seriously they deal with the problem - than it is to do with your own efforts.  Some schools are great: they send students home as soon as the lice are detected and parents have to deal with the problem immediately.  Other schools want to take a more softly, softly politec approach until there's a very serious school-wide problem.  Then the parents have to tell the school how to handle it.  Even after you've killed all the lice, it's still important to find and remove the eggs.  They should be rendered harmless by the oil, but just in case, I meticulously find them.

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» left by Anonymous (1 year 112 days ago.)
At the health food store. Try Vita Health.
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» left by KEVIN (1 year 101 days ago.)
I have one that kill them on contact. 12oz rubbing alcohol, 2oz pine needle oil , 1oz rosemary oil. Apply at night before going to bed. This will not only kill them but they will not want anything to do with you for 30 days. These are some of the ingredents found in Ovide a perscription medication for lice treatment. DO NOT DO THIS AROUND ANY OPEN FLAMES OR SMOKE.
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» left by Chum Kilgus from Wear I Am Right Now (1 year 89 days ago.)

i tried acohol,it seemed to kill when i tested it on three i picked up,but then i soaked my hear with it ,and it still itches!well im ganna tried the cocanut oil then hopfully it will do BETTER.(the alcohol kills some of the lice)

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» left by Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (1 year 88 days ago.)

Responding to you and to Kevin there are products on the market that rely mainly on ti tree oil which has a strong eucalyptus fragrance - that would be similar to the rosemary and pine needles mix.  I guess it comes back to what works for you and what's easy to prepare and apply.  Thanks for your comments - let me know how you go.

Jeannette

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» left by JJ from Ishpeming MI (1 year 57 days ago.)

My Daughter picked up lice from the kids at the play ground yesterday, my friend told me she went out and picked up some lice kills and for everything she got has costed her around $100.00 Dollars so I searched the internet for Home remedy and I just went out to walmart and bought extra virgin coconut oil and I used to tbs full in a glass bowl stuck it in the nuker for 1 min and it melted I let it cool off and I worked it into my hair and scalp really good so here I sit all oiled up and waiting. I will let you Know of the results.

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (1 year 56 days ago.)

Hello there,

 

Yes, do please let me know how you go.  I'm keen to spread the word because I had used every product known before discovering this simple approach.  Also, you can use the coconut oil for other things and it's brilliant for keeping your hair shiny and healthy.

 

As I've said in other comments, it's important to ask at your school what their policy is re head lice.  My children went to a fairly middle class school and no one wanted to mention it.  I was a parent rep on School Council so I suggested that we take quick and decisive action, since one or two parents attacking that particular infestation would not work.  Initially, I was not supported but within a few weeks, most of the parents in the junior school were lodging complaints about their daughter/son being constantly re-infested by head lice. 

 

As always, when you're combing your daughter's hair with a fine tooth comb, also have a good search for any eggs the comb may have missed.  99% of those eggs will be dead due to the oil, but we only need one to start.

 

Good luck

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» left by Anonymous (1 year 36 days ago.)

should the coconut oil be applied to wet or dry hair?

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» left by Anonymous (1 year 1 day ago.)

Dry. It should be applied to dry hair, saturate it with the oil. I fine tooth comb the next morning before washing, then again after.

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» left by Anonymous (1 year 1 day ago.)

Knowing the life cycle of the buggers is helpful in preventing re-infestation. Most times re-infestation comes from with-in the home, and we think the kids brought home a new crop from outside. Something gets missed. Many people will forget to do the stuffed animals, the car, and other things. Here is where knowing the life cycle comes in handy. 21-28 days. Your not safe for 21-28 days. Diligence is important. Unfortunately, as embarrasing as it is, you need to tell everyone who has been near the family members know of the problem so they can treat and not give them back to you once you have them gone.

 

Here is what I did... After learning.

