Head lice

#1

My middle daughter has head lice. :wall: Ugh…she had been itching and I thought it was just dry scalp, her hands get really dry during the winter. Nope, the little “things” are in her hair. I had to take all 3 of them to Target to buy the stuff to get rid of them and new brushes, etc. Tomorrow we get to go to Walmart for new pillows and bags to put all their stuffed animals in. Oh and no school tomorrow for them either…I get to get them in to the Dr. for a diagnosis (I have to send in a note to the schools when they are home from a fever or puking and I get that note by talking to a nurse) and I get to start washing EVERYTHING also…I HATE head lice…:hair:

Oh, they need to get their hair cut anyway so I am gonna see about getting her (middle daughter) cut shorter, she has very thick hair and it might be easier for both of us if is was shorter. That is after I done with this crap…

#2

Ugh is right. It’s such a pain! My daughters had very long hair so it was extra hard coming through it with that tiny comb! Thank goodness I only had to go through this once.
:hug:

#3

When I was a kid I had to be in daycare a lot, single mom and all, and I got lice a lot. It really is a trial for all.
then when I got our cat Itchy, he brought fleas into the house. Karma I guess.

#4

Oh no! What a yucky thing to deal with!

I’m so sorry…

#5

My sister works in daycare and she told me that when the directors discussed the fact that head lice was going on in the center they said that lice like clean hair so it might be a good idea to not wash your hair for a few days or until they can get the little pests (the lice not the kids) cleared out. I did not know that. You think keeping yourself clean would repel them, but it’s the exact opposite.

#6

Oh feel the pain of those litter buggers. My daughter had them and did not itch at all. I found out while having her hair cut. Thank goodness I knew the hairdresser real well. Still was embarrassing though. after doing what you are doing she never had long hair again. It was a nightmare combing out her hair. :nails:

I think as parents we all been there.

:waving:

#7

Lavendar is supposed to be a good deterrent to lice. I spray lavender water in my girls’ hair every day. I don’t know if it really works or if we’re just lucky, but despite many rounds of lice at school, we’ve never gotten it. Just thought that might help after you get it cleared up. :slight_smile:

#8

When my daughter was little, she got it by putting on another little girl’s hat. It upset me so bad. I hate the thought of those little things crawling on her head. I had to bring a lamp into the bathroom to see well enough to comb out her long hair. I had to do this twice. We bagged up all of her toys. The stuff ruined her hair. Oh yeah, and then you feel like you have them yourself, because you imagine feeling little things crawling on you. YUK!!

#9

ok
I do this for a living, working as a nurse in a summer camp
and having kids of my own

Robi Comb, helps find critters, does not stop u from having to pick nits, but it does help track down creepy crawly ones
the only comb I like is the terminator, it seems to do a great job of knocking the eggs loose, and is worth every penny. the other combs are basically just for seperating hair so U can see the root to find the nits, no matter which comb U use U still have to find the nits and remove them

the thing about dirty hair is somewhat right, I find my staff that uses thick hair gel (like a high mohawk or the wet look) keep their heads clear, the ones that only shower once a week still get some, but that is anecdotal

when I am treating a head, I get some denorex max strength and add 2 tsp of tea tree oil to it (it DOES tingle quite a bit) I use this whenever I go substituting at school, and when I M treating a head.

Mayonnaise does work well, but it is Very Icky and a bear to wash out after sitting an hour or 3 in the hair, and U really have to goop it on. Vegetable oil is easier on the kid, and does tend to smother the bugs.
another alternative is Lysterine, but again U need to soak the hair quite a while, and comb through a bit
After which ever one of these U want to use, soak the head in white vinegar, it does not kill the hair so badly, and it denatures the protein in the eggs so they come loose easier, U soak the head a while, then rinse it out well and let it dry all the way
then the eggs come loose a lot easier

if U want U can call me, just let me know and I will PM U my #

#10

I am so tired…I have treated the 2 girls in school. Washed their bedding and am working on the clothes part. I bought 2 complete elimination kits (shampoo, gel and some furniture spray) and had to use the gel part from both of them for the middle kid, her hair is so thick! So, had to throw her coat in the dryer for 20 minutes then load them all up and run to Walgreens to buy more gel for the oldest kid. But they are both done, found the buggers in both but worse in the middle kid’s hair and she is not itching any more. Tomorrow I get to finish the laundry and will comb through the youngest girls hair and Crossed Fingersthat should be it.

