Help Lice!!! We leave for Disney tomorrow!!

[my4kids]

I have seen lice crawl. There was a girl in front of me in high school that had it crawling around all in her hair. I promise you that I noticed things started moving around in her hair and not just like a bug it was ALOT of little bitty things moving around in her hair. I felt really bad for her and didn't want to tell her, mostly because I didn't want to get that close, so I whispered it to the teacher. The poor girl was out for a week and came back with extremely short hair.

Yes they do crawl in the hair!!!!! that is how they spread so fast in children because when children are playing, reading books, doing blocks, etc they touch heads together. They move like lightning on a human hair shaft. Yes yes yes I said they crawl on hair. BUT if you picked one of those boogers off the head and laid it on a table, or a pillow or anything, It would lay there and wiggle its legs and not go anywhere. Their legs are designed only to shimmy up a hair shaft. I have done this. I picked one off my sons head to test the theory. Then I plucked a hair from my head, and layed it against the louse and it grabbed on quite fast and crawled up it. They do not move when not on hair. They NEVER jump. They only crawl when on a hair. They can move from one hair to another quite fast though.

 

[crazyme5kids]

I think you just proved the point of why I am a lice phobic. Hitching a ride on my hair if I lean against a seat is not something I'd be happy about.

 

[Tikicampers]

If the mother has combed though the head and removed all eggs she is clear, and any school would let her back. It would be strongly suggested to keep combing thoough the hair (all parts and scalp) for a few weeks just in case an egg is missed.

I When my son had lice (almost his whole class had the honor ) we were told by the school and the pediatrician that as long as he was thoroughly combed through and upon a second comb through there were no eggs or live lice on the comb, he was welcome back. He was also welcome back with one treatment of RID if I chose to go that route.

That is correct according to my district's rules. Show up with the RID label, and you come right back. Students are only kept out of school if they have live lice. The nits are eggs, and cannot be spread until they hatch, which is why several of us have reccomended that the mother continue to comb the child's hair every night to check for any missed ones. She combed her hair after the RID treatment, so she would have seen any lice the chemicals missed.
We had a lice outbreak in my classroom for about three months this year and I never got it. And I sat in the same seats the kids did may times. It is obviously not quite so easy to spread as so many seem to think.

 

[disneyjunkie]

Yes they do crawl in the hair!!!!! that is how they spread so fast in children because when children are playing, reading books, doing blocks, etc they touch heads together. They move like lightning on a human hair shaft. Yes yes yes I said they crawl on hair. BUT if you picked one of those boogers off the head and laid it on a table, or a pillow or anything, It would lay there and wiggle its legs and not go anywhere. Their legs are designed only to shimmy up a hair shaft. I have done this. I picked one off my sons head to test the theory. Then I plucked a hair from my head, and layed it against the louse and it grabbed on quite fast and crawled up it. They do not move when not on hair. They NEVER jump. They only crawl when on a hair. They can move from one hair to another quite fast though.

You just proved why most parents have an issue with this family going to WDW.

 

[djm99]

I am going to be incredibly mean but Your going to go to Disney and not say anything!!!!!!! That room will have to be completely stripped and treated before the next person sleeps in there! I am a not a germaphobe but come on you are going to leave lice and not say anything? Our kids aren't allowed in class until nit free and your taking yours to a motel room and to sit in close contact for days with people on rides and shows. Are you flying? I am aghast that people are taking such a cavalier attitude toward this and staying in a Hotel room and exposing so many people. Can you postpone a day until you at least get rid of most of the nits? and are you going to spend 2 hours a day on vacation picking nits? If you don't they will be back and spread to so many at Disney it is sad.

I don't think it is right! I'm sorry but sometimes things happen and we have to think of others.

I am thinking this same thing. Not just a hotel room, the sit down theaters and shows can easily 'jump', crawl, move, etc. off and wait for the next sitter. This includes rides too. I'm not saying stay home (as I'm sure you're already gone) but please be courteous to those who will come behind you. I'm sure you will -

 

[poohandwendy]

Hannathy you posted exactly what I was thinking. It stinks that this happened right before WDW but I couldn't in good conscience travel and spread the love.

Me neither, I am glad someone finally said it.

Lice is very contagious, there is no doubt about that. There would not be outbreaks if it was difficult to transmit from one person to another in a casual setting. Exposing many, many people to her is irresponsible, IMHO.

 

[tiggersmom2]

You just proved why most parents have an issue with this family going to WDW.

Yep!

To My4kids - do you not understand that a room can be infested by means other than the sheets?! For someone who is ....o....m....g....soooooo knowledgeable....you should know that chairs and other upholstery will readily pick up the nasty critters.