 

When lice or eggs are discovered, Oil the heads, EVERYONE in the house. Leave oil on overnight. I used disposable shower caps to help keep the oil contained and old towels to keep the pillows from getting oil stains. In the morning, I fine-toothed combed all heads before washing then again after. I repeated this oil overnight process every 5 days for 1 month. Thats it. I can't pick through the hair, I just can't. I know I won't get every crevis in my home, nor do I have the time to do it. I can't afford to take time off work for this. I hope I don't sound lazy, but this system works.

 

When a nit hatches, it has upto 5 days to find a host. When an egg hatches, it can take upto 10 days for it to begin to lay eggs, or as early as 7. If some of the eggs are not killed and hatch right after washing out the oil, you will want to oil the hair again BEFORE they can lay eggs. (5 days after 1st treatment). If some eggs were laid just before oiling the first time, it could be 10 days for some of them to hatch. Oil again 10 days after first oil treatment to catch these. Remember, there is hair all over your house and car. These strands of hair don't get treated and there are eggs on some of them. It can take upto 10 days from the first oil treatment for these to hatch and upto 5 days for them to find a host, and they probably will! Now another oil treatment is called for 15 days after the first treatment to catch these. If one or more of these hatch in 6 days from the first treatment, 5 days later they find a head, 2 days after that they can start laying eggs, this puts us at day 13. New eggs are laid. The day 15 treatment won't catch these. On the short end, they will hatch in 7 days putting us at day 20, so retreat then. On the longer side, they can hatch 10 days later putting us at day 25, retreat again.

 

If I didn't lose you here, you can see how they can reinfest from within the family homeat any time over a 25 day period. It is their life cycle, 21-28 days. On day 30, I treat again just for kicks and giggles, I DONT want to take a chance.

 

After you oil your hair the first time, you may want to oil it on a regular basis as it makes you hair soft and beautiful! We all love the way out hair feels after. I think this is better than a hot oil treatment for your hair, it feels like it wraps protection around each strand of hair preventing splitting and drying. It also does a wonderful job for flakes and dandruff!

 

So, I no longer lose my mind when these things hit home, and the kids don't cry when found anymore. We all know, Just oil and finetooth comb every 5 days for a month. It may seem like a lot of work, every 5 days, but compare that to spending hours on every head looking for and picking nits, turning your house upside down trying to vacuum every crevis in the furniture, cusshions, car, stuffed animals, etc.and ruining your pillows in the dryer and having to buy all new ones anyway!

 

Oh, one more thing, don't forget to boil all the hairbrushes and combs everytime you do an oil treatment. They should be boiled for 10 minutes, then let the water cool before trying to remove the brushes and combs. And, everyone in the home should have their own and don't share, even with other family members. This will teach the kids not to share theirs with anyone, including friends.

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (259 days 6 hours ago.)

Hello,

 

Apologies that I didn't respond to your very helpful post before now. Last year, I took time off from my consultancy to work in Utopia - yes, it exists!  This Utopia is 300kms north of Alice Springs in the Central Australian desert.  There I ran a school for Indigenous children.  On many levels, I learned more than I taught.  For instance, part of my consultancy work with schools in Victoria had been around the big and growing issue of bullying.  I can't begin to tell you how amazing it was to be in a community where I encountered no bullying at all.  It was like "hey, what's missing?".  Of course the students teased each other from time to time, but mostly, they helped each other - even when that help meant that the other person might win.

 

That's an aside to say that in Utopia, my Internet connection was next to non-existent and I was so exhausted at the end of my day that I didn't have time to check on articles on Searchwarp.

 

Yes, the process is rarely just one dose of oil, fine tooth combing and you're clear.  Sometimes it is, but vigilance is crucial.

 

Thanks again for your generous additions to the topic.

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» left by Anonymous (332 days ago.)

My daughter is in bed right now with Listerine, Olive Oil, Tea Tree Oil all on her hair for the night. Our neighbors friends kids come over to play in our neighborhood all the time and they continue to spread lice to my daughter. this is the third time since the beginning of summer. I am wore out and now the holidays are comming plus a new baby due anyday. I found about 15 live bugs in her head tonight, I can see lots and lots of eggs, Yes I have been crying all evening. I will wash her hair (coconut shampoo and conditioner with tea tree oil dropped in) again in the morning, Hopefully this will kill the live ones I missed. I am going tomorrow to buy the coconut oil (extra virgin). I have all sheets etc washing and drying, the ones I can't get to tonight is secluded until I can get them tomorrow. This is such a long and exhausting cycle, I pray this works.

