Guess what we brought home from Disney?

[disneyaggie]

Also, (elementary teacher here, so I deal also with lots of lice and lots of children!) use a hair dryer on your kids daily, and that "bedhead" spray or any greasy substance helps keep them out, too.

However, since you've already got them, let me tip you on getting rid of...............wash EVERYTHING right away. Treat the kids, send them off to school, and then wash every pillow, sheet, comforter, every piece of clothing worn in the last two weeks, including sweaters/jackets.....................throw stuffed animals in the dryer for 30 min or bag them up for a couple of weeks......................vacuum carpets, wipe down sofa backs and pillows, and car backs and pillows.....................When the kids get home, strip the clothes off their backs and make those your last load.........it's a lot of work, but the only way to really be rid of them where they won't come back is to treat every head, and clean everything every head may have touched........

Good luck................
Just edited to say, don't forget about Barbie and dolly hair and clothes, too!

Wouldn't it be easier to just sell the kids and move?

Just kidding! These are GREAT tips. Thanks for sharing! I always trust a teacher for advice! You have "been there, done that"!

 

[NYDisneyMom]

I was looking at my kids hair today. They have lice. We just got back from the World last night. We were at all four parks and my kids met and played with lots of other kids this week. So if we had it first and gave it to your kids I am sooooo sorry. If your kids gave it to mine arggggh.

Oh NO!! Not a good way to end a WDW trip! I am totally and completely adamant when it comes to the kids wanting to try on every hat they see at WDW (or anyplace, really). They always want to try on the big Goofy hats, etc. and even just baseball caps...you just never know who had it on their head before them.

 

[opal]

What hotel were you staying at? Might be a good idea to contact them. If they got the lice from the bedding, hopefully the hotel will "treat" the room.

 

[Harambe]

Sympathies to you, that's not a fun souvenir. Ack, my head itches now!

I'm scratching, too! Sorry to hear that, but I have to convince myself that you didn't get them from WDW - or else I couldn't go anymore!

 

[SteinsLaFemme]

Does Suave coconut shampoo and conditioner help in some way?

 

[Evil Queen]

My son ended up with them year before last (cross fingers now, I do a bi-monthly check at home), and I ended up with them too. ARGH.

The lice shampoo didn't do much for us. Luckily he came home with them on a Thursday, so we had the weekend to work on it.

I found olive oil worked for us. Then followed up by blow drying the hair. He got them once since then and I went straight for the olive oil, the lice comb, then the dryer (after washing out the oil). Less expensive than lice shampoo and I don't like the chemical idea.

Good luck. Might want to add a lice comb to your packing list too, to the World just as precaustion and check it nightly. If you find any, ask for change of sheets including comforter.

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

The coconut oil in the shampoo kills the lice. We just use it all the time now just as a precaution. There is some great info on lice on these sites. Trust me, when DD got it, I read it all lol.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.html

http://www.headlice.org/

 

[DreamsComingTrue]

[/QUOTE] Is there a spray you can buy to "sanitize" things (comforters and chairs in the rooms, newly purchased hats, etc.)?

Yes there is a spray you can use its' called R&C. It has a green lable and Ive used it befor.You can use it on your furniture,mattresses and items that can not be laundered or dry cleaned right away. Also a good tip for the kids stuffed toys you can also put them in the dryer for atleast 30mins to kill off the lice.
Hope this helps some of you.

