Asking my budget family for help. My kid has LICE!!!

[talulabelle]

You really don't need to freak out about the bedding and upholstery. Lice can't live over 24 hours without a human host - so they live on your scalp, not your furniture. (unlike bed bugs - which are impossible to get out of upholstery). If you went away for a weekend there wouldn't be one louse left in your house. They wouldn't continue on like fleas or bedbugs.

Yes, they can be transferred to a pillow case, and it is a good idea to change it every day for while and wash and put through the dryer - and a good idea to put a towel over sofa where the kid is sitting for a couple weeks and change that every day. But you really don't need to go nuts with the vacuuming and changing the whole bed. I wouldn't use a spray pesticide inside my home with kids for any reason.

The lice can transfer to fabric, but they don't WANT to transfer to fabric. they much rather be on your kids head. They live on you, not in your home. (again, unlike bedbugs.) So the biggest area of concern is daily comb throughs with the lice comb to assure every egg is out.

 

[ccgirl]

So..I noticed some lice on my DD8's head yesterday. Thank God for this thread! Weird thing is, she was at the nurse on Thursday for a check and she didn't notice anything. Anyway, they were quite obvious. Probably saw about 4 or 5 live ones. Got the 3 step kit from RID. Shampooed her hair as directed, used the gel and nit comb and spent 3 hours nit picking. Saw loads of the tiny brown things and could also see many of the white things. I think she had a pretty bad case. Anyway, picked out everything I could see. All pillows, stuffed animals went in trashbags in the basement. We used the furniture spray on all beds and furniture. My car has leather seats thank GOd. I then put olive oil and a shower cap on for the night. Washed it out this morning. Combed it out, didn't see any white ones but found 3 brown ones by the scalp. Treated with olive oil again and a new shower cap. Keeping her out of school today and swimming. Thank God, nobody else in the house has it! No idea where she got it from. Going to get tea trea shampoo today. UGH! This is my first experience with this. I am so skeeved out. My poor DD. This is the girl that sleeps with a mosquito net around her bed because she is so afraid of bugs.

 

[rdevine10]

So..I noticed some lice on my DD8's head yesterday. Thank God for this thread! Weird thing is, she was at the nurse on Thursday for a check and she didn't notice anything. Anyway, they were quite obvious. Probably saw about 4 or 5 live ones. Got the 3 step kit from RID. Shampooed her hair as directed, used the gel and nit comb and spent 3 hours nit picking. Saw loads of the tiny brown things and could also see many of the white things. I think she had a pretty bad case. Anyway, picked out everything I could see. All pillows, stuffed animals went in trashbags in the basement. We used the furniture spray on all beds and furniture. My car has leather seats thank GOd. I then put olive oil and a shower cap on for the night. Washed it out this morning. Combed it out, didn't see any white ones but found 3 brown ones by the scalp. Treated with olive oil again and a new shower cap. Keeping her out of school today and swimming. Thank God, nobody else in the house has it! No idea where she got it from. Going to get tea trea shampoo today. UGH! This is my first experience with this. I am so skeeved out. My poor DD. This is the girl that sleeps with a mosquito net around her bed because she is so afraid of bugs.

Speaking as an experienced Mom and health professional, if she had a case that bad PLEASE treat everyone in the house, as its likely not contained to her. All it takes is one missed egg or bug and the whole cycle will start again.

I do not like the RID and chemical products as I am not fond of pesticide on my head or my growing childs, but the olive oil works. Also, a treatment (separate) of vinegar in the hair for 45 min will greatly help in loosening any eggs. Comb daily and retreat EVERYONE again in 7 to 10 days from the initial treatment. Also, sheets & bed linens need to be done daily for your child (or anyone who has any), and vaccum the couches daily as well too. Lots of work I know.... but it will be even more of a nightmare if you miss something!

 

[ccgirl]

Speaking as an experienced Mom and health professional, if she had a case that bad PLEASE treat everyone in the house, as its likely not contained to her. All it takes is one missed egg or bug and the whole cycle will start again.

