Spent $1000 for lice treatment - I feel sick! UPDATE Day 10: I THINK THEY ARE GONE!

[tlbwriter]

Very interesting! How long did they take to hatch? I did put the pillows, blankets etc. in trash bags for 10 days but wondered if it was really necessary. So glad I did!

I think they hatched within a few days. If I remember right, I kept it for about a week, so it's possible more might have hatched if I'd kept watch for 2 weeks.

BTW, picking lice off your own head is NOT impossible and I have a clean head to prove it.

Lice, sure (or maybe "sure" for some people, and "possibly" for others - I have thick curly hair that the little buggers could probably hide in!). Nits, no. I wouldn't want to leave nits on my head. I realize that's an option you chose and it worked for you, but I would not choose that myself.

I also didn't go crazy with doing laundry every day.

I didn't do that either. In our experience, the lice were a lot harder to transmit than I thought they would be.

 

[ccgirl]

The girl sitting next to my daughter had lice, but I'm not sure if my dd had it first and gave it to her! I know about a month ago she borrowed some girl's scrunchy at dance class. So she may have got it then!

Did you comb through the hair while she had oil on it? The center told me to comb through and pick dry hair because it's easier to see them, but with all the oil her hair is super oily still even after washing it!!

Still not sure how my DD got it in the first place. Anyway, I combed thru both dry then wet. What I did was when she got home from school, I sat her in the kitchen under a bright light. I combed thru dry. Then, I used a spray water bottle to moisten it and combed through then. Then, I put olive oil and the bathing cap. The next morning, I washed it out with Dawn dish detergent x2 (has to be Dawn) and combed thru one more time. Each time I wore the gloves so I didn't transfer tiny ones onto my hands and then hair etc. I'm sure I did overkill but after day 2 I never found a nit/louse and nobody else in the house or her class got it so I must have done soemthing right.

 

[robinb]

Lice, sure (or maybe "sure" for some people, and "possibly" for others - I have thick curly hair that the little buggers could probably hide in!). Nits, no. I wouldn't want to leave nits on my head. I realize that's an option you chose and it worked for you, but I would not choose that myself.

Yeah, I totally understand about wanting to get rid of the nits. By the time I tried "The Lice Program" I was just too mentally exhausted by more traditional methods (including daily nit picking) that I took the easier way out of not worrying about them.

 

[happygirl]

Wow, I didn't even know they had people that would do that, where do i get an application lol


I would have found a cheaper way to do it,

 

[mefordis]

Okay, you experts. I got my daughter home and undid her braid, picked through her hair, pulled out 4 nits, then applied the olive oil solution and combed through some more with a fine toothed comb. Then put it up in a bun for the night.

Do you think this might be it for her or will more appear that I missed?

I checkd my 2 yr old, who has had the oil solution on her head since yesterday evening and I found none, so I left the oil on her head and will wash it off tonight in the tub with the lice shampoo (natural so we can use it in the tub).

As for me, I will apply the oil for the night, pick through and shampoo tomorrow and repeat.

Am I doing everything right?

Thank you!

 

[teacup princess]

When my daughter got lice I treated and combed everyone in the family with the LiceMD just in case. My boys and husband were clean but I was horrified to find a few live lice and nits on my head (had no idea). FWIW you can treat yourself. I applied the oil, and then just combed and combed and combed until no other nits came out (the LiceMD loosens up the nits so they just combed out). I repeated this on myself every day until I saw no signs of the little buggers and I was sure they were gone. It was gross but I don't think my husband would have had the patience to do it and I didn't know lice treatment centers existed.

For your daughter I would continue to apply the oil and comb her nightly for several days until nothing else combs out.

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Thank you for your input! Honestly, I don't think I could have done it myself. I am rethinking everything through and I didn't know what I was doing, had no help, have a 2 yr old who needs my attention. Plus all the laundry.

I feel like with the $1000 I got an education too and next time I will do the girls myself and go to a lice center or call someone to check me. $150 per hour, I'll just have them check my head, pick nits and I'll do the rest!

You did the right thing calling for help. Just tell yourself it was the best money you'll ever spend. I didn't even know what nits looked like so having them show me & tell me step by step what to do if it happened again was a godsend. It's an icky job & they deserve the compensation.

 

[bumbershoot]

Thank you all for your input! I will mourn the loss of that $1000 for a very very long time. I wish I could rationalize it but it was out of sheer panic and ignorance that I spent that money!

Sometimes ya just gotta pay someone to do stuff for you. If they helped you, it was worth it. And since the people with the company are putting themselves at risk of getting lice, and since they have to pay themselves, their gas, their office, their advertising, their company phone, etc etc etc, it does start making more sense as to why it's so much per hour.

