Lice, what am I forgetting?

[robinb]

I didn't find any? I combed her hair for over 3 hours, 1/2 inch sections at a time.

Did you check the comb against a light with every swipe for lice caught in the prongs? I never used the big comb, just the smaller one even on my thick hair (yes, my DD shared with me) and I used a tissue to wipe the comb between every pass. The magnifier came in handy becuase the nymps can be very small.

I do hope that you're lucky and this is all you have to worry about!

ETA: I soaked by combs and brushes in a bleach solution and then each one was used once and put in a bowl to be re-bleached.

 

[tigger813]

Both DDs had lice last year in September. It was an awful week! DD#1 got over it quicker than DD#2. It's not easy to make a 2 year old sit for 2-3 hours while you comb through every strand of her hair. She has the thickest hair ever. We found the best stuff at Walgreens and even have something that was also called a preventative. It was a spray. It was going through DD#1's class again a few weeks ago but she didn't get it. We did do one treatment and the preventative as she had been itching the back of her neck. (We were going to Disney the next week and were taking no chances) Last year the back of her neck was broken out and the Dr didn't notice anything. She had also had a hair cut and nothing was noticed.

I wouldn't wish lice on my worst enemy.

At least these days it's not considered a sign of being unclean like it was when I was growing up. I had it in 4th grade and was humiliated by everyone at school even some teachers so it was a very painful memory for me.

DD#1 had a lot of dandruff after all the treatments she had to go through so little white things in her hair were there for a long time afterwards but luckily we could pull them right off of her hair and they weren't crawling.

 

[NHdisneylover]

Remember to vacuum or wash curtains (this was in issue for a neighbor once--she didn't think of curtains for two months--once they did the curtain also she finally won the lice war.
Also bag or wash all coats in the coat closet if anything she wore is in there.
Also, when checkign her over for nits/bugs check the eyebrows.
Wash all of YOUR and everyone else's bedding too if she was anywhere near it.

 

[robinb]

I would also like to make a suggestion that may not go over well. Tell your child's teacher. It will put your DD under a spotlight, but your teacher will thank you and s/he will be able to send a note out to the other parents that there is a problem. If some of the kids in the class still have lice your child has a chance of catching them again after you get rid of them.

 

[tigger813]

We have gotten the notes each year. No child's name is ever on the letter so your child won't be singled out. Like I said in an earlier post, it's not given the same reaction that it used to. When we called DD1's soccer coach he told us that both of his daughter's had had it twice that year. It's a pain and doesn't mean that you are not clean.

Also, when we wanted to take DD#2 back to daycare I had to take her to the school I used to work at for the nurse to check her hair as we were told that we were not allowed to bring her into the pediatrician's office. Luckily I had a friend who could check her but thought it was strange. Who would've checked her if I didn't have a school nurse to check her hair.

 

[jenndisney]

DD had lice two years ago. This is one of the link our doctor's office gave us to calm our fears and keep us from overreacting. Good luck with the battle. Our school did not require is to keep her home, but they did send home a note requesting each family to do a nit check. We treated her head, combed every night for about a week, and won the battle within two weeks. It happens all the time and you will survive.

http://www.micronutra.com/journal/head-lice/head-lice-facts-and-fiction

Head lice have been plaguing humans for thousands of years. Dead lice have even been found clinging to prehistoric mummy hair!

Despite the fact that lice have been with us for millennia, there are many common misconceptions about head lice and how they are transmitted.
Head Lice Facts

* Fact: Head lice are tiny wingless insects that feed on human blood.
* Fact: Head lice are very common.
* Fact: Head lice are extremely contagious.
* Fact: Head lice are very difficult to eradicate.
* Fact: Pesticides may not be the best way to control head lice.
* Fact: Pesticides can be dangerous to your child’s health when used incorrectly.
* Fact: Head lice are becoming resistant to many common pesticides, reducing the effectiveness of common over-the-counter and prescription head lice treatments.

Head Lice Fiction

* Fiction: Head lice spread disease.

In fact, head lice do not spread disease. They do cause itching, which may cause your child to scratch, which can cause infection.