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» left by shelby (260 days 4 hours ago.)

I am 11 and have missed 5 sleep overs if they are not gone soon i can`t go to my friends b-Day party.we have tried almost every thing to kill the lice and nothing works we used lice shampoo, percription shampoo, and olive oil. we vacume every day and try to keep things picked up. Does any one have any advice? We keep getting infested.

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (259 days 6 hours ago.)

Hello dear Shelby

 

I'm so sorry to hear that you've had to miss out on sleep overs.  Apart from my original article, there's a very important addition to it about the life cycle of the lice.  Without wanting to depress you, one louse can lay over 200 eggs in their short life, so it's important to be very careful about constant follow up.  The olive oil should work in the same way as coconut oil and I'm not exactly sure why it hasn't worked for you.  If you read the comments a couple of posts before yours, I'm sure you'll get rid of those pests.

 

Regards

 

Jeannette

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» left by Michelle from WI (257 days 16 hours ago.)

We discovered lice yesterday on my 14 year old daughter for the first time. We promptly did the NIX treatment as directed on the box and followed with 2 hours of combing with the nit comb. (She has fairly long hair). Upon combing I expected not to find live lice, however, there were a couple. Is this a sign that the treatment didn't work? Or is it not unusual to find live ones soon after treatment? The box says the treatment prevents re-infestation for 14 days. Can we use the Coconut oil treatment without interfering with the 14-day "protection"? How soon should we use it? I'm assuming that overnight use is not required, as long as it is left on for about 8 hours?

Thanks!

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (256 days 2 hours ago.)

I'll sound like a lawyer (attorney) but the answer about live lice after chemical treatment is no and yes.  No it's not unusual for lice to survive chemical treatments, and that's one of the main reasons that people end up seeking alternatives.  Yes, it can be unusual for lice to survive the chemical treatment.  In general, the problem with a lot of chemical approaches is not about a louse or two surviving, even if none survives there is no product that can guarantee longterm non re-infestation. 

 

Unfortunately, one little louse can lay over 200 eggs in a life cycle so finding live critters at the end of the treatment does not bode well.

 

If they were not so disruptive to sleep and so irritating, lice could be admired for being so resilient and resourceful.  Nevertheless, I prefer to live lice-free.

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» left by Anonymous (256 days 7 hours ago.)

Does the coconut oil have to be "Extra Virgin"? I couldn't find it at the health food store and non-extra virgin is all I could find. Will that work also?

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (256 days 2 hours ago.)

Yes it will but do read the comments made some months ago about keeping vigilant because of the life cycle of the lice.  I've usually found that oil and fine tooth combing is sufficient, but if there's a re-infestation you will have to apply the oil again.

 

cheers

 

Jeannette

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» left by Anonymous (253 days 23 hours ago.)

I went to Walmart as one poster mentioned, but they did not have coconut oil. Instead, they had "Blue Magic Coconut Oil Hair Conditioner" in the hair section, with the 1st ingredient being petrolatum, then coconut oil, then fragrance. Would this be sufficient? It looks like Vaseline Petroleum Jelly, in the same kind of tub.

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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (253 days 6 hours ago.)

No.  I wouldn't recommend that because it would be difficult to apply if it's the consistency of petroleum jelly.  Any health food shops around your area?  What about the Pharmacy (drugstore)?  I have heard of great results with almond oil but that's quite expensive and as we've seen from the posts, it may be necessary to attack these pests more than once.

 

Interesting  that coconut oil is now being marketed as being good for hair - it is.  I'm not too sure about the percentage of coconut oil in hair care products and I'm certainly sceptical about how well they'd suffocate the lice: that's where the oil comes in.