 

[tink2]

I'm an elementary teacher and yep, I brought the awful things home for the first time this year. BTW- the student who keeps them in my room now sits on the opposite side of the room from my desk!!! Anyway, of course DD got it from me- luckily DS and DH didn't. What a nightmare!!!!! All of the above suggestions are true- especially paigevz's. One more, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum! Vacuum every day until you're sure there are no more 'bugs' around. Also, be sure to throw away the bag in the vacuum cleaner after each use- wouldn't want them living in there. Also, there is a 'bedding' spray that you can buy- I heard from some it works and others that it doesn't. I bought it in case it did and sprayed everything- couch, bedding, mattresses, car seats, etc. Be sure to vacuum the mattresses too! Also, there is a bug killer 'bomb' - I think Bengal- that lists lice and lice nits as things it kills. I did this for good measure too- once when we found the problem and once after we were through with it.
I've also heard mayonnaise in the hair under a shower cap for 30 minutes helps too- didn't try that one- stuck to the shampoo.
Be sure to pick the nits out EVERY night or day for a while. They are very hard to see and you must get them out if you don't want any surviving nits to hatch. My daughter is sandy blonde-which makes the nits very hard to see. Get out in the sunlight to look- the nits kinda look like raindrops at first in the sunlight- they will sparkle a little.
Good luck!! I don't wish this problem on anyone except Osama Bin Laden!!!

 

[snowglobe girl]

really? I always spray my hair, not all over, but on top, should we just kind
of lightly "mist" all over? frankly, I never gave the lice thing a thought at all,
but like you said, the headrests on the rides! It adds up! What are your
thougts?

Bugsy - I would mist my hair all over and not just the top. Some of my workers have even sprayed their clothing and cloth shoes with hair spray if they knew they were getting ready to go to someone's house that had lice and none of us have ever gotten them.

 

[snyderla]

But, if you have treated them with the lice shampoo, wouldn't it be ok to send them? That kills the live lice, and if you use the comb for the nits, then you're A-OK aren't you???

Lori

 

[ksjayhawkfan]

Absolutely! Treat their hair,comb out/pick out the nits and send them back to school. You should keep checking their hair everyday for a couple week though, just to make sure. I check my DD about once a week anymore just to be safe. I never want to go through that again.

 

[MAKMOM41]

Do you think you got them on the plane? If you got them in your room would'nt you & your husband have them too? My 2 DD had them a few years ago. What a nightmare The lice are building up an imunity to the lice shampoo. I picked nits for hours. If you have boys get them a burr haircut. My girls had long hair. You can not just comb the hair. you need to go strand by strand & get the nits out. My Pediatrition finnaly took pity on me & gave us the oral medicine & that did the trick. It took 2 weeks before we were lice free. You think your ok for a day or to then the nits hatch & it starts all over again

 

[SueM in MN]

Yes there is a spray you can use its' called R&C. It has a green lable and Ive used it befor.You can use it on your furniture,mattresses and items that can not be laundered or dry cleaned right away. Also a good tip for the kids stuffed toys you can also put them in the dryer for atleast 30mins to kill off the lice.
Hope this helps some of you.

Also, there is a 'bedding' spray that you can buy- I heard from some it works and others that it doesn't. I bought it in case it did and sprayed everything- couch, bedding, mattresses, car seats, etc. Be sure to vacuum the mattresses too! Also, there is a bug killer 'bomb' - I think Bengal- that lists lice and lice nits as things it kills. I did this for good measure too- once when we found the problem and once after we were through with it.

Keep in mind that those are strong insecticides.
Here's a link to a page about why sprays are not a good idea from www.headlice.org
That's one of the best sites and is the site of a non-profit organization called the National Pediculosis Assiciation. The organization was actually started about 20 years ago by some parents and public health people who were concerned about all the children they knew who were being treated with insecticides for head lice. They wanted to make sure there was good factual information available about head lice and treaments for it, because there are many myths.

 

[Susiesnowflake]

My son got these nasty critters back in 2nd grade, and I have been so paranoid since!! They were sooooo hard to get rid of, and I was fanatic about the shampooing, cleaning, and nit checks. You really have to be diligent about the nit checks/cleaning. Checking once or twice isn't going to do it. Those things are really hard to get out/get rid of..especially since such a resistance has been built up to the medicated lice shampoos! Yuck! I feel so bad for you. I hope never to have them in our house again. I know you can easily get them anywhere, but I think of them especially when flying with those seat backs, when staying in hotels, and when in the movie theater. What an experience!