 

[dreamcometrue]

She has light blonde hair so I can't see the eggs? What I've been taking out of her hair is brown things that look like dirt stuck to her hair. Her hair is waist length so this is a PITA!!!

sorry to have to tell you this...but cut her hair!! You will NEVER get rid of them otherwise, and you will take them to WDW and unless you tell housekeeping about the lice, you will most likely infest the person coming into the room after you!

I would cut her hair to about chin length (yes, it's sad you have to do it, but you gotta do what you gotta do) and then you HAVE to find a way to get the nits out, otherwise you will not get rid of the lice and you can only do the treatment every so often!

Of course, OP is most likely already gone to WDW...

 

[dreamcometrue]

I am thinking this same thing. Not just a hotel room, the sit down theaters and shows can easily 'jump', crawl, move, etc. off and wait for the next sitter. This includes rides too. I'm not saying stay home (as I'm sure you're already gone) but please be courteous to those who will come behind you. I'm sure you will -

from what I understand they don't "jump", but they *can* be transferred onto pillows, headrests, etc. etc. and the next person can get them. Also when heads are touching! OP mentioned that her DD hair is down to her waist, so the possibility of someone coming in contact with her hair while standing in line for a ride is very likely!!

Ugh, now my head itches....

 

[poohandwendy]

I am wondering when all of you lice-phobic people would be satisfied with this poor child being allowed to travel again. should she be quarantined for weeks, months? what would make you happy? When my son had lice (almost his whole class had the honor ) we were told by the school and the pediatrician that as long as he was thoroughly combed through and upon a second comb through there were no eggs or live lice on the comb, he was welcome back. He was also welcome back with one treatment of RID if I chose to go that route. I continued to comb through every night for about 2 weeks, and once in a long while I would find an egg I missed, but he never got lice again.

well, it would have been nice if the OP actually knew what she was doing before she took her DD to WDW. She obviously wasn't even sure what a nit and what a live louse was...

I'm sorry, but I think it is more than reasonable to expect people to keep their children at home when they have a highly communicable issue, rather than take her to the confines of a a plane and the crowds of a theme park.

 

[my4kids]

You just proved why most parents have an issue with this family going to WDW.

but the mother said she did RID and a comb through. They cant spread from head to head unless they are alive. The kid is clear. You all have no clue what you are talking about obviously. Even in the unlikey event that there was one live louse on the kid, she would have to touch her head to another persons head for them to get it. And even then if there is only one or two lice it would be unlikely for them to get it since she is not infested.

 

[Mermaid02]

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/headlice/faq.htm

This says lice can't jump (no knees) but they do CRAWL. Have a seat on the plane, change planes. John Q. Business then sits in your seat.... he just might start itching tomorrow. Accidentally I can see this happening, but knowingly doing this is just rotten and selfish.

Edited to add: What about head to head contact in some of the line rides? I know some of those are pretty tight. I can see kids brushing their heads together easily.

 

[dreamcometrue]

That is correct according to my district's rules. Show up with the RID label, and you come right back. Students are only kept out of school if they have live lice. The nits are eggs, and cannot be spread until they hatch, which is why several of us have reccomended that the mother continue to comb the child's hair every night to check for any missed ones. She combed her hair after the RID treatment, so she would have seen any lice the chemicals missed.
We had a lice outbreak in my classroom for about three months this year and I never got it. And I sat in the same seats the kids did may times. It is obviously not quite so easy to spread as so many seem to think.

wow, our district requires the kids to be checked by the school nurse before they come back, and if she (nurse) sees ANY nits, they are not allowed back!

 

[poohandwendy]

but the mother said she did RID and a comb through. They cant spread from head to head unless they are alive. The kid is clear. You all have no clue what you are talking about obviously. Even in the unlikey event that there was one live louse on the kid, she would have to touch her head to another persons head for them to get it. And even then if there is only one or two lice it would be unlikely for them to get it since she is not infested.

That is incorrect. They can live up to 24 hours on bedding, furniture. It would not be unusual at all for her to have her head resting on a chair at WDW (watching a show) and a few lice remain...then another person comes in and lays their head against the same chair.


if the mother is picking them off of her head, she IS infested.

 

[my4kids]

Yep!

To My4kids - do you not understand that a room can be infested by means other than the sheets?! For someone who is ....o....m....g....soooooo knowledgeable....you should know that chairs and other upholstery will readily pick up the nasty critters.

Yes there is a small chance (not as big as head to head contact) that it could transmit onto upolstery then on to someone else who laid their head against the upolstery within 48 hours. BUT THIS WOULD BE IF THE KID WAS STILL INFESTED. This kid was treated, therefore no longer infested, and this kid can go anywhere she pleases and any doctor would tell you the same. My posts are sounding frustrated because i am. Like I said, when on earth would you all deem the kid clear? Because I'm telling you, kids are coming into your childs school all the time one day (or the same day) as having lice and being treated with RID and your school is welcoming them in to use the headphones in the library etc. And your kids are not getting lice from these kids because they are clear.