* Fiction: Pets can catch head lice and transmit them to other family members.

In reality, pets cannot catch head lice.

* Fiction: Head lice are a sign of poor hygiene.

Actually, anyone can be infested with head lice. It doesn’t matter how clean your hair is. Head lice are equal-opportunity infesters!

* Fiction: Head lice are spread through hats, combs, brushes, and helmets.

In fact, head lice can only be transmitted through close, personal head-to-head contact. Head lice die within hours of leaving a person’s head. They must feed on blood every 3 to 6 hours. Without this food, they quickly die.

* Fiction: Head lice can jump from one person’s head to another’s.

Head lice cannot jump or fly.

* Fiction: A dirty house causes head lice infestation.

Head lice cannot live apart from a person’s scalp for more than a few hours. Therefore, head lice can’t live in bedding or on a couch for more than a day. So, although a dirty house may cause health problems, head lice is not one of them.

* Fiction: If you find nits in your child’s hair, you should pull them out of school and begin treatment for head lice immediately.

Nits are eggs. Fewer than one in five children with nits actually becomes infested with lice. Wait and see if your child actually develops adult lice before beginning treatment, because chances are it won’t be necessary. If you want, you could comb out nits, but this is not necessary.

 

[tonilea]

I wish I hadn't read this! DS goes to school next year and I don't want to send him!!!!

 

[lisah0711]

Oh, Lovetoscrap, I have great empathy for you and your daughter.

We just had the note come home on Friday for DS's class. They checked all the kids at school, so far, so good. I was volunteering my class when it was announced so felt itchy the rest of the day!

And suddenly, after living in our house for ten years, the cat has caught four mice -- in the house! I had the stomach flu last week and was lying on the bed thinking "Please, God, do not let the cat bring a mouse up here on the bed while I am sick because I just couldn't take it!

Isn't it nice to live in interesting times that have nothing to do with politics?

 

[Aardvarks]

Ah I see I may have made an error.

In the UK we no longer recommend products which contain pesticides such as carbaryl or malathion.

Our standard regime is to wash hair using regular shampoo and then to condition with a rich regular conditioner.

Whilst the conditioner is still in the hair, comb through with a lice comb, the steel ones are best. Pay particular attention to the nape of the neck and behind the ears

We do this with all family members if one becomes infected.

When my youngest was infected two years ago, we all did this, he had his hair done this way on three successive days. On day 4 he was clear.

 

[robinb]

Whilst the conditioner is still in the hair, comb through with a lice comb, the steel ones are best. Pay particular attention to the nape of the neck and behind the ears.

Thank you for reminding me! It is very important to comb when the hear is wet with the conditioner in the hair. Lice are very good at scurrying from hair to hair sideways and dry hair allows them an easy escape route. Wet hair with conditioner not only slows the lice down but it also makes it easier to comb through.

 

[Towncrier]

Lots of good advice. Your best bet is to starve the live lice and not provide any food to the next generation. If you put stuffed animals in a plastic bag for a couple of weeks, any lice that hatch will die before they can lay any new eggs. We put a white sheet in the car whenever we took my daughter anywhere just to make sure that she didn't spread the lice to the car (or vice versa). The sheet made it easier to spot the buggers.

Another thing that we found helpful was a fluorscent spray (like the temporary hair dye that you use for Halloween costumes) that you spray on and then brush out. The dye sticks to the nits and makes them easier to spot.

Good luck. With perserverance you'll get rid of the problem and soon you can be the one giving advice.

 

[KerriSue]

I hate lice. We had a problem a few years back and really the only thing that worked was TEA TREE OIL. I would put a drop on the top of the head and on their collars of their shirts (kids, not lice ) before heading off to school. I also used the tea tree shampoo. That stuff really worked.

Just remember daily checks and checks and checks. You WILL win this battle!

 

[tevagirl]

Holy crap, you poor thing. First the meece now the cooties!

 

[Deb in IA]

Holy crap, you poor thing. First the meece now the cooties!

I was thinking the same thing!!

First MICE, now LICE!!!

 

[Mkrop]

Wipe down her backpack and put that in a bag overnight.

