HELP - Head Lice

[Reese]

We went throught the same thing. A friend of DD came over for a sleep over party and next thing you know DD has lice and friends Mom said her DD had it a few days ago but she washed her with the shampoo (didn't pick anything). Same friend came over a few months later well parents went out of town for the night and right after they went to bed she said her head was itchy. Took a look and she was infested....and her parents didn't show up to pick her up until four hours after they were supposed to.

I have three DD's with a whole box full of hair clip, headbands, elastics ect.. I just threw the whole box in the freezer for a week instead of boiling everything. Also some of the more delicate animals that we didn't want to put throught the wash we just threw in the freezer too. I think they can only live in below freezing for a very limited time.

As a precation I add tea tree oil to their detangler and spray them every morning when I do their hair. Also once a week I wash their hair with tea tree oil shampoo instead of their regular shampoo.

 

[mc'smommy]

Don't forget seatbelts if your car seats are leather. Whenever we have to transport children, we spray our cars regardless of whether or not we know the kids have lice.

Spray with what ?
I am curious, as I really have no idea what you could spray ?

thanks

 

[massielovesdisney]

They sell a spray to kill lice. In the section where the nix shampoo is sold. You spray your furniture car and anything that cannot be laundered. It gets expensive but well worth it.

 

[mc'smommy]

Oh really thanks so much for that, I did not know that...
I will look for that for my daughters school...

 

[SueM in MN]

Keep in mind that the lice sprays are insecticide, so you want to avoid using them.
Lice can't move around well on smooth surfaces (like tables, tile floors, etc) because they have claws on the ends of their legs. They actually move around on the hair swinging from hair to hair like Tarzan moves from vine to vine. Because of the claws, they need a surface with texture to grab onto. Vacuuming carpeting and upholstery is adequate to clean those things.

 

[mrsgus06]

I had the pleasure of dealing with this last year. All four of my daughters were infested! I literally battled this for at least 9 months. As a matter of fact, I could not get rid of them until summer. I washed, dried, bagged and vacuumed everyday. Unfortunately, some of the other parents are not as diligent. I put conditioner on their hair every night for 2 weeks and combed every day for 2 weeks. Now I add the tea tree oil to their shampoo. I also have a container in the kitchen filled with alcahol/water and store their brushes in there every day.

 

[ellyn2000]

Went through the same thing several years ago. My children had never, ever had them although all of my friends had dealt with lice from school. Then DD comes home from summer camp and complains of itchy head and I had someone else check---of course it was the worst lice infestation they had ever seen. It took numerous treatments to get rid of the little darlings as she had long, long, thick hair. I had to even treat her room and close the door for 7 days and not let her back in until I was sure I had taken care of it. Don't feel badly, absolutely no one is immune from lice when they have children in school and the little, icky bugs just don't care how nice and clean our home and children are. I am so sympathetic since we went through it. Good luck and I hope you're never bothered by this again.

 

[disneychrista]

Just wanted to add combing by itself will not remove most/all of the nits you must go through the kids hair and "pull" them off the hair.

 

[stm61]

if you have pets check them to. I've been thru this with various foster kids and my ds when he was younger. Most of the outbreaks either came with the kids or from school. Last 2 times noone could figure where they were coming from, nobody else in preschool/school had them, none of the neighbor's kids, they hadn't been to the dr's, no sleep over's, etc. Finally discovered that the neighbor's outdoor cat's had them! My kids were picking them up and rubbing their heads against the cat's fur. Neighbor invested in flea collars and pet shampoo after that. I actually ended up using the dog's shampoo on the kids the last time we had an outbreak. It was Sun night and all the stores were closed so I couldn't buy human stuff. Called the ped. for advice and he said use the dog's and repeat with the human stuff the next day, and be sure to spray the dog's bedding as well.

 

[jlb]

This is a horrible thing, and I feel for you....I will give you a few tips that I have found works the best since I work in a school.

1.) Buy a lice comb.....This is a must, you can not get them with the plastic combs that come with Nix or Rid
2.) I found more success with Nix
3.) Shampoo and Condition your child's hair every night, because a) the Nix makes it dry and b) when you condition it, take the lice comb with the conditioner still in it and comb through the hair. This is more comfortable for the child. When you finish, rince and then comb again. Comb out your child's hair as much as possible.
4.) Place all stuffed animals, costumes, and plush toys in a bag
5.) Wash sheets and bedding constantly, I would just make it a morning ritual.

Good Luck.

 

[SueM in MN]

if you have pets check them to. I've been thru this with various foster kids and my ds when he was younger. Most of the outbreaks either came with the kids or from school. Last 2 times noone could figure where they were coming from, nobody else in preschool/school had them, none of the neighbor's kids, they hadn't been to the dr's, no sleep over's, etc. Finally discovered that the neighbor's outdoor cat's had them! My kids were picking them up and rubbing their heads against the cat's fur. Neighbor invested in flea collars and pet shampoo after that. I actually ended up using the dog's shampoo on the kids the last time we had an outbreak. It was Sun night and all the stores were closed so I couldn't buy human stuff. Called the ped. for advice and he said use the dog's and repeat with the human stuff the next day, and be sure to spray the dog's bedding as well.

