I know some of you have been here - Head lice!

[brymolmom]

Ok - So first off I'll admit I'm a horrible mother. DD's head has been irritated/itchy for a few weeks. I immediately checked for what I thought I needed to look for for lice (had always heard white-ish flakes right at the root and scalp connection). My mother also looked. We saw nothing. I thought it was due to a new shampoo we had tried. Changed shampoos, did a dry-scalp treatment (which seemed to help - likely killed some of the lice for awhile) and noticed that she had a lot of 'dandruff'. Well, my son complained of itchy head last night and then it finally clicked - a dry scalp doesn't travel from kid to kid. So anyway - both of them have it and dh and I have been going crazy all day today with cleanup/treatments. This is where we are:
1) DS likely had it for way shorter AND his hair is way shorter so I did one treatment (the RIT shampoo followed by comb-out) and also one wet-down and comb-out later in the day. I would guess in my now expert manner that he likely is 90% clean.
2) DD had it a LONG time (bad mommy) and has long hair so I did one RIT shampoo and comb out (this one was about an hour and a half - we were both in tears by the end). Then two mayonnaise treatments followed by comb-outs. I think I got all the actual bugs but the nits, which for those who might be interested are not right at the scalp but instead look like dandruff in the hair a few inches from the actual roots, are still there - and I mean A LOT are still there. She struggled going to bed tonight because she's still itchy and now doesn't want to scratch since she's afraid she'll get a bug on her finger. I thought she would feel SO MUCH RELIEF today after 3 treatments that I'm so disappointed. I know she can't go to school tomorrow and it's starting to look like I can't go to work either.

Has anyone had this happen where there are a LOT of nits left after treatments? I tried combing and I tried pulling them out with my fingertips and I got a lot...but I would guess there's at least a hundred left - I would pull and pull and many just would not budge.

I read that olive oil might 'loosen' them up to make it easier to get them out? Has anyone done this? I'm thinking of trying this next.

Any other tricks??

Thanks so much!

 

[aLLpInK]

Here's what our ped suggested do instead ofharsh chemicals and it has worked for us. I have 3 little girls with a lot of hair and it has happened to us for the past two septembers after school started!! So i feel your pain....

Cetafil (the facial cleanser)
Slather the entire head with it. Completely drench the hair with it. Then comb through with the nit comb until you absolutely think you got it all. I use a bowl of warm water to rinse the comb out in each time.
DRY the hair (dont rinse cetafil out) on high heat until dry. It won't look all that bad actually. I leave it overnight. (this suffocates anything that might have gotten missed) Wash like normal after a few hours and repeat after one week. I'd do it again in 4 or 5 days,then a week after that. Worked like a charm.

Wash and dry on high heat everything thats washable. stuffed animals can be put in a garbage bag and in the attic or basement or a closet for a couple weeks.

I too missed DD's the first time for at least two to three weeks!! EEEK! I had just never considered it, but once you go through it you will be checking weeky.UGH what a nightmare.

Best of luck.

 

[ForAandA]

You have to comb out DD's hair nightly for about a week, to make sure all of the nits are out. The nits are eggs. Their is no way to tell if the egg is hatched or not. You just have to get rid of them all. Comb in small sections, and wipe the comb off on a paper towel after each swipe. As you probably know by now, the nits have a glue like substance on the shell, and they do not come off easily!

An old trick is to make up a paste of white conditioner (Pantene) and baking soda. Then in small sections, comb some of the paste through the hair with the nit comb, then comb out onto paper towel. The smoothness of the conditioner helps get the comb through, the grittiness of the baking soda grabs the nit.

I worked for a lice company for over 10 years. I was a tech, going to homes and treating the family. Summer camps as well. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions .

 

[h2oophelia]

I just went through this with DD over Christmas break! I missed it as well. I was looking for white eggs, and had no idea eggs are brown (same color as DD's hair) before they hatch.

