Head Lice! Yikes! Anyone Get Rid of them FAST?

[robinb]

Misery loves company. Yes it does.

I brought my DD to the doctor yesterday for something else and I said, "Can you look at her head? She's itching and it's not lice." I didn't think it was lice since I had asked a previous after-hours ped to look at her head weeks ago and he said "No lice. She's just itchy". Well ... my ped took one look at her and said: "Oh yes, she has lice. See here, and here?" and suddenly I can see all the nits. {{shudder}}

Anyway ... I bought some Nix and we both used it. We share brushes and she sleeps with me most nights during the week, so I was sure I had it. Plus, I was a bit itchy too but my DH checked me later that day and didn't see anything. My DD, OTOH was full of nits! Yuck. I combed her hair and picked nits. I found some live lice, but they did not seem very "happy". I guess the Nix worked on them.

Here's what I know about lice:
(1) They only like humans, so the dog and cats are OK.
(2) A louse can only live about 24 hours without a host, so any stray lice will be dead soon.
(3) Eggs hatch in about 7 days, which is why you should reapply the Nix in a week. Eggs need warmth to hatch.

Here's what I am doing:
(1) I washed her hair and applied Nix and let it sit for 20 minutes.
(2) I picked nits for two hours last night. I know I didn't get them all, but I will pick more today.
(3) I washed all of our sheets in hot water.
(4) I am washing all our towels in hot water.
(5) I vacuumed our beds and the pillows.
(6) I am vacuuming all floors, too. But that is not complete.
(7) I am in the process of washing all of our hair accessories. First in hot, soapy water and then a soak in 10-1 bleach water.
(8) I bought a Robi Comb, but I am not sure of it's value yet.

Here are some things that I have heard, that I'm not sure work. Did they for you?
(1) Put all stuffies in a plastic bag for 2 weeks. The assumption is that an egg on a hair will hatch and the two weeks covers two cycles of lice.
If the eggs need warmed to human level, then why would they hatch in the bag? Wouldn't they just go into stasis until/if they come back in contact with a person?
(2) Put mayonnaise or dippity-doo on your child's head overnight.
If all the adult lice are killed and I am busy combing out the nits and possible larvae every day, what does this doe except annoy the child? It won't effect the eggs.

What else should I do? Any and all suggestions welcome.

 

[addicted_to_WDW]

When my DS was in first grade, he got lice. It was a while back, so I don't remember if we used Rid or Nix, but whatever it was didn't do the trick after two tries. What did work was mixing vinegar and mineral oil and leaving it on his head for a few hours. I got the ratio somewhere on the 'net. The oil made it very easy to remove the last few nits and we didn't have a problem after that.

Good luck! I know how gross it makes you feel.

 

[amid chaos]

Here's what I am doing:
(1) I washed her hair and applied Nix and let it sit for 20 minutes.
(2) I picked nits for two hours last night. I know I didn't get them all, but I will pick more today.
(3) I washed all of our sheets in hot water.
(4) I am washing all our towels in hot water.
(5) I vacuumed our beds and the pillows.
(6) I am vacuuming all floors, too. But that is not complete.
(7) I am in the process of washing all of our hair accessories. First in hot, soapy water and then a soak in 10-1 bleach water.
(8) I bought a Robi Comb, but I am not sure of it's value yet.

reapeat all the above steps every fews days (excpet the Nix, follow directions on package)...pick at her twice a day, put pillows and all bedding in the dryer for 20-30 minutes every morning.

 

[ms1031]

Check your local drug store, Walmart, etc., for a Robi Comb.

http://www.walgreens.com/search/search_results.jsp?_dyncharset=ASCII&term=robi+comb

 

[ms1031]

Well, nevermind. I guess if I had read ALL of your OP, I would have seen that you did get the Robi Comb.



From experience, it works.

 

[robinb]

From experience, it works.

Does it kill the larvae too, or just the adult lice? I also read that it just "stuns" them instead of killing them. I think I'll do a sweep of her hair with the Robi and then a follow-up with the regular comb.

 

[Florida_Mom]

When nothing else worked, I used olive oil on my son's hair, and let it stay in his hair overnight (I wrapped his head in a towel). It killed off the lice, and made it easy to comb out the eggs.

 

[Anewman]

If it was a boy the fastest way to get rid of lice would be SHAVE THE HEAD completely bald.

