Lice....... Ewwww!!!

[angiepangie8]

Last summer a neighbor spent the day with us and ended up giving us all lice. By the time we found out my MIL had also gotten it. It was an absolute nightmare! We tried everything: rid (or maybe it was nix), mayo, conditioner, olive oil, vinegar (which stung DD), tea tree oil, hair gel ~ the hair gel my MIL found some live lice after combing through her hair gel douced head, and we were at our absolute wits end. We then tried Lice Freeee (I think that is what it's called) with success. However I still regularly comb through my hair with the lice comb and still think I am finding eggs. I hope it's just dandruff. We used the Lice Freeee stuff several times and had many "power combing sessions."

It might be worth your while to give the Lice Freee a try (I double check the name ASAP) I bought it at Walgreens, CVS and Walmart.
Also of course we washed and vacuumed everything as well as bagging all stuffed animals and soft items that couldn't be washed.
I avoided percriptions because of the potential side effects.

I now use a tea tree oil shampoo and am looking for the miracle product in case we have another outbreak ~ but not a potentially dangerous to ones health miracle product.
(I was so desperate it was all could do from spraying myself with that poisonous spray that came in the Rid or Nix kit for spraying furniture. ~ I did refrain)

(just realized how old this thread is) Oh well that's ok

 

[angiepangie8]

Lice can't survive more than 48 hours without a blood meal. They dry out and die. The eggs will go into a sort of dormant state if they are not on a warm body, but they can't survive more than 2 weeks without hatching and newly hatched nits need a blood meal within a few hours of hatching or they will die.
Here's a really good website with good factual information (and pictures if you want to see what the critters look like:
www.headlice.org

Thanks Sue
Found this very interesting off that site:
Alternative Treatments

What the NPA Is Saying About Mayonnaise, Vaseline and Tea Tree Oil



SAFETY WARNING: Oils may enhance absorption, therefore, avoid using oil treatments, or oil based hair dressings or conditioners immediately before and after applying pesticidal shampoos.

Non-toxic remedies are obviously a preferred choice over pesticides whenever possible. However, this doesn't mean that everything touted as "natural" is across-the-board safe.

Many who try "alternatives" have already had failure with readily available pediculicides from the local drug stores. If there is success with such alternatives, we suspect that it may have to do with motivation and the "parent power" behind the effort - rather than any particular pediculicidal or ovicidal property.

No matter which remedy you're attempting - wrapping the hair in plastic or a shower cap and putting the children to bed is a bad idea. It is also a source of potential harm to use a wrap with any of the pesticidal treatments (whether in bed or not) as it may alter it's chemistry and absorption rates.

The use of mayonnaise appears to give people a sense of hopefulness and encouragement that they can manage head lice without pesticides. The NPA has received conflicting reports as to its exact effectiveness, but we are encouraged whenever a parent looks towards safer choices than pesticides. Mayo may have not any greater chance of success than many of the commercially available products, however, it definitely involves less risk.

What about Vaseline? Attempts to smother lice on the head are largely unsuccessful and parents then have the additional problem of removing Vaseline from the hair (a difficult task to say the least) as well as removing the lice and nits.

Tea tree oil is a different example. It is touted as safe and natural, yet claims to be a fungicide and bacteriacide. This is a case where "natural" is misleading: if it kills organisms, then it must be treated with respect. Pure tree oil is contraindicated for babies, young children, pregnant women, and some pets. Tea tree oil is not to be used daily, and is toxic to the liver in high doses. High doses can also be irritating to the skin and provoke an allergic reaction in some people.

Effective screening and combing is the ultimate complement to whatever course of action an individual selects. It is impossible to obtain independent scientific data as to the effectiveness and safety on many of the different ideas being circulated about "natural" remedies. Ultimately, it will always be the "parent power" behind the effort that makes the difference.

 

[angiepangie8]

More info from same link

When is a Nit Not a Nit?

a visual guide to what's what



If a parent reports ongoing problems with nits without ever seeing a louse, it may be a sign of confusion in determining nits versus common hair debris. This debris is often referred to as DEC plugs and hair casts.

DEC plugs (desquamated epithelial cells) may occur when oil glands in the scalp work to compensate for the drying effects of chemical treatments. They are bright, white, irregularly shaped clumps of fat cells stuck to the hair.

Hair casts are thin, elongated, cylinder-shaped segments of dandruff which encircle the hair shaft and are easily dislodged.

A Nit (Louse Egg) is a smooth, oval shaped structure which is attached to the side of the hair shaft ranging in color from off-white to brown and is slightly smaller than a sesame seed. Nits are always the same shape; they are never irregular, fuzzy, or encircling the hair (although the glue that the louse produces may be seen to encircle tightly around the hair shaft).

I hope what I see nowadays are plugs ~ otherwise those darn things are impossible to get rid of!