I used Rid on DD and also a product called Lice MD. It's a oily gel that you leave on the hair for ten minutes and then comb through. It's not a pesticide so you can use it in between Rid treatments. Be sure to protect your floors though, it's SUPER slippery and messy when you comb through. Some got on our kitchen floor and made it like an ice skating rink!

Good luck!

 

[sahm1000]

My suggestion is to make sure you get a lice comb NOT included in the kits. Those combs that were included never worked for us. We have a lice comb pick that has metal teeth and works much better. We did the RID treatments on the first and tenth days and in between we combed their hair out with Lice MD. Not sure that the Lice MD does much but it does allow me to comb through their hair more easier.

Good luck!

 

[squirrel]

My sister had a horrible time with my niece's getting lice from a neighbour's child that also went to school with the oldest niece.

Both niece's have curly hair, older one has much tighter curls. My sister tried the shampoo. She even straightened the girls hair to try and get the nits out.

Then she bought an electric comb that zaps the lice/nits and hasn't had any problems since. The neighbours moved away but the girls see each other for cheer.

My sister even put Tea Tree oil in their shampoo before they were even exposed to any lice as she never wanted to deal with lice.

 

[SweetMissy]

Eww this is making me itch just reading all this, lol. First off....YOU ARE NOT A BAD MOM!! I have 2 younger sisters and we all had lice for the longest time when I was in about 9th or 10th grade. Not because my mom wasn't treating us but because we all have such thick long hair. My mom probably spent a fortune on the lice shampoo. The kits came with a perfect little comb to use to get the eggs off the hair. Do they not come with it anymore? It's a very time consuming process but you really have to keep up with it because it only takes 1 live egg to start it up again. Good luck!

 

[love__goofy]

Oh goodness...I certainly feel your pain. I went through this last summer. I did the same thing...one of my kids was scratching his head for a couple of weeks..I kept checking and never saw anything. Then one day, while in the grocery store he was scratching again, so I looked, and I saw a live adult lice running through his hair...EEEWW!

Anyway, all 4 kids ended up having lice and me too! What a mess! We tried the chemicals, they definitely seemed to kill all the live stuff. Make sure you are using a metal comb and not the plastic one.

After chemical use, we did the Listerene and vinegar treatment. You put listerene in their hair, cover with a shower cap, and leave it for 1 hour. Go to Wal-mart and buy disposable shower caps that are used for hair coloring. After the hour, pour heated vinegar in their hair. Put the shower cap back on and wait another hour. Then rinse, use a coconut conditiner, leave it on, and comb out nits. I found that the best comb was from fairy tales..something like that. I found it at Bed, Bath, and Beyond...I know a crazy place to find lice killer.

Good luck! Just make sure you retreat in a about 10 days. I didn't the first time, and the kids got it again.

The second time, I treated my kids with the listerene/vinegar every other day for about 12 days. I finally won the battle

 

[mommyjam]

Dont bother with the lice treatment kits, they dont work. Get a couple big bottles of original flavor Listerine, store brand works too. Soak their hair in Listerine and put a shower cap on them for about 90 minutes. Rinse their hair and then soak their hair in white vinegar and a clean shower cap ( plastic grocery bags work too) for an hour. This will help loosen the nits, then shampoo and comb out their hair. Do a second treatment in a couple weeks to be sure no more have hatched. I went thru this several years ago with my daughter, we did 3 treatments with the lice shampoo and were still finding live bugs when she would get out of the shower from using the special shampoo, we did one treatment of the Listerine and problem was gone.

 

[mjkacmom]

Unfortunately, I've learned that one of the problems with RID is that it actually makes the nits stickier, and much harder to remove. The last time we had this (our fourth - it gets bad at school), I threw in the towel, and went to a lice removal place (very nice, several rooms, flat screen TV's, pretty busy...). They put conditioner in the girls' hair, and combed. The staff rotated, to check each other's work. Dd9 was much quicker, because she had less, but dd10 (who, after a couple of hours of me working on her, still had so many, prompting my phone call) took hours.

