Head Lice prevention

[knovak]

OK dumb question but how do you know if you or someone else has head lice? Does it itch or just look like dandruff?

Over a year ago my DD got lice from we belive Chuck E Cheese in the play tubes being too close to someone who had it - either that or the movies from a chair. Anyhow - her head was itching like crazy - and that's when my SIL spotted it - she was staying at my in-laws for a visit. Anyhow - the LIVE bugs you can see usually around the back of the neck and behind the ears. You have to kill these with a Rid or the like usually. All bedding, etc. needs to be washed and dryed in hot water and on the high dryer setting. You need to vacuum car seats, carpets, furniture, etc. After the 1st treatment you need to "Nit Pick" the hair for about 2 weeks, once a day. After that treat again to make sure that no eggs have hatched that you may have missed. And you should be set. They look like dandruff at 1st glance but you can tell the difference and you can't just "flick" them off. You have to use a special comb to pull them out and make sure to CLEAN the comb after each pull or you will put back in what you took out. She gave it to my other DD and myself as well. We did hair from morning until night. I don't wish LICE on anyone and my girls are super careful about what they do now.

Just a side note: Putting the treatment on if you don't have the lice at that time doesn't mean you can't get them. The 1st treatment only kills the LIVE bugs and you still need to comb it through. If you don't have any eggs that have hatched they still can as the treatment has no bearing on the eggs. They treated my youngest DD the same day they found it on my oldest and she ended up getting them 1 week later.

 

[spaceacewannabe]

I've also heard lice are more drawn to sweaters (vs. denser fabrics).

 

[punkin]

We have just gotten over them. My niece picked them up somewhere and shared with cousin and Auntie. Luckily DD15 and DH did not get them (though DH did get a buzz cut just in case). It was just awful for two weeks. I washed EVERYTHING in hot water and nit picked daily. I also went to a "professional" nit picker to double check. DD8 was pronounced "lice free" at school, but my head still itches just thinking about it.

In the future, I plan to comb through everyone's hair once a week with a nit comb. Hopefully, we can catch a recurrence before it gets out of hand.

 

[wendithepooh]

I don't even go to the movies anymore.
Possible lice on the seats is part of the reason why. (Just think how many people have had their heads there in the past 24 hours!!)

I'm a teacher.....never had lice...hope never to get them!!

What about Disney.When I go I just block it out as much as I can and try and enjoy.

My DH niece found out she had it on our wedding day.She even used his brush. Thank heavens it was after him,and we threw the brush away.

 

[BethR]

Although we tend to be pretty liberal about subjects on the Budget Board, I really think that this thread is better suited to the Community Board, so I am zipping it off over there.

Good luck with avoiding those little pests.

 

[bosstoboss]

Rosemary shampoo. There is a specially formulated one just for children but adults use it too. I forget the name, but I remember the bottle has a castle on it with children (cartoon image). You can use it everyday, it's good for your scalp and deters lice!

Edit: It is called "Fairy Tales Hair Care for Children". How appropriate for disboards.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Dealing with this now.....Ugh..
Over the weekend...We had a 6 girl slumber party... 3 big girls at my house, 3 little girls across the street....
Well...the set of sisters seemed to pass it unknowingly to the other4 girls...
So...I got the CVS brand of Lice Treatment (sold out of RID and NIX) and now my dr says I can't use it (6 months preggo).. So... sending them to their dads tonight to get the treatment...and my dr had to call in some cream prescription for me that won't be ready until tomorrow... and I have to wear the cream for FOURTEEN HOURS!!!
I don't even know if I have it...but I"m itching knowing the neighbor girls do!! I couldnt' find any on my youngest (very blonde, thin hair) but I did find one on my oldest (very LONG, THICK brown hair... ugh)... so the nit comb is gonna be he**.
But...I think I"m gonna head over to walmart for that tea tree oil...thank goodness for these boards

 

[flipturngirl]

okay so lice was a huge problem in my house. I got it in 2nd grade. We were swimming and when someone was brushing out my hair they found it. Then I got it from a hotel on the way home from vacation. Luckly the 2nd time it was during the summer because everyday my mom would pick nits out of my hair and there would be a huge lump of them coming out. We used Paul Mitchel Tea Tree and then also from that point until both my sister and I were in high school we used hairspray and gel in our hair everyday so that the lice would not get in. I remember always having hair gel in my hair.

