Head Lice - Avon, OH

well as long as teh children aren't sharing pillows or head gear and have seperate cubbies for things like coats they should spread to much. lice can not live off a human body for more than 24 hours. please don't use the chemical pestisides in over the counter lice treatments on your daughter unless absolutely necessary. it is true that lice like clean hair, strange because ppl view it as a dirty thing to have lice, so use plenty of product and use a nit comb and check her hair daily, it's a hassle yes but the best way to get rid of lice to to make sure to get all of the eggs out of her hair. don't go overboard on you home you only need to really wash the clothing, and towels that she uses as well as the brushes and hair things and her bedding stuffed animals and such can get put up for a couple days and be just fine. my sd used to come home from her mother's with lice weekly so it's something we dealt with for months and never ahd anyone else get. also vinegar and mayo, the real stuff works to get the nits and lice out and is safer than the rid stuff. good luck

My oldest daughter's school has had several outbreaks.
My 3 kids are now in school
I bought a bottle of Jason's tea tree oil and lavendar conditioner. It seems to be working for us.

If she does come home with nits. White vinegar/ water and the metal comb. It will make them let go. My niece was out of school for weeks till her mom tried this.

I agree, I wouldn't go over board unless you find she has them. My daughter is in 5th grade and has curly thick hair and I FEAR her getting them. She's had outbreaks in her class for 3 years in a row now, we're lucky she hasn't gottent them. We'd have to shave her bald if she did! lol! I've been told to put hairspray on her hair in the morning if it's going around and put her hair in a pony tail if it's long. If she does get them all the advice you've recieved her was good. My niece is 2 and currently has them and she's had them for 30 days now! My sister has followed all instructions and when she thinks they're gone more show up. She recently ordered the tea tree oil someone else her mentioned and she said coconut oil. She says it seems to be working.

Oh, at school if the kids have coats and they are in the closet the lice can climb from coat to coat. Another thing we found in school last year was the art shirts. The teacher kept them all in a box. NOT GOOD! If this is the case they should send them home to be washed or replaced. The teachers at our school then had them keep their shirts in ziplock bags. Much better idea!

I went through this about 7 or 8 yrs ago with my kids. Both girls had long hair and one of them has very thick hair. I would not use the treatment stuff until you find something in her hair, you can only use it every 7 days I think. The most important places on there head to check are the crown and the nape of the neck. Those are the most common places. I have also heard that Phelsnaptha(sp) I believe it is a bar soap and what they used before lice treatment came out, works really well. If your child has taken a jacket, sweater or hat to school I would wash and make sure to dry on high heat. If I remember correctly, lice has an incubation period so I would check your daughters hair everyday for about 2 weeks. I know it sucks but if you can catch just a few eggs it is much better then the actual bugs. I would make sure your daughter wears her hair up to school and reiterate to her how important it is to not use anyone elses comb or put on anyones hat, as well as not hug any of her little friends, for some reason little girls love to do that, that was our big problem.
Good Luck!

I just went through the lice ordeal this past summer and my daughter no longer has her lovely long hair.
If you find any live bugs, saturate the hair with olive oil, cover with a plastic shower cap for 8 hours (I just did it overnite, and I used a small garbage bag because I didn't have any shower caps available)
In the morning, use a nit comb while the oil is still on the hair to remove any dead bugs or eggs. Then wash the hair and dry with a blow dryer. Re check every few days. I used the nit comb after her hair was washed and found a few eggs every few days.
The olive oil treatment is cheap, doesn't put any dangerous pesticides on your child, and can be used as often as necessary. It is messy though.

To avoid picking up the lice, use a tea tree oil shampoo. Melaleuca makes a good one. I used it all the way through elementary school for all three kids and we never had a problem until my youngest decided she wanted to use another type of shampoo. We won't be switching again.
I also have used a rosemary shampoo and conditioner that I think helps as well. I got that from "Fairy Tales Hair CAre" on the internet. It also has no chemicals that can harm your child. They sell a spray on product that helps to repel the things, and they sell the licemeister nit comb.
Coconut also is said to be good to use.
best of luck,
Lin

I use suave shampoos on my kids. There is a chemical in it that deters lice. However like other bugs I am sure that in time they will build a tolerance for this chemical also. I have also heard that green tea extract oils that can be found in some shampoos work too. I have yet to have issues with my own girls, and yet have had those letters sent home from the schools saying that a child in their class has had it. A friend of mine told me about the suave. she swears by it. She has an off the rocker sister who's kids seem to have yearly issues with lice and she swears the suave works deter it because her kids always seem to get lucky and not catch it from their cousins. Her sister finally switched to suave as well and her problems have gone away. Hope this helps.. at least for now. I always worry how long it will be before lice build up a resistance to these things.

I've heard of people using a few drops of tea tree oil in their regular shampoo to prevent lice.

Might be worth looking into.

Hope this helps!

J.

A.,
I would put Tea Tree oil in her shampoo bottle but only a Tablespoon. Since she does not have lice this will keep from getting them. Rid is not good for anybodys hair and since finding out this works it is being used in the Coventry Schools. It was my MILs recipe.
Carol