We had the option of coming back for a second treatment (half price) 7 - 10 days later, or to just comb after conditioning every night in the shower, for a couple of weeks, and to do 2 comb outs with cristco, 7 and 14 days later. We chose to do it ourselves, and we were done. They charged $50 just for a check (very, very thorough), but if lice was found, they applied that towards the cost of treatment (I had them check me, of course, but I was clean).

Best money I ever spent, and I sleep better knowing I have that option. Lice is easy - nits are not. I hope you invested in a good metal comb, and a lighted magnifying glass.

 

[mjkacmom]

An old trick is to make up a paste of white conditioner (Pantene) and baking soda. Then in small sections, comb some of the paste through the hair with the nit comb, then comb out onto paper towel. The smoothness of the conditioner helps get the comb through, the grittiness of the baking soda grabs the nit.
.

Ah yes, the baking soda. The center we went to used the costco brand conditioner, very similar to pantene (I buy both, depending upon the costco coupon).

 

[monorailsilver]

Dreaded lice...my oldest had it either 2 or 3 times the last time was this past spring & it spread to my youngest.

We did the OTC lice treatment followed by me picking thru her hair. She has thick hair, long hair so it took me a few hours.

I separated her hair in pony tails, made sure my hair was up & got some scotch tape. She was in charge of the tape, giving me pieces if I saw any running around. That was the only way I could catch the live lice. I'd smash it down on them & sure enough 99% of the time I caught them.

The first time she had it, we were on about week 4 of me checking her hair daily (I did it twice a day early on). All of a sudden one of the mothers crawled from her hair onto my arm. I was so thankful I caught that one. And I couldn't believe how big it was.

But yeah those little ones are hard to see & tape was the only way I could get them out. Plus I took out all the nits with my finger nails & they went onto tape as well.

Not a fun thing to do.

 

[tiff211]

I have 3 daughters at home all with heads FULL of curly thick long hair. A few weeks ago I found lice in my 6yo’s hair as I was parting it. I checked the 9yo’s and she was clean, I checked the 11yo’s and she was INFESTED….EWWWW. I didn’t want to use the pesticides on their heads, to me if it’s strong enough to kill bugs, I don’t want it being absorbed into their scalp. So, I went online to find a home remedy. It was an eBook I had to purchase but it was guaranteed to work or $ back so I tried it. It says to use Suave Coconut Shampoo and Conditioner, supposedly the coconut does something to their exoskeleton system. I was of course thinking “yeah right” but then I realized my 9yo did not have them and she sleeps in the same bed with the 6yo constantly. I use coconut oil on her hair and scalp daily because it’s very dry. So, I tried the Sauvé remedy and it worked. I did find one louse a week or so later but I think I just missed an egg, luckily it hadn’t laid any eggs. I do check their hair daily and so far so good and I now use that shampoo and conditioner routinely and have the conditioner mixed with water to spray on their head like leave in. I did read that cheerleaders are more susceptible to getting lice and my girls cheer.
Here is the link for the ebook. I recommend it and I am not getting any endorsements and I don’t know the woman nor is my name Mary Gaines. I just am a satisfied mom who got through the lice outbreak with little frustration, thanks to the ebook’s information.

http://www.getridoflice.com/

 

[Tinkh]

Olive oil all over the hair. It is going to look a hot mess for a day or two. Get a nice lice comb. One with a magnifying glass attached etc. Comb for hours. Dip the comb in hot water between each swipe. Wash hair with vinegar afterwards. Do this a couple of days in a row. Make sure you freeze all her stuffed animals and pillows.

 

[rookie78]

There was an outbreak at my daughter's school this Sept. She has very thick and curly hair. I did maynonaise treatments every night for 5 days straight. I also hand picked out the nits on the first night. It took 4 hours. I did a tiny section at a time. I also comb through her hair each night with it covered with sauve cocunt conditioner. I also, cut her hair. The reason the the nits are a couple of inches from the scalp is because they have been there for awhile. They most likely dead, but you should retreat again in week after first treatment. It is a nightmare, I feel your pain and those things are hard to find!!!