 

[beattyfamily]

Dealing with this now.....Ugh..
Over the weekend...We had a 6 girl slumber party... 3 big girls at my house, 3 little girls across the street....
Well...the set of sisters seemed to pass it unknowingly to the other4 girls...
So...I got the CVS brand of Lice Treatment (sold out of RID and NIX) and now my dr says I can't use it (6 months preggo).. So... sending them to their dads tonight to get the treatment...and my dr had to call in some cream prescription for me that won't be ready until tomorrow... and I have to wear the cream for FOURTEEN HOURS!!!
I don't even know if I have it...but I"m itching knowing the neighbor girls do!! I couldnt' find any on my youngest (very blonde, thin hair) but I did find one on my oldest (very LONG, THICK brown hair... ugh)... so the nit comb is gonna be he**.
But...I think I"m gonna head over to walmart for that tea tree oil...thank goodness for these boards

Oh, I'm so sorry! What a pain to go through this pregnant!

There are some treatments that are non-toxin and can be used everyday like Lice Free and also the Fairy Tails brand and also Pronto is non toxin but is used the same as Rid and Nix (10 minutes and twice at day one and day seven).

Also, we used olive oil to trap and catch the live ones. It worked GREAT! You put it in the hair over night and then comb through over and over catching them all. It slows them down and drowns them. That is how I finally got rid of them (of course, including nit picking like crazy).

I also bought the battery operated Rombi comb at Walmart. It zaps any living lice that it comes across and kills them.

Be sure to wash everything they came in contact with.

Keep your girls' hair in ponytails with hairspray and use the Tea Tree Oil products to keep them away once they are gone. I've got shampoo and condition with Tea Tree Oil in it but I also just bought the actual Tea Tree Oil to put in other shampoos at Wamart for $5. It was in the vitamin section.

Good luck!

oh and FYI...none of the Aussie products that I've come across have the Tea Tree Oil in it anymore.

 

[starwishing]

To all the people on this board dealing with this....my heart goes out to you!!!!! My dd got lice several years ago....it was absolutely HORRIBLE!!! Everyday washing all sheets & blankets & pillows & clothes.....vacuuming the carpets, the couches, the beds, the car!! Bagging up all toys with fur or hair or cloth. (stayed in the tightly closed bags for a month....even though they only say 2 weeks) Throwing out brushes, combs, etc.....and the nit picking.....OMG, for hours, everyday for 2 weeks straight!!!! I tell ya, I had extreme anxiety throughout the whole deal. Now I check her hair once every few weeks, if she didn't give me such a hard time...I would probably check it every week! By the way....another way you can tell is there will be little open sores or scabs on the head where the lice feed. Also nits are a yellow to brown color & even though they are very tiny....they do not move when you touch them with your fingers, they are glued to the hair strand, unlike dandriff.

 

[Mkrop]

I heard you can get the tree tee oil and GNC or other health food stores.

You can use mayo too I heard, for the poster who is pregnant.

I would spray your hair, wear it up if necessary, I even spray DSs hair even though they supposedly like long girl hair better.

Did your preschool send home instructions to the families on what to do?

 

[raysnkaysmom]

Well...the good news is....my youngest has been checked by her grandma, me and my neighbor (one of the moms who's girls were infected on the block) and we can't find anything on her...
On my oldest...we did find a couple nits
(eggs I guess??)..so her dad is going to treat both of them tonight...I'm just scared to use the treatment as my dr was pretty adament about if I had to, use gloves, a mask and open doors...and I couldn't use it on me...
I went to Target (closest place to my house) and couldnt' find any tea tree products....so I bought this yellow shampoo bottle that was in the African American hair product section that contained both coconut and olive oil in it (reading on this board they are deterrants)...so we'll all be using that today..
and, of course, the ponytails and hair products tomorrow~~ Hopefully since we were only around those kids for 1. 5 days as opposed to the rest of the block being together 4 days straight...we didn't get it like them!!
Pain in the butt to wash all this bedding n such... but luckily...I have no carpets...just hardwood floors

 

[Mkrop]