 

[Tikicampers]

wow, our district requires the kids to be checked by the school nurse before they come back, and if she (nurse) sees ANY nits, they are not allowed back!

The nurse does check, but they are only sent back home for live lice, not the nits. Although I do know of one case where the child was covered in nits and was sent home. I'm talking about 50+ nits.

 

[Mermaid02]

Yes there is a small chance (not as big as head to head contact) that it could transmit onto upolstery then on to someone else who laid their head against the upolstery within 48 hours. BUT THIS WOULD BE IF THE KID WAS STILL INFESTED. This kid was treated, therefore no longer infested, and this kid can go anywhere she pleases and any doctor would tell you the same. My posts are sounding frustrated because i am. Like I said, when on earth would you all deem the kid clear? Because I'm telling you, kids are coming into your childs school all the time one day (or the same day) as having lice and being treated with RID and your school is welcoming them in to use the headphones in the library etc. And your kids are not getting lice from these kids because they are clear.

They aren't welcomed in my kids school- the nurse or the lice expert (it was a classroom teacher in my son's last school) has to check them and deem them nit/louse free or they go right back home.

 

[poohandwendy]

Yes there is a small chance (not as big as head to head contact) that it could transmit onto upolstery then on to someone else who laid their head against the upolstery within 48 hours. BUT THIS WOULD BE IF THE KID WAS STILL INFESTED. This kid was treated, therefore no longer infested, and this kid can go anywhere she pleases and any doctor would tell you the same. My posts are sounding frustrated because i am. Like I said, when on earth would you all deem the kid clear? Because I'm telling you, kids are coming into your childs school all the time one day (or the same day) as having lice and being treated with RID and your school is welcoming them in to use the headphones in the library etc. And your kids are not getting lice from these kids because they are clear.

The OP didn't seem to know what she was doing and it has been shown time and time again that RID doesn't always work. To assume this child is nit and lice free is ridiculous. The OP wasn't even sure what a nit was.

My youngest DD got lice from a child at school when she was 7, fortunately, I found out there was an outbreak before she was even itchy. It was a nightmare to check for and get rid of the nits. They are very small and stick to the hair shaft. It wasn't a one day process. Especially with a long haired girl, it would take hours and hours to check thoroughly for live lice and nits. And even then, you have to keep checking daily to be sure.

There is NO WAY I would take a recently infested child to WDW or any other public place. I wouldn't send my DD back to school until I knew she was absolutely and completely nit free for a few days. This took hours of checking her head.

 

[Hannathy]

but the mother said she did RID and a comb through. They cant spread from head to head unless they are alive. The kid is clear. You all have no clue what you are talking about obviously. Even in the unlikely event that there was one live louse on the kid, she would have to touch her head to another persons head for them to get it. And even then if there is only one or two lice it would be unlikely for them to get it since she is not infested.

The mother combed through 1 time count them 1 time there is no way that would rid her of the nits. And I would love to have you show me how to comb through a girls long hair in 1 hour and be nit free. I would give you a thousand dollars to show me that technique because every case I have known about takes hours and hours to get every one of them . The girl also according to her Mom definitely had nits when they left. and like I said before the ones laid last week will be hatching tomorrow oh joy just in time for the seats at HISTA. Or the airplane ride home.

I would like to know where you get all your info because some is wrong. Lice can live on other surfaces and be transmitted to another host. If they couldn't why do stuffed animals have to be bagged, why do we boil combs, why do kids get lice from hats?

And they most certainly crawl, I have a very memorable experience of taking a street person's BP and watching the lice crawl up the tubing from the cuff. Those silly lice no one told them they couldn't crawl!

 

[crazyme5kids]

but the mother said she did RID and a comb through. They cant spread from head to head unless they are alive. The kid is clear. You all have no clue what you are talking about obviously. Even in the unlikey event that there was one live louse on the kid, she would have to touch her head to another persons head for them to get it. And even then if there is only one or two lice it would be unlikely for them to get it since she is not infested.

A few months ago I posted about lice where I worked (I work in early childcare). Three children had them. One of them it only took one treatment and a comb through. The mother kept her child home two days. One child had to have two treatments before she was rid of them. The one who's mother called to say her child had lice, which is when we did a head check and discovered the first two kids I mentioned, said it took a full week for her child to be free of nits and live lice.

So, that being said, just one treatment of RID is not always enough. Nor is just a one hour of a comb through always enough. You were lucky that in your child's case it was enough.

All it could take is one or two lice to cause an infestation.