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

[my4kids]

From the American Airlines website:

Passengers Not Accepted
The following types of passengers will NOT be accepted for travel:

Passengers who must travel on a stretcher.
Pregnant passengers expecting delivery within seven days of departure. For travel trans-atlantic, trans-pacific, and to or from Central or South America, is not permitted if expecting delivery within 30 days of departure.
Newborn babies (within seven days of delivery) unless parent or guardian has a medical certificate indicating travel is authorized.
Customers with questionable contagious diseases. Contact SAC for determination. Queue record to DFW105/11 or contact American Airlines reservations. Contagious diseases are indicated below.
Chicken Pox
Diphtheria
Hepatitis A
Lice
Measles - German and Red
Meningococcal Meningitis
Mumps
Polio
Open, draining or bleeding sores
Tuberculosis (TB)
Comatose passengers are not accepted on American Airlines. The passenger must be able to follow emergency procedures.
Passengers unable to sit upright with seatbelt fastened. The only exception is a passenger in a body cast. Contact American Airlines Reservations for details.

That means active untreated lice. It doesn't say people who already did a RID treatment and a comb through.

 

[Skatermom23]

I know I shouldn't keep reading this tread but I just can't stop myself!! I have to fly in a few days. I wonder if I can reserve a lice free seat?

 

[my4kids]

a good comb through with a nit comb every other night on wet hair for about two weeks probably will do the trick.

The electronic comb didn't work worth beans for us.

My kids were back in school the next day, nit free.

I can't believe the people who think she should cancel her trip. How long should this child be kept out of public anyway? She's not a leper. The chances of her infecting anyone else after a RID treatment and a very thorough combthough with a nit comb are likely pretty dang slim.

Thank you!

One comb though is enough to be non-contagious. Unless you are just doing it wrong.

 

[cardaway]

And it freaks me out that I could possibly get this if I was sitting in Mickey's Philaharmagic because I sat down after this family. I know you can walk around with and not know and that is how it is spead but to know and then head out doesnt sit right!

Agreed. Sadly this kind of thinking is exactly what got the OP's kid infested and now the cycle of selfishness and irresponsibility will continue.

 

[Hannathy]

my4kids I don't know why you insist lice can't crawl. I have seen them and I have seen body and HEAD lice crawl. every source I have read say they crawl. These were head lice that were crawling on the equipment. I saw him naked and they weren't body lice- or pubic. Was the one you experimented on a treated louse? of course it wouldn't crawl it was half dead. when they are alive and well they crawl. They even recommend 2 people check a head at the same time because they move so fast and may scoot away from the area you are checking and be missed.

You are not going to comb waist length hair to COMPLETELY remove all the nits in one hour. Even the fact sheets say it will take HOURS notice the plural.

It is the cavalier attitude like yours that has made lice an epidemic again. 40 yrs ago when I was in elementary school and up you NEVER heard of lice never it was a thing of the past and I went to a large school (1200 in my graduating class) fast forward to now and they are running rampant.

The OP is acting irresponsible as so many today and society is paying for it.

 

[CF'er]

My DD got lice in K. Her classroom was infested.... the only one in the school. I had to do 2 or 3 treatments on her and we combed and combed. I couldn't find anything on her. I'd take her to school and the nurse would find nits. Home we'd go. I'd comb and comb. Nothing. Nurse.... bingo. DD missed about a week of school. Finally after finding only 1 or 2 nurse let her come back. She said that the nits change color (get darker) after treatment and she knew we were treating.
They thoroughly cleaned the class, removed pillows etc and finally got rid of them. No pun intended. It was a PITA.
It was hard to see them and I didn't really know what I was looking for. As hard as it is to do at home how thorough will you be at WDW?

 

[CF'er]

Also, on the airline list it doesn't say "Untreated. You're ok if you've treated."
It says "lice".

 

[my4kids]

my4kids I don't know why you insist lice can't crawl. I have seen them and I have seen body and HEAD lice crawl. every source I have read say they crawl. These were head lice that were crawling on the equipment. I saw him naked and they weren't body lice- or pubic. Was the one you experimented on a treated louse? of course it wouldn't crawl it was half dead. when they are alive and well they crawl. They even recommend 2 people check a head at the same time because they move so fast and may scoot away from the area you are checking and be missed.

You are not going to comb waist length hair to COMPLETELY remove all the nits in one hour. Even the fact sheets say it will take HOURS notice the plural.

It is the cavalier attitude like yours that has made lice an epidemic again. 40 yrs ago when I was in elementary school and up you NEVER heard of lice never it was a thing of the past and I went to a large school (1200 in my graduating class) fast forward to now and they are running rampant.