 

[Martha7]

I went on the National Pediculosis Association's site some years back, and they sent me a free comb for getting rid of lice! It's a good site, but I remember that it kind of rails against the school policy of keeping the kids at home while they're having the lice problem. As I said, it's controversial, there's so much of importance that the kids miss when they're not at school, but at the same time, it's not very nice to subject others to the possibility of "catching" lice either. I just know that most schools will call you to come pick up your child if they find the lice, which will only occur if they happen to check anyway. Most schools probably don't even do the check, since you need a ton of volunteers to carry it out. I loved the recent episode of Desperate Housewives, where Lynette's boys get lice and she has to deal with the social stigma at the snooty private school that they attend! Of course, anyone can get lice, it has nothing to do with your level of personal hygiene, just the bad luck of being near someone else who has them!

 

[mom2rb]

We home-school so the school part isn't a problem. When I was combing their hair last night, I found a few live ones still in their hair. So now I have them covered in olive oil, with plastic wrap around their heads. We are going to go buy the coconut shampoo today. Thanks for all your tips. I think they are getting resistant to the lice treatments.

 

[Sadie]

I am a teacher's assistant in public school. Our county has a "no nit policy". This means if nits are found parents are required to pick up their child from school. They cannot return to their classroom until the nurse makes sure they have all been removed. Teachers, assistants, principals, and the of course the school nurse are trained on the procedure to check students hair for lice. It is not a fun job but one that is necessary. PLEASE if you think your child has lice contact his/her teacher, the nurse, or the principal! This is a very confidental matter and should be handled professionally. Lice are not picky. They love a clean host as well as a dirty one, blood is their main objective. By informing the school, a check can be done of the class. There is never a reason given for the check other than "its time for us to be checked for lice". Our students expect to be checked every once in a while since this has been done the entire time they have been in school. Please don't try to hide it. I have never heard coconut shampoo keeps you from getting them. I would think the amount of actual coconut oil in the product would not be enough to make a difference. Sharing combs, brushes, hats, spending the night with a class mate, these are the common ways to catch or spread lice. The faster you find them and remove the nits the better. There can be thousands of nits in a very short time! If your child gets lice I would almost bet they came from a friend.

 

[SueM in MN]

I went on the National Pediculosis Association's site some years back, and they sent me a free comb for getting rid of lice! It's a good site, but I remember that it kind of rails against the school policy of keeping the kids at home while they're having the lice problem. As I said, it's controversial, there's so much of importance that the kids miss when they're not at school, but at the same time, it's not very nice to subject others to the possibility of "catching" lice either. I just know that most schools will call you to come pick up your child if they find the lice, which will only occur if they happen to check anyway. Most schools probably don't even do the check, since you need a ton of volunteers to carry it out. I loved the recent episode of Desperate Housewives, where Lynette's boys get lice and she has to deal with the social stigma at the snooty private school that they attend! Of course, anyone can get lice, it has nothing to do with your level of personal hygiene, just the bad luck of being near someone else who has them!

Maybe I am misunderstanding you, but the National Pediculosis Association (NPA) (at least as far as I know from using them as a Public Health and School nNurse from 1979 to 1991), has always been in favor of the
"no nit policy" that they have on a current page on their website. The NPA was one our allies when we would say kids had to be nit free and their doctors were telling them that was ridiculous and they didn't need to do anything other than shampoo.

 

[Queenie]

This went round my high school a few years ago and it became obvious that somebody wasn't doing anything to get rid of the problem as every day I'd leave with clear hair and come home with the little pests again!! I found that if I washed my hair in the morning and used seperate shampoo and conditioner - then left the conditioner in all the time I was at school it worked. I'd come home and go straight up to the bathroom to was it all out. I think the nits couldn't stick to my hair or something. It was nasty having crispy hair all day but if I put it in a pony tail I barely noticed and besides, it was far better than the alternative!!