I do not like the RID and chemical products as I am not fond of pesticide on my head or my growing childs, but the olive oil works. Also, a treatment (separate) of vinegar in the hair for 45 min will greatly help in loosening any eggs. Comb daily and retreat EVERYONE again in 7 to 10 days from the initial treatment. Also, sheets & bed linens need to be done daily for your child (or anyone who has any), and vaccum the couches daily as well too. Lots of work I know.... but it will be even more of a nightmare if you miss something!

I thought it seemed like a pretty serious case myself. But, I have no experience with this at all. I talked to the school nurse. She seemed surprised since she was just there Thursday for a check and the nurse didn't see anything. They cautioned against treating everyone because they feel that is how the lice are becoming so resistant. She said is quite possible nobody else in the house will get it. I did do olive oil on my hair last night as a precaution. My son and husband's hair is extremly short. We do not share hair brushes, etc. I will go out today to purchase some extra pillowcases so I can change her pillowcase every night. She has a shower cap on today and I make her sleep with one as well so that should cut down on the transmittal; correct?

 

[rdevine10]

If your husband and son have very short hair, they should be ok with just looking through the hair and a comb through (depending on how short).

Did you comb through your hair post olive oil treatment? I wouldnt treat everyone in the house with RID (in fact, imo, the one time I used it before I knew more about lice it didnt even kill them!). Olive Oil worked when RID didnt!

They are becoming very resistant to treatments. Some people believe only pesticides will kill them.... I know thats not true from experience... the "natural" products like olive oil were much more effective and safer!

 

[ccgirl]

If your husband and son have very short hair, they should be ok with just looking through the hair and a comb through (depending on how short).

Did you comb through your hair post olive oil treatment? I wouldnt treat everyone in the house with RID (in fact, imo, the one time I used it before I knew more about lice it didnt even kill them!). Olive Oil worked when RID didnt!

They are becoming very resistant to treatments. Some people believe only pesticides will kill them.... I know thats not true from experience... the "natural" products like olive oil were much more effective and safer!

Sorry to hijack thread OP. Yes, I combed thru my hair as well. All clear, thank GOD! Both of their hair is super short. Joked with my DH there would be nothing for the nits to stick to in his head. He is, shall we say, thinning. I did both RID and Olive oil (2x) with my DD. Hopefully, that is twice as good?? Stopping to get tea tree oil on the way home today. Does anyone know where I can get one of the metal nit combs? Thanks!

 

[lovehoney]

In 2007, 2008 and 2009 years my 4 nieces have had lice in the late winter/early spring. My SIL has a hard time controlling it so I have offered to help.

We would start with an otc lice treatment. We would spend 2-3 hours after school picking nits. We set up chairs in the backyard in the sunlight. We would work until the sun went down. I bought a huge bottle of inexpensive conditioner that I added a few drops of essential oils - I tried tea tree and eucalyptus. I don't think the essential oils made a difference. Just the conditioner and a really good metal comb and a whole bunch of paper towels and a bowl of water.

The bowl of water was to swish the comb in to remove the live lice. The paper towel was to remove the conditioner and nits off the comb. The comb doesn't get all of the lice. I found separating the strand of hair with the nit on it and using my thumbnail to scrape it off worked best. I also wore black pants so if any of the critters land on you, they are easy to spot.

While there were live lice we would pick every day. Once it was just nits, we would do it everyother day. If we found live lice we would go back to everyday. It is exhausting work on four girls. It took us about 10 days to become nit free.

I kept my hair pulled back and used tea tree oil in my shampoo while treating them. I never got them, but your head itches like crazy and you are always checking your scalp. I never got them.

Good luck.

 

[ccgirl]

In 2007, 2008 and 2009 years my 4 nieces have had lice in the late winter/early spring. My SIL has a hard time controlling it so I have offered to help.

