Please help - lice!!!

[lemondog]

I am completely at my wit's end. My 5yo came home from school with lice back in Feb. Infected both her younger sisters AND me (somehow DH escaped). We have been fighting it ever since. Just when I think it's gone, the little buggers come back. I've gotten my 5yo FINALLY free -- the school nurse checked her Friday (for the gazillionth time) and said she could find NO lice, NO nits, NO eggs, and her scalp looked better than it has in 2 months ) However, the 2 little ones and I STILL have them. I did Nix last Wed. on the 2 small ones, and they are completely reinfested ALREADY! I did RID on my hair 2 nights ago and the little sh$%$ts are STILL doing a tango -- it didn't even phase them.

I am in desperation mode. We have done: RID, NIX, Mayo for 8 hours under shower cap (full-fat Hellman's), same thing with olive oil. Heck, I even tried to FRY the suckers out with a curling iron at one point. The pedi gave me a script for Lindane shampoo for my 5yo, but I did some research and decided I did not feel comfortable at ALL putting it on her. I may use it on me, though.

Please tell me what product/process FINALLY got rid of them for you! And FYI - I have laundered the bedding a bazillion times, vaccuumed the whole house a trazillion times (I even had it completely steam cleaned by Stanley Steemer at one point), ran all the stuffed animals/pillows in the dryer on high for 30 minutes, washed all the dressup clothes, etc. I don't know WHERE those little stinkers are hiding but I just want to annihilate them once and for all.

HELP!!!!

 

[lovemygoofy]

Put product in your hair as well as the little ones. I understand that lice only like really clean hair.

Another thing that my mom did was to wash my hair in vinegar. One part vinegar to two parts water.

If you do a search, i know that there used to be a really good long thread about lice on here and I believe another on the budget board.

 

[Freyja]

Been there, done that. When we lived in Denmark my kids got lice ALL the time. Horrible. I soon found out that what worked better than any product was combing through their hair (and mine when I got them) with a lice comb while the hair was wet and had a lot of conditioner in it. That way the lice can´t escape and it´s easier for you to see them, while they´re stuck in the hair conditioner. Tea Tree oil (sprayed into hair) works well to keep them away, once you´ve got rid of them in the first place.

 

[akhenaten]

I don't know if the dryer kills them....when my dd had them years ago...I had to remove the stuffed animals and place them in plastic bags for quite some time(no food source).

I can't remember what finally got them ...i know I had to get a special prescription from the pediatrician.....and just multiple comb and pick baths...

Ugh...No one else in our family got them but I felt itchy for a long time......

 

[stenickar]

Having worked for Head Start for many years I have a few hints that may help. First you may want to tie all of the stuffed animals and pillows up in garbage bags and leave them there for at least two weeks(even though you ran them in the dryer). Now that your 5 yo is free you may want to spray her hair with hair spray before she goes to school. You may also want to spray your hair and 3yo's hair. Once you do the treatment don't wash your hair again till the next treatment-the oil in your hair is supposed to make it harder for eggs and nits to cling to hair. Of course when people have lice they naturally want to keep washing their hair. Do you have any pets? If so they could have picked it up too. You may want to bag up winter hats and jackets, comforters etc, to make sure that they don't get reinfested. Hope this helps. Another thought just came to me-make sure to do the 3yo's car seats and vaccum out your car(s). Most people don't think about the car.
I brought it home once from a child I was doing in home support for. My husband never got it either. Both of the kids that were living with us at the time(we did foster care) just had a few nits. Putting everything in bags and doing our hair once got rid of it.

 

[Amlee]

My mother burnt everything! No kidding! What she didn't burn she washed in vinegar The whole house smelled like a burnt salad!

But those things get in mattress, sheets, pillows, toys, and just about anything else you can think of.

 

[chager]

My friends just went through this a few months ago. Actually it was right before Christmas! They think some got on the dogs and that was why they had trouble getting rid of them. They bagged up all stuffed toys for 2-3 weeks. They then used gel and hairspray on the kids hair. They bagged all clothing, sheets, etc that would not be needed after washing them for a couple weeks. Good luck !!!

 

[6TimeMomma]

What finally worked for us is using a nit comb every other night on wet hair for about two weeks. Just squish the bugs you comb out. Eventually you will see less and less until they are gone. No chemicals. They don't phase the bugs anymore. And who wants that stuff on your and your kids heads anyways!!


Good luck Been there!!

 

[kimmikayb]

First, we had to cut hair...sorry...long hair is the hardest to get lice out of. Then we washed our hair with shampoo with tea tree oil in it. It worked, seriously. Nit pick the wet hair in bright, bright light. Bag all the stuffed animals. Hot wash all the sheets. Spray the mattress. Vacuum the car, the car seats, the entire house and burn the bag.

Lice will start to get immune to the chemicals you use. Tea tree oil is gentle to the head.

 

[monorailsilver]

My 5 yo came home with them just before Thanksgiving.

She was itching her scalp in the am & dh told me she was itchy at 1am.

I looked & saw those buggers.

It took about 2 months to finally get rid of them.

I think they were gone for about 2-3 weeks but then they came back.

In her Kindy class they put the kids coats/hats in their back packs each day vs hanging them on the close coat racks.

I went thru dd's hair initially 2 times a day & it took 2 hours at first.

I was then able to go thru it once a day & it took about an hour & a half.

I pulled out every thing I saw in there & I think that helped.

I sat with a piece of tape to get the live ones & I'd put the eggs on the tape too.

We did the bed washing, her stuffed animals & dress up clothes were bagged for about 3 months (or so it seemed).

I think it also helped that there were 2 school vacations so the parents could really work at the kids hair (or I hope to think they were) for that week off.