Todays gang members dont realize why/how this bald head fad started, back in the day we knew exactly why all three of the "Cortez" brothers showed upto school with their heads clean shaven.

 

[tiff211]

I just had a conversation with a friend about lice when I was mentioning that my DD's had ringworm. She worked in a daycare that had an outbreak of lice in epidemic proportions. She said that lice love straight clean hair with no/little hair products. She said they were advised to tell the parents to put mousse, hairspray, gel or anything like that in their kids hair to avoid the lice. When I told her that my DD had an outbreak of it at her daycare a few years ago and I was amazed that she didn't get it because her hair was so think and long. She said that black kids don't get lice as much because we don't wash our hair everyday and use things like hair lotions and grease in their hair, which I do. So that's probably why you were told to use gel.

I would keep using hair products and put her hair up in a bun/braid because if there is an outbreak, even if you use the rit to kill the eggs, she will just catch them over and over again.

Hang in there I know it skeevy, I am freaking out from dds having ringworm, also very contagious.

 

[Hannathy]

Do not use shampoo with conditioner already in it while you are treating it lessens the effect of the lice shampoo.

Keep picking those nits they take forever to get rid of and everyone left will hatch and you will be back to square one. Don't forget her booster seat if she sits in one in the car.

 

[karla63]

I used, with great success, mayo. My dd, then 6 yrs old, had waist length hair and I would smear tons of mayo on her hair/head and then put a shower cap on it for several hours. Then I would wash her hair...FYI...it took several washings, since the mayo is a bit oily. But after doing this and using the special comb, they were gone. good luck

 

[SamIAm21]

Although lice like warmth and nits need it, they can't handle too much warmth, so if your daugther doesn't mind blow drying, that helps a lot too to sort of kill the louse. Be very careful with the Rid/Nix stuff as it's pretty strong stuff (pyrethrin) and has been known to make kids really sick. My advice is the vinegar and oil solution and another home remedy is Dawn dish washing liquid to get that out. The vinegar loosens the nits and the oil suffocates the full grown lice. The oil makes the hair much easier to comb through. Nix/Rid doesn't kill the nits (eggs attached to hair shaft), so you have to comb them out.

You will eventually conquer the little pesky critters if you keep up with your current routine for a week or so. Just go easy on the stuff from the drug store. It's a ton of work, but if you keep vaccumming and combing, you'll be fine.

The number one place to contract lice is the movie theater!! Always throw your jacket over the back of your seat so that your head rests on your coat. It only takes one LOUSE to create havoc in your house!!

Lice don't jump and usually won't leave a nice healthy host, so it's no surprise that you don't have them even though you use the same brush and sleep together. Had those nits hatched, you'd have a much more difficult situation on your hands. Do as much as you can to keep any of those nits from hatching.

 

[ms1031]

Does it kill the larvae too, or just the adult lice? I also read that it just "stuns" them instead of killing them. I think I'll do a sweep of her hair with the Robi and then a follow-up with the regular comb.

No, it doesn't kill the nits, but it does kill the hatched bugs.

I followed the instructions on whatever chemical shampoo we used, and did at least a twice daily follow-up with the Robi Comb for 2 weeks. It'd zap whatever bugger we missed in the nit picking process.

 

[my4kids]

ALthough olive oil works (it is easier to wash out than mayo), the best thing is to patiently comb out all nits with a good lice comb (I don't know how well the Robi works, but the fine toothed metal one by RID does the trick. The newly laid eggs are close to the scalp so you need to make sure you drag it across the scalp. Have you DD wash her hair and use a good conditioner every night (makes the comb go through easier) and while her hair is still damp section it off and go through every section. Eventually you will only be picking out 15 eggs and a couple of newly hatched bugs, then the next day you might get 10 eggs and one bug, then about 5 eggs, then 1 then none. Then continue to comb through it every other day for a while then a couple times a week, (Making sure she does not recontract from school). The most important thing to do is notify the nurse at school, because even though you treated your daughter the kid she caught it from could still be going undetected, or kids that your DD had given it to could be brewing with eggs and she will just get it back, her whole class needs to be checked by the nurse, the school will be very discreet about it. Do the NIX again in ten days killing any little guys that were new eggs the first time and would be hatching.

Yes, bag stuffed toys and anything that her head may have come in contact with for 14 days. A live louse will not live off a human host for more than 48 hours, so the live ones will die and it gives the eggs enough time to hatch and die off.