We would start with an otc lice treatment. We would spend 2-3 hours after school picking nits. We set up chairs in the backyard in the sunlight. We would work until the sun went down. I bought a huge bottle of inexpensive conditioner that I added a few drops of essential oils - I tried tea tree and eucalyptus. I don't think the essential oils made a difference. Just the conditioner and a really good metal comb and a whole bunch of paper towels and a bowl of water.

The bowl of water was to swish the comb in to remove the live lice. The paper towel was to remove the conditioner and nits off the comb. The comb doesn't get all of the lice. I found separating the strand of hair with the nit on it and using my thumbnail to scrape it off worked best. I also wore black pants so if any of the critters land on you, they are easy to spot.

While there were live lice we would pick every day. Once it was just nits, we would do it everyother day. If we found live lice we would go back to everyday. It is exhausting work on four girls. It took us about 10 days to become nit free.

I kept my hair pulled back and used tea tree oil in my shampoo while treating them. I never got them, but your head itches like crazy and you are always checking your scalp. I never got them.

Good luck.

Great advice, thanks! You are absolutely right...my hair itches night and day even though none have been found. School nurse said the funny thing is there is such a stigma that lice affect the "dirty" kids but really it's the opposite. Apparently, they love clean hair. Where did you find the metal comb? Doing some more nit picking tonight.

 

[RangerPooh]

I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions! I know it's only a matter of time before my girls come home with it. Having had it numerous times as a kid, I know it's not fun; especially for those of us with long, thick hair. In our house it would usually appear a few weeks after little league started each season. My parents go so sick of it that they started spraying the helmets daily and bought us each our own to not be shared.

I don't understand the parents who could care less about their child having lice and passing them on. As a teacher I have looked through plenty of heads in search of the little buggers, as I don't want to go home with it.

 

[ccgirl]

I would like to thank everyone for their suggestions! I know it's only a matter of time before my girls come home with it. Having had it numerous times as a kid, I know it's not fun; especially for those of us with long, thick hair. In our house it would usually appear a few weeks after little league started each season. My parents go so sick of it that they started spraying the helmets daily and bought us each our own to not be shared.

I don't understand the parents who could care less about their child having lice and passing them on. As a teacher I have looked through plenty of heads in search of the little buggers, as I don't want to go home with it.

I know, as I was on the third hour of nit picking my DD said, "mommy...imagine those other mommy's that don't want to take the time to do this?" When I spoke with the nurse she said no one else at the school had it. I told her that maybe someone had it but just didn't want to report it. Thinking of it now, the kids hang their coats (with hoods) right next to each other so close they are touching. It is quite possible it could have been passed thru that. I know she could have "caught" it from so many other places as well. It is definitely a pain but so worth it to spend the extra time to get rid of them. Stopping at Sally's Beauty Supply on the way home as they have the metal comb and leave in tea tree conditioner. I so appreciate everyone's helpful advice.

 

[pilesoflaundry]

I got a set of metal egg and nit combs at walgreens for $10. The egg comb didn't last long but the nit comb is still good. I got a terminator comb from amazon for $7 and change.

Most drugstores sell their own brand of lice combs for $8-$10.

 

[Jeniferdwn]

When my dd got it a couple of years ago, I spent several hours combing her long thick hair each night. One thing I did to make sure they didn't spread was to mash each nit as I took it out of her hair. I then put them in a sandwich bag with wet paper towels inside. That way I could be sure not to drop any. I used the upholstery spray and continued to check and comb for about 3 weeks. I found a couple that had hatched about a week after the first round, then never found any more. I strongly agree with the previous posters, combing is the key. I never bagged up pillows or stuffed things, but I vacuumed daily and sprayed the furniture and kept her in one bed. She couldn't get in our bed or her brothers bed. I also tried to keep her in a chair that wasn't covered in fabric. Spray the car seats too! And we combed for hours!!! I'm going to go scratch now because this has made me itch!!

 

[talulabelle]

If your husband and son have very short hair, they should be ok with just looking through the hair and a comb through (depending on how short).