The OP is acting irresponsible as so many today and society is paying for it.

I am not cavalier about lice. I have dealt with it with my kids and it is a PITA and I would NEVER want to give it to someone else. I just feel most attitudes on this thread are over-reaction.

and as far as my insistence on lice not crawling, I maintain that they do not crawl when not on a human hair. Every website I look at does say they are transmitted by crawling from one head to another, but they are on hair at the time. I have not seen one website that says they will crawl on their own when off of a shaft of hair.

The reason that lice is more prevelent today than 40 years ago is because of incectididal shampoos and abuse of the same. The product itself says they should NEVER be used more than twice on a person and yet their are posts on this thread talking about doing 5 and more treatments. Lice will become resistent with this kind of abuse. The best way to get rid of them is manually. Also the misuse of the products because people use the shampoo, then don't do a comb through or follow the directions on the package and think they are done.

 

[Mkrop]

my4kids I would not go so far as to say you are cavalier but I think you were very fortunate that you eradicated the lice so quickly and effectively. I am sure you worked your tail off!

I also know many moms who worked their butts off, did the Rid, did the combing, use every natural type product out there, from mayo, to vinegar rinse and finally what seemed to be helping more than other stuff they tried was tea tree oil. These moms could not get rid of it for these girls in our classroom, yet I think due to their hard work they did not spread it to siblings. They were on the phone with each other constantly and on the phone with Drs as well. The bus driver did find one live one on one of the seats (not cloth) after the girl had been cleared and killed it and started wiping down her seats after each run.

I think the lice are lasting longer then 48 hours (IMO), I some how think they have learned to nest and even hibernate but I am no expert and dont pretend to be.

I am glad your experience was what it was but I dont think you should judge others who are trying as well and may not be having the success you did.

 

[Mkrop]

My DD got lice in K. Her classroom was infested.... the only one in the school. I had to do 2 or 3 treatments on her and we combed and combed. I couldn't find anything on her. I'd take her to school and the nurse would find nits. Home we'd go. I'd comb and comb. Nothing. Nurse.... bingo. DD missed about a week of school. Finally after finding only 1 or 2 nurse let her come back. She said that the nits change color (get darker) after treatment and she knew we were treating.
They thoroughly cleaned the class, removed pillows etc and finally got rid of them. No pun intended. It was a PITA.
It was hard to see them and I didn't really know what I was looking for. As hard as it is to do at home how thorough will you be at WDW?

Similar experince in DS's room last year. Only the one room. I found that amazing given these kids go all over the school to art, music etc and no siblings affected also no boys, never saw so many buzz cuts in my life, looked like boot camp

 

[JerseyJanice]

How I wish I didn’t read this thread! I’ll be scratching over it for days.

To some extent, I don’t blame the OP for wanting to go ahead with her vacation plans. What irks me, though, is that it doesn’t sound like she consulted with her pediatrician on how to treat for lice and how to avoid spreading it.

Looking up information on the internet and asking questions on the DIS CB is all well and good, but neither is a substitute for getting professional treatment.

I’d like to think that when dealing with a contagious situation, most people would see a doctor and get his/her clearance before boarding a plane or checking into a hotel room.

 

[Mkrop]

How I wish I didn’t read this thread! I’ll be scratching over it for days.

To some extent, I don’t blame the OP for wanting to go ahead with her vacation plans. What irks me, though, is that it doesn’t sound like she consulted with her pediatrician on how to treat for lice and how to avoid spreading it.

Looking up information on the internet and asking questions on the DIS CB is all well and good, but neither is a substitute for getting professional treatment.

I’d like to think that when dealing with a contagious situation, most people would see a doctor and get his/her clearance before boarding a plane or checking into a hotel room.

There is that common sense thing again!!!!!! If people would just use it I think that would do a world of good!

 

[mommylicious]

I have not seen one website that says they will crawl on their own when off of a shaft of hair.

Headlice.org says that they are CRAWLING INSECTS. Not insects that crawl only on a shaft of hair. Look at the "lousology" page. Also on the FAQ page it states that they can not hop, jump or fly but says nothing about being able to crawl only on a hair.

Looking at info from public health departments, all say they crawl and none specify that they crawl only on a hair shaft.

Incidently, every site I looked at also says that multiple treatments with Rid or similar product may be neccissary. All also suggested nit free as the standard for returning back to school.

In this case it is a moot point in that the OP has already left for vacation. Hopefully in her case a single treatment with Rid was all it took and she continued to be vigilant in checking for nits while on the trip. As someone pointed out from the day the first louse was on her head they lay 6-8 eggs a day and it is unlikely that she was diagnosed with just one louse on her head so it isn't safe to say that all is clear for 10 days after treatment.