So if it helped you, and since you had reasons to leave DH out of it (by the way, my DH would be the ONLY one I could or would ask for help, and if he were out of town on a business trip I'd have no one to call, so I get that!), then it's money well spent. (and you helped your local economy and a small businessperson!)

 

[Nicolepa]

OP, don't feel too bad. I spend $600 going somewhere last November for my 3 kids and 2 of them are boys with short hair! After spending 5 hours on my daughters head and making no progress (she had it really bad), I took her to the clinic. Spending that $$ that cloes to Christmas hurt, but there was no way I was going to be able to do it myself, not all 3 of them + laundry.

My place said to do it wet. They said that it is easier to comb thru the hair when it is wet. The comb they gave us will get almost anything out that is there so seeing them, isn't really an issue.

For me being able to have all 3 kids done at the same time in 3 hours, vs spending who knows how much time on my own at home was priceless.

 

[mickeyplanner08]

The girl sitting next to my daughter had lice, but I'm not sure if my dd had it first and gave it to her! I know about a month ago she borrowed some girl's scrunchy at dance class. So she may have got it then!

Did you comb through the hair while she had oil on it? The center told me to comb through and pick dry hair because it's easier to see them, but with all the oil her hair is super oily still even after washing it!!

Comb it while it's wet/oily/full of conditioner, whatever-they can't run as fast if they are slicked down with something.

I'm sorry you freaked out so much and spent so much money on trying to get rid of your DD's lice .

I *swear* by "The Lice Program":
http://www.microscopy-uk.org.uk/theliceprogram/index.html

The first time she had lice we did the Rid treatment and the lice laughed at us. OK ... maybe not laughed but it didn't slow them down much. After 2-3 RID treatments and literal nit picking for nearly 2 months we STILL had lice I knew I had to try something else.

The Lice Program works great if your school does not have a "no nit" policy because it doesn't bother with nits. It removes live lice when they are big enough to remove. First the egg layers and then the juveniles as they hatch and grow. I admit that I was originally grossed out by this program because (1) at 21-days it took too long and (2) it left lice (nymphs) in the hair and I wanted those lice out NOW. But ... after my failure at more traditional methods I had nothing to lose in trying it.

After 21 days the lice were gone. I was mad that I wasted 2 months trying to poison them and dousing them in olive oil to no avail. When my DD came home a second time with lice, I went right to this program and they were gone in 3 weeks and she never missed a day of school.

I also have tips on combing ... first off I used one of the narrow teeth combs available at Walgreens with the little magnifier in it. That way I could make sure I was getting a little bugger and not something else. I also would have my DD wash her hair and leave conditioner in it for combing. The lice can't move easily through wet hair and the conditioner made it easy for me to comb. When combing was done she would rinse the conditioner out. ETA: I would section off her hair with metal hair clips (the kind that stylists use) and then everything went into a daily bath of water with a tablespoon of bleach in it.

FWIW, if you are picking nits any "nits" more than an inch from the scalp as really empty egg sacks and you're wasting time and energy unless your school has a no-nit policy.

This is where I ended up, too. Two episodes this school year, and I totally freaked out the first time, did chemicals, started my DD on Bactrim, the works. Picked right through our last Disney trip, but decided that I wouldn't use the chemicals if I ever had to go through it again because the process outlined on this site made total sense to me. Got to put that to the test in February-did the program, picked on their schedule (plus a couple extra days at the back end because I just had to), and no more lice. Annoying, but not the end of the world!

I'm thinking I could become a nit picker for a living, too...$150 is way more than I make an hour

 

[LIFERBABE]

Can you at least use your Health Spending account for this or any insurance?

 

[rhiansmom]

Glad things are starting to work out for you ... I was feeling back for paying $100 for the single pill the doctor gave us after our 5th or 6th run in with them. That single pill worked and we haven't had a single run in since!

 

[mefordis]

You can take oral medication for lice?

Glad things are starting to work out for you ... I was feeling back for paying $100 for the single pill the doctor gave us after our 5th or 6th run in with them. That single pill worked and we haven't had a single run in since!

 

[dixonismydog]

Sorry didn't read all the posts but Vaseline also works. You just need to apply a huge amount.......

 

[mickeyplanner08]

You can take oral medication for lice?

There is this: Oral treatment with ivermectin has been recently used in the treatment of head lice infestation that is resistant to other treatments. Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug discovered in the early 1970s and has been widely used in the treatment of intestinal parasites (worms) in man and animals. The FDA has not yet specifically approved it for head lice treatment.

My neighbor actually told me to try Bactrim, and there is some documentation that 3 days on, 4 days off, 3 days on should work by killing off the symbiotic bacteria in their guts. My DD did not feel very well while on Bactrim, though, and I had some good mommy guilt about treating her with a drug just because I didn't want to deal with the nuisance of the lice. I just had to keep telling myself that they do not carry disease, they are just a pain in the you know what!