Did you comb through your hair post olive oil treatment? I wouldnt treat everyone in the house with RID (in fact, imo, the one time I used it before I knew more about lice it didnt even kill them!). Olive Oil worked when RID didnt!

They are becoming very resistant to treatments. Some people believe only pesticides will kill them.... I know thats not true from experience... the "natural" products like olive oil were much more effective and safer!

I agree with this. It isn't nessesary for you to use anymore pesticide on the family or spray on the furniture. Just continue to comb through your DD's head after each shampoo as there are probably a few more of those brown live eggs in there which in 2-3 weeks will be hatched bugs laying more eggs and starting the cycle over again. Comb through with conditioner or olive oil (conditioner is easier to rinse out) every couple of days until a thorough comb though- concentrating on covering the whole scalp has come out totally clean for several times.

If your DD's case was that bad, I've got news for you - some one else in your house is likely to have it too - just in an earlier- harder to detect stage. After you wash your hair, comb through with a lice comb to see if any of the brown live eggs come out. ( I do this near a sink and just keep rinsing the eggs down the drain off the comb after each swipe through. Early stages of lice will produce these brown eggs and one single live louse (the one that transfered from you DD"s head and is laying all the eggs). When there is just one louse, there is not need for treatments or pesticides. Just combing out these eggs will do the trick. They are almost impossible to spot on a hair shaft without combing them out.

 

[ccgirl]

It makes me feel better this is so common. She has been sitting on a wooden chair or the wood floor rather than the upholstered sofa's. She has only been in her bed as well. I stripped all the others just as a precaution. I am so still freaking out though. Dreading another night of the nit picking but know it needs to be done. Maybe I will reward myself with a glass of wine after.

 

[mickeyplanner08]

Oh, how I feel for you....just keep at it! The mom from DD's school just called me again-1 week in and she is still picking every day. I told her she was probably safe to go every other day, or even every third. Three weeks-that is what it takes to make good and sure they are gone. They can't lay eggs until they are a week old, so as long as you comb any "late bloomers" out before they are a week old, you will win. Good luck!!!

 

[apnep]

I found out my daughter had lice in her hair after she told me tha even after she showers her head was itchy. Well, I was flat ironing her hair one night and there where these white things all over her head!! I am itching just thinking about it!! What a NIGHTMARE. My daughter has hair waaaay past her shoulders and it is thick.

I rushed to get the RID and used it immediately she had it bad. I didn't feel safe using those chemicals on her head and searched the internet and found LiceKiller. You can google it. But is all natural oils and a whole kit to wash your linens and everything you need. Even spray to put on their hair before they leave and on your furniture and car. I cleaned everyone's head and spent the ENTIRE day washing the ENTIRE contents of our house at a laundromat. I was trying to do multiple loads at once. I then spent the next week combing and picking nits out of her hair and double checking my two sons and husband's head, DH would do mine. I felt horrible that she had to go through that because those metal nit combs don't feel great on your hair, and it was a week (she stayed home) of treating over and over again just because I wanted them gone.

I hope we never have to go through that again. It very important to be vigilant with the nit picking, and vacuuming. OP, I feel your pain.

 

[wdw_girl_18]

after you vacuum if you have a bagless be sure to dump it in a bag and take it directly out to the trash.. if you have a vacuum with a bag same thing take the bag off wrap it in a trash bag and take it directly outside immediately!!!!

and clean the rollers on the bottom of the vacuum!

 

[aprilgail2]

I know, as I was on the third hour of nit picking my DD said, "mommy...imagine those other mommy's that don't want to take the time to do this?" When I spoke with the nurse she said no one else at the school had it. I told her that maybe someone had it but just didn't want to report it. Thinking of it now, the kids hang their coats (with hoods) right next to each other so close they are touching. It is quite possible it could have been passed thru that. I know she could have "caught" it from so many other places as well. It is definitely a pain but so worth it to spend the extra time to get rid of them. Stopping at Sally's Beauty Supply on the way home as they have the metal comb and leave in tea tree conditioner. I so appreciate everyone's helpful advice.