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» left by concered women from ab (241 days 6 hours ago.)

does this stuff really work? cause my family has come home with head lice and now i have some kind of bug that just wont die.. we tried the shampoos and its not working.. its been about a mnth since my head started to itch and its been nonstop since.. i really want it gone.. so if i go out and buy this virgin organic coconut oil i am garenteed for this to be gone.. aparently what it is louse ( another kind of lice) hopefully this works

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» left by Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (241 days 2 hours ago.)

It's worked for me and for my family and quite a few readers have let me know that it's an effective treatment for head lice.  Lice is the plural of louse - just struck me now that it's like mice is the plural of mouse.

Let me know how you go with the treatment and remember to use the fine tooth comb the next morning to remove the dead lice and eggs.  One reader told me that she used fine surgical gloves and her fingers to make sure that the eggs were removed.  Read the comments to my article from 'anonymous' - they're very useful.

Good luck.

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» left by Barb from Michigan (228 days 3 hours ago.)

How much is a dessert spoonful? I don't know how much a dessert spoonful is. Thank you so much . Barb

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» left by Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (227 days 18 hours ago.)

Apologies for using measurements you didn't understand.  A dessertspoon is two teaspoons and a tablespoon is two dessertspoons.  Better check with my mother on that, because we went metric a while ago.  Depending on the thickness and the length of the hair being treated, you may need more.

good luck,

Jeannette  
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» left by Anonymous (228 days 1 hour ago.)

i did this is somewhat worked but mouth wash did the trick...

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» left by Jeannette Kavanagh (227 days 18 hours ago.)

Some of the chemicals in mouth wash are effective.  Let me know if the lice stay away.  I'm interested to know how the coconut oil treatment let you down.

cheers

Jeannette

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» left by Anonymous (207 days 5 hours ago.)

how long is the olive oil to be left in for?
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» left by Dr Jeannette Kavanagh from Melbourne, Australia (207 days 3 hours ago.)

I prefer to use coconut oil - it's lighter and better for your hair and scalp but olive oil will also work.  If you can, leave it on overnight but if not, an hour is fine. 

 

Let me know how you go.

 

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» left by Anonymous (124 days 4 hours ago.)

I am 13 years old and this is the second time I have had lice! The worst part are the nits, and there are SO MANY!!!! Lice shampoo doesn't work, and I am SO through with all of the lice that I am up to the point where I would shave my head and wouldn't care!!! I was miserable when I got then in 1st grade and am miserable now! But, I'm going to try the coconut oil..... and hopefully-I PRAY TO GOD-it will work!!!! Is there a way to get rid of the lice SUPER QUICK, because I have the whole side of my family coming down in less than a week, and if I still have the lice, I won't be able to go to the beach with them or do anything with them!?

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» left by Velly from Sydney, AUSTRALIA (94 days 5 hours ago.)

Hi Jeanette, I am based in Australia (Sydney) too... Just wondering where will I be able to find a coconut oil... I know for sure this remedy would works cuz that's exactly what my mum and grand ma used to do for all of us when we had nits in our childhood. But in Indonesia, coconut is everywhere and mum would creates the oil herself. As in here, I am a bit lost... So would love to know where i can find the oil... Thanks once again..

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» left by SCOTT from GA USA (31 days ago.)

concerning using alcohol or rubbing alcohol as a MAIN INGREDIENT OF A HOME BASED REMEDY:

YOU COULD KILL SOMEONE, CAUSE SOMEONE TO GO INTO A COMA, OR MAIM THEM FOR LIFE -- DO NOT DO IT

 

Don't trust me--look up how rubbing alcohol can cause people to go into a coma if applied in too great a quantity to the skin. Just skip alcohol in treating head lice--it is just too dangerous--the alcohold is absorbed into the head directly, bypassing the protection of the liver.

 

USE ANYTHING OTHER THAN BLEACH OR ALCOHOL, OR ANYTHING WHICH CAN BE DANGEROUS WHEN OVERABSORBED BY THE BRAIN.

 

   Scott ,  USA

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