Please help - lice!!!

[nephthys43]

dye your hair. seriously. i had them in high school, caught them from one of my icky cousins (and they wonder why i hate the south). my hair was down to my tush. tried everything imaginable. then dyed my hair. poof! no more lice. took 3 bottles to cover my hair, but it worked.

 

[Darcy03231]

We had this problem when my children were little and I didn't end up getting rid of them until we bombed the house (as an added bonus it also killed all the spiders, ants and other crawly things). It was a real pain because we then had to wash down all the hard surfaces, but they never came back.

 

[cryssi]

ew ew ew ew ew ew ew

I had it twice when I was little...as a result, I am PARANOID about my hair! I don't like random people touching it, I don't like to lay on hotel bedspreads, etc.

I had long hair, and I remember being bent over leaning on the washing machine in the laundry room for HOURS while my mom picked out the eggs one by one...what a patient woman! LOL

 

[2manypets]

dye your hair. seriously. i had them in high school, caught them from one of my icky cousins (and they wonder why i hate the south). my hair was down to my tush. tried everything imaginable. then dyed my hair. poof! no more lice. took 3 bottles to cover my hair, but it worked.

Being in the south has nothing to do with icky people, they're everywhere

My DD4 at the time, ran around with about 6 other children at her day care. All of them kept the little buggers for months, just from them being past back and forth. (Talk about laundry and vacuuming and so forth, we trried almost everything, it was H E double hockey sticks for months) Finally, her Aunt, who works and co-owns the place, got tired of it and coated all of their hair with vasoline. She called first to make sure it was ok with us.

After the first week of trying to get the grease out, we've never had any trouble again. I guess it's like the unclean hair thing, theire hair was too greased up to keep a hold on.

 

[Realgrumpy]

Ok. I am going to tell you the following... and you are going to be rid of the lice. I hired two nurses to come to my house who have been doing this for ten years. Their website is www.licebustersnyc.com My daughter has had it on and off since December. I have been doing the washing of the bedding, the vacuuming, the bagging of the stuffed animals. Have done the nix, the rid, the fairytales products and other stuff that does not work. I learned the following:

The rosemary repel or scented products do not work, lice do not have a sense of smell.

The tea tree oil is a natural version of turpentine. Just because something says that it is natural doesn't mean it is healthy. There are poisonous plants.

The lice have become resistant to the nix and the rid, they do not work, and using them more than the recommended dosage is not good.

Lice do not live in stuffed animals, pillows, couches, etc. They can only live on a human head. They can only be transmitted from head to head. This is why young girls get it so easily, they have long hair, they get close together, whisper, that kind of stuff.

The nurses came to my house, and just picked all the nits out that I had missed. That is the hardest part, picking out the nits. They then told me what to do...which is what I am going to tell you.

Pick out the nits, you need to get all of them. Olive oil, saturate the hair, comb it through, make sure that there is not a spot that is not covered. Put a conditioning cap on. Do this every night for the first week. In the morning, wash it out with dishwashing liquid. For the second and third week, do the olive oil treatment every other night. Same thing, in the morning, wash it out with dish soap. After three weeks, it will be gone. If you get all of the nits out, the olive oil will trap any that you missed that hatch. The olive oil stains, so you might want to use old sheets and pillows. The nurse told me that they were hired by someone whose daughter had it for three years, and they were able to get rid of it in three days.

 

[2manypets]

I totally agree on the Tea Tree Oil, it burns several layers of my skin off when I used it.

I have seen them on linens though, they fall out of the hair and land on the sheets, stuffed animals until they can find another host or hopefully die first.
Washing linens and such is a really important part to getting rid of them.

 

[Katy Belle]

DS had them last month. One thing that we did was to always comb/nit pick him over a white towel or piece of paper. That way I could see what was falling out and kill it. Pinch the eggs as well as the critters. Also...I found that if I could see only one egg but ran the comb through that area, I'd always get more eggs, I wouldn't see all of them. A friend found she could see the eggs better if her child's hair is dry. We used a metal comb, it worked pretty well.

Good luck!
Katy

 

[Tantor]

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!

this is a great site for info.

 

[WishingOnAStar]

Just thought I'd add a few things.

Have all infected people sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag, blankets, whatever for 2 weeks. Every morning, wash the sleeping bags, pillows, etc. and vacuum the floor. (Easier than doing the beds every day). Don't let anyone near any stuffed animals for 2 weeks. That way any lice hanging out waiting for a host will die. Don't forget to vacuum couches and car seats.
Nit pick, nit pick, nit pick. It takes forever, but, it will work. You have to do it twice a day EVERY day for at least 2 weeks because of the life cycle of lice.
When you think you're done, start using coconut shampoo. It is supposed to repel them. Since getting lice 1 1/2 yrs ago, I switched the kids to the coconut shampoo as an added precaution. The school nurse recommended it. My friend swears by listerine when there's an outbreak at school. Apply to the hair, let sit, rinse. I never used that, though.
Oh- and lice are species specific. Dogs, guinea pigs, cats, humans, etc. all have their own personal lice. Great thought, huh?