Actually human lice can't live and reproduce on animals and animal lice can't live and reproduce on humans. There are many species of lice that live on different species of animals.
If the "warm body" the lice are on are not available for a while, they might temporarily go onto another available "warm body", but animal blood and human blood are different and the lice need the correct type of blood to survive.
here's some information from the
Harvard School of Public Health.

 

[MKCP5]

Just getting through this here. I am about to go through my dd's hair for about the millionth time in 2 weeks. The only other thing I can add is that I wrapped her head every night in coconut oil and the saran wrapped her for the entire night. Tea tree oil in the am and coconut conditioner. So far, so good. Good luck! It's brutal!

 

[PaMom001]

I battled for two months this summer. My pediatrician told me that the spray was not worth the money. I guess each has their own opinion. I gave my poor DD 6-7 treatments by the end of the siege. My ex had to do his house too. My niece ended up getting the lice and my sister said that the reason that I didn't get rid of the lice was because I worked and I couldn't clean like she did. She is a stay at home mom.

I finally found someone willing to give my DD a very short haircut. Before she had a "Willy Wonka" haircut. We(my mom & I) spent about 6 hours that last week pulling the last of the nits out. Poor DD cryed that first night. I agree the combs will get the adults out, but, to get the nits you have to actually pull. Also, once you get all the nits, still check like every other night or so. It's been a little over 3 months and I still check like once a week.

 

[MKCP5]

Okay, I just found a few dark nits still on her AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Does anyone know if they can die and still be on her head? I mean, we have not been able to find a live louse in two weeks now, but after each comb through where I think I have gone through every inch of her head, I still seem to find a couple of nits. Does that mean she still has a live one somewhere? Help!! She is not itchy, I have done all the cleaning every day--thank goodness I am laid off!!! and I still found a **** nit!!!

 

[SueM in MN]

Okay, I just found a few dark nits still on her AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Does anyone know if they can die and still be on her head? I mean, we have not been able to find a live louse in two weeks now, but after each comb through where I think I have gone through every inch of her head, I still seem to find a couple of nits. Does that mean she still has a live one somewhere? Help!! She is not itchy, I have done all the cleaning every day--thank goodness I am laid off!!! and I still found a **** nit!!!

When the adult female lays the eggs, they are actually attached to the hair shaft with a cement like substance. The shampoo does a pretty good job of killing the adult lice and the nymphs (immature "baby" lice). It doesn't do a good job of killing the unhatched nits. It doesn't do anything to the cement that attaches them to the hair, so whether the nits are dead or alive, they will be there until they are pulled off of the hair.
Removal can be with a very fine tooth metal comb or by pulling them off with your fingers (the plastic combs seem to flex enough to comb right over many nits). Some people feel that keeping the hair wet while you are combing them out or using a vinegar rinse helps when you are combing them out. Another thing that helps is to section off the hair and concentrate on one section at a time. That way you can be much more sure that a section is free of nits.

 

[disneygals]

I have been through this twice with my kids. You must keep checking for up to a month and yes, you will miss some. It does not necessarily mean that there are live lice left. I did the olive oil and shower cap overnight treatment with my kids...every 3 days for 21 days and comb, check, comb, check etc!

Rid has a new comb that is metal and extremely thin. While you comb through, you can kind of feel it "catch" onto a nit. Then remove with your fingers. I made a roll of scotch tape with the stcky side out that I would stick them to after removal.

Good luck!

 

[MKCP5]

Disneygals thanks for your words. I have been doing comb, check, comb, check, coconut oil, new bedding, wash, check, wash check, EVERYTHING every day for two weeks!! I don't mind continuing, and I am prayerful that everything live is gone, but I wasn't sure if still finding a few nits meant live ones still. She has very long thick hair and I think I have gotten through every inch of it, but then I find one. We will keep working!! They can't beat a Mommy on a mission!!! Thanks!

 

[twinz]

I am not too sure if anyone mentioned this but the CLEANER your hair, the more Lice like it. I would suggest putting a bit of hairspray or gel in your childs hair EVERYDAY. They do not like hair with products in it. I worked in a daycare for 9 years and have never had lice, due to the fact that I would always put either hair spray or gel in my hair, I would wash it everyday, and then add the product. Also those little suckers move FAST so you have to work fast, they "run" to avoid the light.

 

[loriandmatt]

Oh my goodness.....can i tell you how much i feel for you?!?!?!? I never had to experience anything like this, but as a full time working mom, i can't imagine having the time to do all of the stuff involved in this. i would have to take leave from work in order to do all the cleaning and such. God bless you. and God bless me for not having to deal with this. (yet - gulp!)

good luck and hang in there - lori

 

[DisneyMomx7]

Well we're at the 7 day mark and so far so good. I'm so nervous though - I wash their hair and condition each night and use the metal RID comb and so far no nits. I'm washing the sheets and pillowcases every day though and still boiling all our brushes and combs. I went out and bought new pillows and everything in our home has been washed, drycleaned, sprayed or vaccumed. I'm trying the hair spray too - the principal told me that's what the teachers do. I just hope the other mothers were as diligent - I think that after all this if it were to happen again I would just cry!

Thanks to everyone for all their tips and encouragement. Who would think that if your kids and house are clean you would have to deal with such a disgusting thing as lice. Well you live and learn.