Well...the good news is....my youngest has been checked by her grandma, me and my neighbor (one of the moms who's girls were infected on the block) and we can't find anything on her...
On my oldest...we did find a couple nits
(eggs I guess??)..so her dad is going to treat both of them tonight...I'm just scared to use the treatment as my dr was pretty adament about if I had to, use gloves, a mask and open doors...and I couldn't use it on me...
I went to Target (closest place to my house) and couldnt' find any tea tree products....so I bought this yellow shampoo bottle that was in the African American hair product section that contained both coconut and olive oil in it (reading on this board they are deterrants)...so we'll all be using that today..
and, of course, the ponytails and hair products tomorrow~~ Hopefully since we were only around those kids for 1. 5 days as opposed to the rest of the block being together 4 days straight...we didn't get it like them!!
Pain in the butt to wash all this bedding n such... but luckily...I have no carpets...just hardwood floors

Have their dad do the pesticide, dont risk it, use mayo or olive oil on your self or them when they are back with you. It ia ll about the nit picking I am told so no matter what you use (pesticide or natural) you have to get rid of the nits and eggs

GL

 

[Tink&SquirtsMom]

I feel for anyone dealing with this. This summer we dealt with scabies, lice and numerous (revolting) parasites simultaneously... oh the hidden joys of international adoption. It was all worth it for us of course, given the rewards (our son). But I NEVER want to deal with any of that stuff again.

You can smother them in a thick substance such as mayo, then wrap your hair in a bun and saran wrap it (obviously don't let your kids sleep with saran wrap around their head-suffocation risk). Leave that on for 8 hours and wash it out with olive oil (takes one oil to cut through another). Do a thorough comb thru for nits. Follow up with daily comb thrus and wear hair in a tight bun for at least a week.

Wash EVERYTHING on hot (remember your car seat covers, etc), vaccum whatever can't be washed. whatever can't be washed or vacuumed bag up for a few weeks in an airtight bag. For at least one week post treatment wash all bedding slept on, and whatever outfit they wore immediately after they get out of it. I put a plastic zippered mattress cover on dd's bed and had her sleep on a sleeping bag for the week, so it was easy to wash daily. Might sound drastic, but between scabies, lice, etc, etc I waged full on war to get the blasted bugs out of my house.

One week post treatment redo mayo/smother through comb thru treatment (for any newly hatched lice that a comb thru would have missed). If you are clean (meaning no new nits appeared in your comb thru) following that you should be clear.

Too many people assume they are clean post one treatment and continue to spread it a week later when the nits they missed hatch.

 

[starwishing]

Too many people assume they are clean post one treatment and continue to spread it a week later when the nits they missed hatch.

I agree, this is the biggest misconception! I don't know how many people think that the shampoo is enough. I really think that is why schools have trouble getting rid of them. There is soooo much more to it, and you have to be diligent!!!! It takes a LEAST 2 weeks of battle. (sorry I think of it as war, US vs. THEM! )

 

[jax677]

Its been many years since I had to deal with this but boy was it hard. I can remember being in tears at midnight, trying to get all the linens cleaned. Then being diligent and treating and combing and then you look at the scalp and there is a bug just looking up at you smiling. Grrrrrrr!!!!!!

The only thing that worked on that superbug was a product called not nice to lice. I think it was breaking the cycle and using a non toxic approach.

 

[crazydadguy]

Sigh...just in the final rounds of fighting this nightmare now. As someone stated earlier, I did a buzz on my head when my dd6 came home with it from either school or church. Then DW caught it, other daughter we treated just to be on the safe side. Combing more than once is a necessity, we treated with a salt based product that you could use as often as you wanted, and then did olive oil every three days or so and then combing it out. Also washed everything and bagged everything up for two weeks or so. Definately this is not on my list of things to do again.

 

[disneygals]

Go to Walmart and buy a robi-comb. It will only kill bugs, not nits. BUT it is great for peace of mind if lice is going around your school or if you're not positive that you caught every nit.

My neighbor's dd had a mild case, she couldn't find any nits after doing the chemical treatment, but the robi-comb caught a baby louse. it is used on dry clean hair.

 

[Aye Sea Turtles]

I have not had to deal with this with my own kids yet (knock on wood!) but I have read that mayonaisse is very effective at killing the adult lice, as well as plain old Vaseline. (I believe they work by smothering the adult lice.)

 

[tl_swift]

This is a very good article in regards to home remedies with lice and effectiveness of store bought remedies. http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-138483311.html