 

[tzolkin]

Be careful with those RID shampoos/sprays. We had serious lice issues with my oldest DD a while back. I used the lice shampoo on her (the lice were still very alive--it did not kill them), picked/combed for hours, cleaned everything in the house, etc. Everytime I was certain she was rid of them, she would have them again a week later. No one else got them (and she shares a room with my other DD). Well of course after she had been lice free for about 3 months she started itching and so did I! We both had lice, so I used the lice shampoo on both of us. I washed my hair out repeatedly, but I was dizzy/headache/vomiting for 3 days from the smell of the shampoo. It was awful and did not kill the lice. I felt so bad that I had used it on DD so many times before (she never complained). I finally called the doctor and she gave us a prescription for ovide. It was very expensive (over $100 pp, but our insurance covered most of it), but it did not make me sick and it worked! No lice.

 

[pls5286]

Blow dry and comb her hair every day for several weeks, this helps prevent reinfestintestation. This came from the nurse and pharmacist.

 

[Aardvarks]

Blow dry and comb her hair every day for several weeks, this helps prevent reinfestintestation. This came from the nurse and pharmacist.

Yeah, reinfestation will probably come from the kid that she sits next to in school.

You dont say how old DD is, but young kids in school tend to sit real close together and they dont have the same need of personal space as us adults.You can fix your own child, but if there is a pool of lice in a class then it is onlt a mater of time before another one makes it across.

Over here, we are expected to inform school if a child comes home carrying unwanted passengers. It is all done anonymously.

There have been many occassions whn when my children of bought home a 'bug watch' letter for us to read and take some investigative steps to be sure.

 

[shortbun]

I must have had whimpy lice, lol! We treated with olive oil and combe nits like crazy. No lice in a week. The olive oil was left on for about 3 hours each of the 2x we did it. I think the key was the thorough nit picking. We wore magnifying reading glasses, got two bright snaking lamps and two kinds of nit combs-both metal. It took over an hour on each head each day. We checked each head daily. We called in reinforcements-my best friend took a day on each head and she's a perfectionist. No chemicals used. Lice free.

 

[robinb]

I must have had whimpy lice, lol! We treated with olive oil and combe nits like crazy. No lice in a week. The olive oil was left on for about 3 hours each of the 2x we did it. I think the key was the thorough nit picking. We wore magnifying reading glasses, got two bright snaking lamps and two kinds of nit combs-both metal. It took over an hour on each head each day. We checked each head daily. We called in reinforcements-my best friend took a day on each head and she's a perfectionist. No chemicals used. Lice free.

You are very lucky your lice as wimpy! Mine were not.

I admit that I used chemicals, including recommended follow-ups, the first time. The chemicals never worked for us. Nor did the olive oil and I tried it twice. If someone is looking to try olive oil the nurse at my DD's school gave us a good idea of using a cheap hair dying kit, throwing out the dye and using the applicator and the plastic cap for the treatment. I even tried the "get every nit" method and combed and combed and picked out nits even though my DD's school did not have a nit-free rule. We even used that electric nit comb that would buzz when it hit something. We were still infested weeks later.

I finally did the combing program I mentioned before: http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/index.html (The Lice Program) and it worked like a charm! I didn't want to do it to begin with because I didn't want to invest 3 weeks into lice. I wanted a quick solution. The quick solutions just didn't work for those hardy Wisconsin lice! When my DD got lice again, we went right with the program right away and it also worked like a charm. The best thing about the combing program that I used is that you don't worry about nits. Most "nits" are actually empty egg sacks. If it's more that 1/4 inch from the scalp, the louse has already hatched and long gone and you're wasting your time removing it (unless your school has a no-nit rule and then you are stuck ).

What I like the best about The Lice Program is that you are not combing every day and you are not picking out nits attached to the hair shaft with super glue. They idea behind the The Lice Program is to get the live ones. Once the live adult lice are gone, the rest are too immature to breed and lay more eggs so you break the egg-laying cycle. You comb the immature lice and newly hatched lice out of the hair periodically as they get big enough to catch. By the time 3 weeks all the lice are gone with no nasty chemicals.