 

[cockermon]

All natural products to treat/prevent lice from Fairytale haircare -google it.
Not cheap but not too expensive.
The foam will remove nits/lice.
The use shampoo/conditioner/spray as barrier against new lice.
The only thing that worked when my daughter picked it up at school.
We used it starting with the new school the next year and avoided the lice.
Good luck. Cathy

 

[Celidh]

Two of my three kids had lice this past year. It was my ds 13 who had it first, then dd 7. I always said if my kids got lice I would just shave their heads but that was before I had a girl. I couldnt to that to my baby.

Anyway, we did the treatment from the drug store but there were still live lice the next day. We used pure tea tree oil and that did the trick. I now periodically add a few drops to their shampoo as a preventative measure. It isn't very pleasant smelling though, very medicinal.

Even though this was the first year we have had lice, I have always checked their heads every month or so because I know it goes around the schools so easily. Because of this, neither of my kids had a really bad infestation, I think I caught it fairly early.

I also made them take most of the stuffed toys out of their beds and told them they had to limit it to two. It was more of a hassle doing the laundry and worrying about all of their "stuffies" than treating their heads. Of course, over the last few months, the stuffies have migrated back into their beds.

OP, I know what you mean about having nobody to check your head. If it wasn't for my partner, I would have had nobody either. I have no close friends and who wants to go ask your neighbour who you only have the odd chat with once in a while to check your head for bugs. That said, there is no way I could have afforded the money to pay someone to do it. I wasn't even aware there was such a thing and there probably isn't anyone around here.

Good luck and stay vigilant.

 

[aprilgail2]

How often do I have to keep doing the wash? Do I have to change her sheets each night? I am worried my washer/dryer is going to explode from over use! I'm still catching up on washing the clothes that were in the suitcase from our trip to DC.

Thank you all for your input! I will mourn the loss of that $1000 for a very very long time. I wish I could rationalize it but it was out of sheer panic and ignorance that I spent that money!

I don't know who you called or how far you are from Brooklyn but it would be worth the trip for you to go to them! We paid 150.00 flat fee to get deloused! www.licebustersnyc.com - to this day I say it was the best money I ever spent! Went there-they picked the nits, told us to go home, vacuum, wash all the sheets, pajamas etc- bag up the pillows and stuffed animals for a month (we just tossed them and got new ones instead!) and that was it- we did go back 10 days later for a recheck for 30.00 and it was gaurenteed so if there was anything there they would treat it again for free.

I definitely learned a lesson -- still don't know how I could have had myself checked for nits though, without them. I keep going back and forth about that. I should have stuck with the one day treatment, perhaps, but when they came back they pulled out a bunch more from all our heads. Mine, too.

Moms - how did you treat yourselves when your kids had lice?

When my daughter got them I took us both to the licebusters place- no way was I going to get anyone to pick through my hair if I did have them. And personally I don't care how good of a friend you are there is no way in heck I will ever go pick nits out of someones hair- I would rather give them 150.00 to go get treated!!

Can you at least use your Health Spending account for this or any insurance?

I don't know about insurance because I did not submit it to them but it was covered in my flex spending plan!

 

[chris31997]

Okay, you experts. I got my daughter home and undid her braid, picked through her hair, pulled out 4 nits, then applied the olive oil solution and combed through some more with a fine toothed comb. Then put it up in a bun for the night.

Do you think this might be it for her or will more appear that I missed?

I checkd my 2 yr old, who has had the oil solution on her head since yesterday evening and I found none, so I left the oil on her head and will wash it off tonight in the tub with the lice shampoo (natural so we can use it in the tub).

As for me, I will apply the oil for the night, pick through and shampoo tomorrow and repeat.

Am I doing everything right?

Thank you!

Okay, I did not read all the posts. So if this is a repeat, I am sorry. Get the allerygy pillow cases and put all your pillows in those.

To me is sounds like you are doing everything right. It takes time. My DD got it a couple years ago, It took almost a month to couple get rid of them. She slept with her hair braided and covered in vasiline in a shower cap. She would wash her hair and I would comb and pick her head(long, thick and fine hair) for 3 hours, and than we would goop up her hair and confine it again. We would repeat the process every other day. After that, she washed her hair once a week

Good luck.

 

[Poohforyou]

I've been through lice with DD a few times and it's a pain in the neck but not something I'd ever pay someone else to deal with. You don't have to check yourself. Just start treating as a precaution. You can use Rid but I found a natural product that worked just as well.

Also if you don't bag up any that can't be washed for a few weeks (i.e. big pillows, stuffed animals etc) they can easily return.

Once you've treated yourself keep up with combing and use lots of hair products like gel, mousse or hair spray.