 

[Ephany]

I feel your pain. DD got lice at school last year and we tried it all. Cetaphil, vinegar, olive oil, the kit from the store. Definitely get a good metal comb, the plastic ones aren't worth the money. After combing out her hair for hours every day, I broke down and found a company outside Atlanta who specialize in lice removal. For the amount of money I spend on combs, clips, supplies, specialty shampoos and sprays, I could have had her treated in one day with a lot less angst. The employees were super nice and very efficient; it was well worth the drive. If (hopefully never!) one of us ever have lice again, I'm calling them first!

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

No personal experience with this, but I have heard great things about a product called Fairy Tales. Natural but works great for lice.

 

[lyncecelia]

Ugh I hate lice--my sister had it for a year when we were younger and my mom insisted I didn't have any. We had such a hard time with the school, offering no help and I was on wits end! I ended up paying to have us all 3 of us checked, and it turned out that was a great idea....I was the one keeping it in the house! . Turns out my mom didn't know what she was looking for coupled with the fact she couldn't see too well, and because of that I was infested. Since that I am extremely PHOBIC of lice! Last summer they were up here and I lifted my sister's hair and it was infested AGAIN! I could see them crawling through just by lifting a clump...Tim had to comb it out for me because I couldn't do it, I was freaked out too much.

Things we did went as extreme as hair dye to kill them. If I was faced with it again and Tim wasn't there, I'd be booking it to a center...I refuse to do that again...

 

[Blackbeltdisneygirl]

You are not a bad mom. First off, it is a misconception people have that lice comes from dirty people. I had thought that myself, but then was told by my kids' doctor and my daughter's preschool that they are actually attracted to clean heads! When my second youngest daughter got them from her preschool, I was so upset. We have 5 kids, and four are girls with LONG hair. I am talking long enough to donate and still have longish hair. We donate frequently, and I was horrified at the thought of maybe having to cut their hair. I went into crazy mom mode. Of course we did all the shampoos and sprays. I stripped EVERYTHING, and washed what I could and put the rest in garbage bags for a week. I covered pillows in allergy proof zipper bags and changed all the bedding every night. This was so rough with 5 kids, let me tell you. My son's hair was longer, but I wasn't worried about him b/c he slept in a different part of the house, and when I checked him he had nothing. I still treated his room though. I may have treated every kid once just in case. I can't remember. Anyway, every night I doused their hair in either olive oil or baby oil, and covered their heads with a shower cap that wasn't a suffocation hazzard. We worked the nits out of our 5 year old's head, and frequently checked all the other girls. No one else got them!!! At least that's what I thought.

About 2 weeks later, I looked at my son's hair and asked what he got in it. He had no idea. I looked better and realized he had nits in his hair. He NEVER had an itchy head. He NEVER had the little pink bites behind his ears. He NEVER had one adult lice that we could see. I don't know how it happened. I remember having lice and it was a miserable experience. He never complained. I treated him, pulled the nits out, and he was done. There weren't any adult lice in the water when I treated him, whereas there had been when I treated my daughter. It was the oddest thing. I really believe that covering all my girls' hair with oil every night was what kept them from getting it. They all slept in the same room, and sometimes slept in the same bed b/c they were little and it was a full size bed on the bottom and a twin size on the top bunk with a trundle for the youngest. My son was in a completely different room. So wierd.

 

[squirrel]

This is the one my sister bought http://www.robicomb.com/?gclid=CMrS9KaQ7a0CFQdjhwodF35E4Q

She phoned a bunch of places trying to find it and was going to order it but then found one at a store. I believe she paid around $40. I know if I asked her how much she would have paid for it, she would have paid a lot more like a hundred or two.

She loves that comb. The school is always sending notices home saying someone in one of her girls class has lice. She just runs the comb through their hair and if it makes a noice then there are lice/nits.