I have always had my daughter take her coat and put it into her backpack in school this way its not hanging in the closet with everyone elses....still got lice but managed to stay clean of of until the summer before 6th grade!

Seriously--I know there are nit pickers or lice nabbers in many other states- I can't believe the work that some of you are doing--nitpicking for weeks, vacuuming every day etc.... took one hour to nit pick in one day, one round of vacuuming and that was it.... it was 150.00 and to me that was WAY worth it to be over and done with in one shot---oh sorry---2 shots because we went back 10 days later to make sure there was nothing else there and that was another 15.00. She checked me for free the second recheck since I didn't have it the first time. If you google you can find them all over the US.

 

[ccgirl]

DD went back to school today (after being out for 1 day). She went to the nurse first thing so she could get the all clear. I waited for a while and the nurse came out and said It must have taken me forever as she has thick hair. It did. But, she said she couldn't find a thing that I did great, to keep doing what I was doing thru Sunday (that will be 1 week since I noticed it), treat with the RID one more time and she should be okay. Made me feel better spending all that time. Nobody else in the house has it yet (Thank God)! I noticed CVS had Lice Shield shampoo, basically eucalyptus, citronella, rosemary and some other things. It is safe for every day use. I washed all of our hair with that. Her bed is stripped and washed every day. I also make her keep the bathing cap on at night. She is such a great sport! I am very particular about sharing combs/brushes etc. It might be a bit OCD but we each have our own and never share. I think that has really helped. I bought combs at the $1 store and throw out her comb after each use and just use a new one. Thanks for the tip about the coat in the backpack. I don't think her winter coat will fit in there but I will make sure she does that when the weather warms up a bit.

 

[SILLYANDI]

OP here. No one else in the family has shown any signs of lice and DD6 has only had 1-3 nits to cut out each night since (I'm sure by their location and appearance they are simply ones I've missed the night before, not a new infestation). It has taken 2-3 hrs every day but totally worth it.

So here is my expert opinion after 1 week, 4 kids and HOURS of work.

Use Lice MD it is non toxic and worked IMMEDIATELY on the live ones, also made the eggs turn a different color so I think it killed them on contact. Just be careful not to get it on clothing because it is very hard to remove (it is a silicone gel- in fact the same gel that is in Mylicon Infant Gas drops..).
I sprayed one room with the lice spray and got the worst headache & stomache ache so I stopped doing it. The smell is still lingering in that room after a ton of wiping and vaccumming too.
I stripped everyone's beds, bagged all stuffed animal type things for 1 week and vaccuumed every square inch of the house. Tossed all brushes & hair ponies and DD6's pillows. All headbands and other hair items that could not be parted with were put in the freezer for 2 days. Every family member has their own hairbrush (DD6's is kept in the freezer still lol).
I have stripped DD6's bed every morning when she wakes up and I throw it in the dryer only (other than the normal once a week washing). It stays in the dryer until bed time when we make the bed then strip it again the next morning.
I have not seen a live louse (or dead one for that matter) anywhere in our house, on our kids or on DD since day 1.
I retreated her hair with LiceMD yesterday and found no nits or signs of lice at all. I will continue her once a day check and cut process for a whole month.
My theory is that if I cut out each egg/nit I see each night there is no way for them to hatch and spread. So far so good (and proud to report that NO ONE else in her classroom or our family has developed lice after DD).

I did not like the chemical harshness of RID or the spray that they sell. I used it on DH and myself and I swear it made me sick. The rest of the kids got the LiceMD treatment with no side effects.
Good luck to all of you others out there. I am so angry I could have avoided all of this had I known the little girl who spent the night at our house (and shared a pillow with DD) had lice. Her mom still denies it, although the girl matter of factly told me she had "critters" & was sent home from school that week (DD was out of school due to tonsillectomy and had not been around any other kids but my own during that time). That little girl was pulled out of school the day after my daughter with another case of it GRRR!
I wish people would get over the stigma and WARN anyone who was exposed, its' the only way to stop the reinfestation!