IMHO, it isn't a good idea to take a child with lice to WDW. That's my opinion though and there are lots of other things I think are not a good idea that people do every day so obviously the public at large doesn't care about my opinion. Still, I'm allowed to have one. I know first hand what a pain in the rear it is to have something happen right beofre your trip and have to cancel or reschedule. We rescheduled when DS came down with pink eye right before a trip. We did have time for him to be on the drops for more than 24 hours before our flight but we had dealt with it twice that school year already and had a hard time getting rid of it so DH and I decided it would be irresponsible to just assume the drops would work fine and travel as planned. I would estimate it cost us around $600 in change fees and lots and lots of frustration to move the trip back but I felt better knowing that when we boarded that plane that no one else was going to come down with pink eye because of my child and our desire to take vacation as planned.

 

[Skatermom23]

I am not cavalier about lice. I have dealt with it with my kids and it is a PITA and I would NEVER want to give it to someone else. I just feel most attitudes on this thread are over-reaction.

I'm not so sure about that. I just watched my SIL go through a lice "situation". I took her four months to finally get rid of everything. She combed every night and became a cleaning fanatic. She lost 15 pounds due to the stress of the situation. My poor neices had to sit through hours and hours of hair combing. She did everything right and it still took FOUR MONTHS to get rid of.

 

[RayaniFoxmur]

lol I cannot believe that this has turned into a pure flame thread! I'll be sitting over here watching people get riled up about lice while eating my popcorn. Most entertaining

 

[twinklebug]

I wonder how many of the people saying there's no problem providing the child with the lice has had a RID treatment and a comb through would feel if the following scenario happend to them:

Someone were to walk into their house and put a bag of groceries, a box or some other similar item coming from another person's household on their table. They are then informed that the item came from another house that was roach infested, but not-to-worry, the item had been sprayed for bugs and shaken to insure there wern't any in there.

Hm. I've never had lice in my life (knock knock) But this scenario is just how we got silverfish. The point is one treatment & good to go isn't good enough in my book, nor is it for our schools which require the child to be kept home if any nits exist on the hair.

 

[KristiKelly]

lol I cannot believe that this has turned into a pure flame thread! I'll be sitting over here watching people get riled up about lice while eating my popcorn. Most entertaining

You can't believe it's turned into a flame thread?? Wow, I can.

I can't imagine taking my kids to WDW if they had lice. Ride takes off - head goes back on the seat; 3-D or any shows - heads lean back to watch; kids trying on hats, leaning back in chairs at restaurants, shows, busses, monorails, boats, etc. lying on the bed in the hotel, the list goes on and on where there is a potential to spread lice to many, many people.

It's one thing to unknowingly do this but to know and continue is just unacceptable and irresponsible.

Part of being a parent is sacrificing things at times, even vacation if necessary.

It's too late to flame though, the OP is there by now. Let's just hope that she got it under control and that lice is not spread to many people.

 

[punkin]

I have a question. If it works, why not give your girls a buzz cuts too? Why deal with waist length hair? Am I missing something? I have a DD14 with curly, thick, alost impossible to comb thru hair (did I mention it is half way down her back when dry and below her butt when wet?) If she God forbid got lice, I would give her a buzz cut ASAP.

 

[my4kids]

I have a question. If it works, why not give your girls a buzz cuts too? Why deal with waist length hair? Am I missing something? I have a DD14 with curly, thick, alost impossible to comb thru hair (did I mention it is half way down her back when dry and below her butt when wet?) If she God forbid got lice, I would give her a buzz cut ASAP.

I felt as though having had lice was traumatic enough for my daughter with out branding her with a buzz cut . Might as well write "I had lice!!!" on her forhead with a sharpie marker. To spare my daughter any pain, I would comb waste length hair for hours as long as she was willing. If she hated the combing and rather have her hair cut rather than deal with it, that would be different, but my daughter pleaded with me to not give her a bob because all the girls coming into school with bobs, the rest of the class knew they had lice right away. (same with boys with buzzes ,since long hair is in style in their school right now. )

 

[meandtheguys2]

I'm not so sure about that. I just watched my SIL go through a lice "situation". I took her four months to finally get rid of everything. She combed every night and became a cleaning fanatic. She lost 15 pounds due to the stress of the situation. My poor neices had to sit through hours and hours of hair combing. She did everything right and it still took FOUR MONTHS to get rid of.

The local YMCA daycare has had to close down for two seperate weeks this spring due to infestations. The chemicals and the steam cleaning took multiple apllications to everyone and everything. A huge headache for the facility and the people who depend upon it.