#11

Make sure that you vacuum your carpets REALLY well and then get rid of the vacuum bag immediatley. There might even be a spray to use on carpets. If I were you, I would keep checking their hair EVERY day for atleast 2 weeks. If even 1 lonely egg is over looked, you will have problems.

#12

Yep, I was going to say this, too. These buggers are surprisingly resilient and can hide anywhere… combs, brushes, hats, scarves, collars, stuffed animals, etc… :zombie: I actually thought you’re supposed to use the shampoo/nit picking procedure twice, but the newer products are probably better than what I used 20 yrs ago.

#13

I agree about checking heads daily
but for 3 weeks, not 2
I find the mites out works wonders on bedding, vacume beds once, then spray with mites out, I give a can to the kids going to college for the first time (covers bedbugs and lice and maybe other things)

and for vacuuming
just normal daily
any critters that are in there will not get out
or survive more than a day
bagging things up for a week is good enough
dryer for 30 min kills both bugs and eggs (throw in a damp, not wet, towel to protect clothes from getting burnt)
it is not difficult to get rid of if U stay on top of it
I have no one to go through my head, so i just robi-comb myself daily (or every other day) when a potential exposure occurs (yes for 3 weeks)
no need for;
boiling things,
vacuuming hourly
bleach in laundry (except normal use)
or of washing all fabrics in home
or nix every 4 days (it is not safe)

U can actually kill every bug in the house by going away for 6 days while U clean the heads in the hotel room U rent for that week
or better yet in your summer camp that will be empty for a week after U go home

#14

all their bedding is washed and dried in the dryer, their beds have a plastic sheet for accidents so that is clean and I went out and bought a robi comb and more shampoo stuff. I hate this buggers! Oh and their toys (including the favorite Teddy) are in bags for 10 days. UGH…

#15

That happened to me too. Thankfully our hairdresser at the time was my sister. My DD had head lice twice and my DS once. Its easier with a boy though I think. you can just give them a buzz cut.

The first time my daughter had lice I got notified by the school and had to leave work to go get her. One of her good friends had it so they check all the girls that were close - there were 4 of them altogether including the first girl. All of them had lice :sad: I ran out and got the Nitaway stuff right away. That little comb was a pain, but I do have to say that having my daughter lay on my lap combing through every inch of her hair slowly and carefully was a little special too. It was a hard time for us. My dad had just passed away and she was very close to papa. Things had been hectic for months and this was the first time in a while we had time just for ourselves. Nasty little bugs, but I guess it was God’s way of forcing some down time.

#16

I feel lucky I never had to deal with lice. I did have ringworm as a child and had to have my head shaved and my mother had to take tweezers and remove the crusting off my head daily. I still have a school picture of me in a ruffled lace cap to cover my bald head. I did end up with thicker hair than anyone else in the family. My mother even tried shaving my baby sister’s head when she was about 2 to see if her hair would come in thicker. I don’t think it worked.
Good luck with the removal.

#17

If this hasn’t worked, try peanut butter.

#18

My daughter was lucky enough :help: to contract lice on three different occasions. I used a Licemeister comb on her which cleared it up every time (plus extra washing, vacuuming, etc.) In our case, lice shampoos were unnecessary, plus her school health aide advised against pesticide shampoos because there have been cases of children getting sick from the pesticide.

#19

Yikes! I’m sorry I didn’t see this sooner. My kids attended an elementary years ago that didn’t bother to do checks or inform parents or even keep the infected kids out til their cases had been cleared up. My daughter gave wonderful hugs, so she had it [B]9 times[/B] her kindergarten year!

There is a carpet powder in the pet department of large stores like Walmart that is used for ants and fleas and etc. I used it to treat the carpets for any fallen critters that might be crawling around and hitch a ride on the pets back to our laps. Don’t know if it helped, but I was being thorough.

Also, if you have a case that just won’t clear up, wash the pets in flea shampoo to be certain that the lice aren’t scraping by on them through the house and child treatments. “Experts” will tell you that lice can’t live on dogs and cats, but there are exceptions to every rule (There was a guy in FLA who contracted heartworms–a dog problem) and I’ve heard of one case throught the local schools that didn’t clear up UNTIL the pets were included.

Hope you got it cleared up in time for Christmas, bless your heart!