Think about where/with whom your kids are spending their time. It's possible they're picking it back up. Cubby holes in classrooms are a breeding ground b/c everyone's coats are so close together. Are they in gymnastics or cheerleading? Those mats are another great place for lice to hang out while waiting to hitch hike. Are they sharing hats and/or brushes with anyone? Batting helmets?

Hope something in here can help.

 

[Cindyluwho]

Just a couple of more tricks for you to try:
When you're nitpicking, keep a piece of scotch tape near you. Take every nit & louse you find and stick it to the tape. Not only will it take care of the little critters, it's a great teaching tool for other parents who want to "see" what they look like. When you're done with the nitpicking, stick it on a 3x5 piece of paper for others to see.
Also, the military used to use Listeryne in the GI's hair to repell head lice. Have you noticed that adults very rarely get head lice? This is because head lice love "clean" hair and hate all those wonderful mouses, hairsprays, etc that we use in our hair. IT's a great idea to use flat irons, hairsprays, etc in your kids hair when head lice is going around. They don't like dirty hair & the flat iron will kill the nits! Who knew??!!
Just more helpful advice from the President of the Paranoid Parents Association!!

 

[disneygals]

Pick out the nits, you need to get all of them. Olive oil, saturate the hair, comb it through, make sure that there is not a spot that is not covered. Put a conditioning cap on. Do this every night for the first week. In the morning, wash it out with dishwashing liquid. For the second and third week, do the olive oil treatment every other night. Same thing, in the morning, wash it out with dish soap. After three weeks, it will be gone. If you get all of the nits out, the olive oil will trap any that you missed that hatch. The olive oil stains, so you might want to use old sheets and pillows. The nurse told me that they were hired by someone whose daughter had it for three years, and they were able to get rid of it in three days.

This is the same as a plan I posted previously, just a difference in the times with the olive oil. I wanted to add that when you wake in the morning you need to comb before washing hair. (Herbal essence clarifying shampoo works well, too)

 

[dis-me]

As designated nit-picker amongst the families I know, I can assure you, RealGrumpy's advice is the way to go.
Just keep picking and picking and picking till they're all gone. Do it every night without exception and every time you do it, don't stop for the night until you can do twenty strokes through the hair without finding anything.
Eventually you won't find anything at all.
I wouldn't even worry too much about all the hot washing the bed clothes etc...lice live in human hair.

 

[pettyone]

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!!

We have a Robi-comb! It's the best thing ever...we use it preventively, as well...best $29.95 I have ever spent (after a 3 month battle)...

 

[Towncrier]

When my daughter went through this about 5 years ago, my wife found a special hair spray that stuck to the nits but brushed out of the hair easily. This made the nits much easier to spot. I think my wife was nit picking every night for a couple of hours. This went on for a couple of weeks. Fortunately the lice did not reappear. Good luck.

 

[lemondog]

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

Yep, using my fingers and picking off each nit one by one. Seems like the more I pick, the more I find!

 

[lemondog]

We had this problem when my children were little and I didn't end up getting rid of them until we bombed the house (as an added bonus it also killed all the spiders, ants and other crawly things). It was a real pain because we then had to wash down all the hard surfaces, but they never came back.

I have actually seriously thought about doing this. Apparently the steam cleaning is not enough. I would be willing to move out for a week and get the house bombed if I knew it would eradicate them. At this point, it seems like they would survive a nuclear bomb!

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Yep, using my fingers and picking off each nit one by one. Seems like the more I pick, the more I find!

I couldn't get them off with my finger, so I would cut each strand out that had a nit on it.
Although she had a TON of hair so you did not notice it.
Lucky me...

 

[lemondog]

Pick out the nits, you need to get all of them. Olive oil, saturate the hair, comb it through, make sure that there is not a spot that is not covered. Put a conditioning cap on. Do this every night for the first week. In the morning, wash it out with dishwashing liquid. For the second and third week, do the olive oil treatment every other night. Same thing, in the morning, wash it out with dish soap. After three weeks, it will be gone. If you get all of the nits out, the olive oil will trap any that you missed that hatch. The olive oil stains, so you might want to use old sheets and pillows. The nurse told me that they were hired by someone whose daughter had it for three years, and they were able to get rid of it in three days.

Three years!?!?!?! WOW! I have seen ads for people who charge $100/hour to come pick nits out of your hair. At this point, I am willing to pay it! Thanks for the info on the olive oil. When I did I just left it in their hair for 8 hours then combed, didn't do it every night for a whole week. Sounds like a mess but worth it to end this problem, that's for sure.