What is scary in the past 2 months I found 2 eggs in my hair while I was in the shower. My hair is still falling out post pregnancy a year later at that & I saw 2 strands with a black egg on them. It freaked me out & then of course my head became itchy.

If you aren't doing it already, keep the hair tied up.

I remember digging thru my dd's hair in January & I found 5 mothers that day. As I was combing thru her hair one of them walked off her hair onto my arm. I taped it & was so glad I saw it.

 

[believe]

We used the Nix spray on mattresses and in the vehicles, after vacuuming. We bagged up pillows and stuffed animals. Washed everything we could. We even had the Dr. give us a prescription formula for the hair. We have been blessed with nothing returning. If you have done all the cleaning, etc..you may want to see about a prescription shampoo for the hair.

 

[linda0706]

We used a product called Lice B Gone. It worked great. It was last summer so I can't remember the details, but it's a shampoo or a conditioner treatment. Then you have to comb the hair using a nit comb. My DD6 has waist-length hair so it was quite an undertaking. I sat her down in front of the TV, shined a bright light on her head, & went to work - dividing her hair in small sections & pinning it up as I finished them. I dipped the comb in warm soap water whenever anything got on it.

It took 2 or 3 shampoo treatments & doing the comb thing every other day or so for about 1 - 1 1/2 weeks. Every time there were fewer & fewer eggs till *POOF* there were no more!

Even if you initially get out all the mature bugs you have to wait until the eggs hatch & get the little guys before they mature enough to lay more eggs. I can't remember now the life cycle, but I believe it was on the LiceBGone website.

We got it over the internet. They shipped it the same day I ordered it & it arrived in 1-2 days. It's a natural product so you are not putting any more pesticides on your dear darling's head. (We tried the Nix first & it was like candy to the little buggers.)

 

[Cindyluwho]

I really want to shout right now but please, please check out www.headlice.org they will give you CORRECT information on things that actually work. And NO, Rid, Nix, etc. do NOT work! Too many of the darned little things are now resistant to the stuff and all it takes is one surviving louse to start the business all over again.
And it's a myth that pets can harbor head lice. Head lice are very host specific, they only like humans.
Please, please check out the experts at headlice.org and please don't put any more poison on your child. Children have had severe brain damage and even death from that stuff, it's very dangerous.
You CAN get rid of them, but boy is it a pain!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Heard of the expression "nit picking"? If you are not nit picking you are going to have lice. It has to be done daily. The lice are coming from the nits or eggs.

When my dd got lice we went and bought the lice comb and constantly nit picked. We went and bought a lighted magnifying light to illuminate the hair. It is REALLY impossible to see the nits. They are tiny clear teardrops that are attached to the hair near the scalp. I would isolate each strand and cut it out.

We did use the Nix and left it on for 2 hours and then we put a tub of margarine in her hair with a shower cap and lice were gone.

However I checked her head everyday for at least a month for hours. It really sucked.

 

[disneygals]

been there done that 3 times!! I have hair to my rear-end and I've had it twice. Get the skinniest metal comb you can find and comb, comb, comb. If you miss nits, they will hatch and you'll be right back at the beginning.

Another good site is www.headliceinfo.com

They have a olive oil plan that is basically sleep in olive oil every 4th day for 21 days. You have to pay a small fee to access all the info, but it is worth it!

Go to walmart and get a Robi-comb. You can use it on dry hair. Lice was going around and around my dd's elementary school. After my dd came home from a sleepover, the mom called and said her dd had it. We ran the comb through and it caught the one bug that was on her. If we didn't get that bug, she'd have a full-blown case in a month. I run it through her hair weekly now.

Good Luck!!

 

[bellesnow]

My DD7 took 7 weeks to get rid of them. After the 2nd go around I called the dr. and she said to use Cetaphil Cream in the Jar. Coat her hair every night and let her sleep in it. In the morning wash it out with Dawn Dish soap. The cream is so thick that it kills them if they should hatch. I've tried Nix twice and Mayonnaise twice and neither of these worked. I also have a friend who has used skin so soft by Avon and let her DS sit in it for a couple of hours and combed everything out and was done with it that day. Hope it ends soon for you and your family.

 

[kimmikayb]

I really want to shout right now but please, please check out www.headlice.org they will give you CORRECT information on things that actually work. And NO, Rid, Nix, etc. do NOT work! Too many of the darned little things are now resistant to the stuff and all it takes is one surviving louse to start the business all over again.
And it's a myth that pets can harbor head lice. Head lice are very host specific, they only like humans.
Please, please check out the experts at headlice.org and please don't put any more poison on your child. Children have had severe brain damage and even death from that stuff, it's very dangerous.
You CAN get rid of them, but boy is it a pain!

Oh yes, what Cindyluwho said! I meant to add that too about the pets. Your pets won't get head lice.

 

[lemondog]

Thanks everyone. Keep the ideas coming. I have nitpicked DAILY. I've tried everything from expensive lice combs to FLEA combs, lol. I did get a prescription from the pediatrician, but I did some research on it (lindane) and I do not feel comfortable using it on my child. I am never one to question meds/doctors, but this stuff just scares me. I bought an herbal product today that is a spray -- it's basically coconut oil, tea tree oil and a couple of other things. I am hoping it does a better job of killing the live lice than the RID/NIX did.

Thanks for the tip about the tea tree spray. I am going to Wild Oats tomorrow to get some! It seems like my girls are just reinfecting each other at this point, so if I can start getting their hair to be lice-repellent, I may actually make some headway!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

How are you nit-picking? Combing is not nit picking. You have to go through each strand of hair.

 

[Kimmie5870]

Try a blacklight to find the nits, It will make the little buggers glow in the dark so you can see them easily. Good luck!