Be patient, you will be nit picking for about 2 weeks, but I promise this WILL pass.

Don't go nuts with the NIX, it is pesticide that can be absorbed through the skin, you really should never leave it one more than 10 minutes. You really don't even need to do the second treatment if you have been really good at getting rid of the eggs with the comb. My pediatrician did not recommend doing the second treatment unless you still are combing out evidence of lice. If your DD's hair is so thick you are not confident you are getting everything with the comb, then I would do the second treatment anyway.

I think the Robi comb only zaps live lice, you really need a good ol'fashioned fine tooth metal lice comb to get all the eggs.

 

[KerriSue]

I hate lice, they are positively the worst things. Harder than heck to kill too.

Put a few drops of tea tree oil in your shampoo and use that for a while on your hair. It works. It will keep them from coming back. Both my kids got the suckers a while back and I had a heck of a time getting rid of them. I would also put a drop of the oil on their scalp before they left for school, it seemed to keep any more from crawling on over for a visit. It might be an old wives tale but I believe it and Im not that old!

Good Luck,
Kerri

 

[robinb]

The most important thing to do is notify the nurse at school, because even though you treated your daughter the kid she caught it from could still be going undetected, or kids that your DD had given it to could be brewing with eggs and she will just get it back, her whole class needs to be checked by the nurse, the school will be very discreet about it.

Thanks! I did call her school this morning and "fessed up" to the louse-y bugs. The fill-in secretary said that my DD was the first one with lice the whole year. Yeah, right . Hmmm ... then why did we receive a note home a few months ago about a kid in her class with lice? The nurse checked my DD this afternoon and said I was doing a good job and that there were some still behind her ears. I couldn't make the poor girl sit for more than 2 hours, so I know I missed some nits. I'll get 'em today. I'm sure there will be a lice note coming home with my DD today. The funny thing is that her class was teasing her about having lice and I kept on telling her she didn't have them! Poor thing.

So, I am hoping to find something that will help de-glue the nits on the hair so I can actually comb them out. Any ideas? SamIAm21 mentioned vinegar. Has anyone else had good luck with it?

 

[my4kids]

Thanks! I did call her school this morning and "fessed up" to the louse-y bugs. The fill-in secretary said that my DD was the first one with lice the whole year. Yeah, right . Hmmm ... then why did we receive a note home a few months ago about a kid in her class with lice? The nurse checked my DD this afternoon and said I was doing a good job and that there were some still behind her ears. I couldn't make the poor girl sit for more than 2 hours, so I know I missed some nits. I'll get 'em today. I'm sure there will be a lice note coming home with my DD today. The funny thing is that her class was teasing her about having lice and I kept on telling her she didn't have them! Poor thing.

So, I am hoping to find something that will help de-glue the nits on the hair so I can actually comb them out. Any ideas? SamIAm21 mentioned vinegar. Has anyone else had good luck with it?

Rid sells a comb out gel that doesn't de-glue but makes the comb go through easier. Honestly, I think the best way is to get them to the end of the hair shaft by pulling the comb through.

 

[Kath2003]

Nit comb! Even after you've treated the hair, lice comb it through for several days. Don't take any chances - they're hardy little things that will remain for as long as they can cling on!

 

[SamIAm21]

You can get rid of these little critters with common stuff found in your home. One great one is Olive Oil. You can do the EVOO or whatever you have laying around. Get a shower cap and a bandana. Coat your child's hair and scalp with the olive oil, make sure concentrate on the scalp behind the ears and the nape of the neck. Put on the plastic cap, put on the bandana before bed. Let your daughter sleep with it on. It has very little smell and shouldn't be so uncomfortable she can't sleep.

Use a conditioning shampoo to wash her hair the next morning and then rinse her hair with vinegar, get the big gallon bottle so you can really pour it on. She will really dislike this as we all know how bad vinegar smells. Then use a metal nit comb and just put in her favorite movie in front of the TV and just comb and comb and comb and comb, til your arm falls off (just kidding). If you do this two or three times during the week and just keep up with the laundry and vaccuming (and a strawberry margarita throw in for good measure), you'll be fine in two weeks. Keep all her stuffed toys locked up in a baggy for at least three weeks. They say two weeks, but heck, be safe, go three!

I've been there and it totally STINKS to go through this, but with diligence, she'll be fine.