Lice...

When my 3 yr old daughter got lice we eventually discovered Tea Tree oil and it definitely worked. We used the shampoo and conditioner for several days and deluted the oil down with water to spray things.

First off, I am not trying to sell anything here (because it drives me nuts when that happens)...I am in no way assciated with the company I am mentioning. If you can find the Melaluca brand, try that. The cleaners, household cleaners, and shampoos will kill the lice and the eggs.

Hi Kim~
First off~ Im not trying to sell you anything...lol! I think that's against the rules of this site, by the way.

Anyway, a friend of mine had this problem years ago and the only thing that worked was to give her daughter's hair and scalp a good coating of olive oil, wrap it up in a shower cap (then a hankerchief so she doesn't get it off in the night)and then wash it out in the morning. It should come out with a strong shampoo or even dish soap (trust me). No need to buy expensive cleaners or oils from some pyramid scam...good luck to you and her!

~L.

Hi Kim...

It is a HUGE pain to get rid of them. We went through this last summer. We tried all of the remedies out there, and this is the one that worked the best for us.

My number ONE suggestion is to get some Paul Mitchell Tea Tree shampoo. The bugs themselves don't like the smell of it, and it makes them go down the drain. It is very minty smelling, and makes the head tingle...but it doesn't burn. After using that...get some of the GEL that comes in some of the RID or any of the lice kits. Apply the gel generously to the wet hair, and go through it strand by strand to get all the nits and eggs. The gel is VERY important, because it helps to release the eggs from the hair.

And then...I would use the Paul Mitchell shampoo about once a week...just as a preventative for a couple of months. And, go through her hair with the little comb every day for a week or so as well...just to be on the safe side.

Also...while cleaning your house...make sure to do ALL of her laundry too. Bedding, coats, jackets, sweatshirts...anything that might have come into contact with her head. AND...make sure that you either wash and dry on high heat, all of her stuffed animals...or load them into trash bags and put them in the garage for at least a month.

I really REALLY feel for you, and I hope this works for you. I also hope that your daughter doesn't have hair as thick as mine does, because it took us 5 1/2 hours to go through her hair with that little comb!!!

Good luck!

Hey Kim~
Believe it or not I went through this for almost a year about 3 years ago and it was my youngest daughter at the time who we were having the hardest time with, I now have 7 kids and only a few of them would get it, I would tease them that they were sweeter then the others, anyways I tried everything out there, RID, and the spanish brand Mojo's, even got 2 different types of prescription shampoo, and we just could not get rid of them! Lice has become a lot more resilient to standard treatments.
My mom ended up giving me some tea tree oil, the straight out of the bottle kind,(she works in a vitamin/health food store) not the paul mitchell shampoo, which I might add is good to use after the treatment of tea tree oil, what I ended up doing was putting it straight on there hair, and wrapping thier heads in plastic bags, I then sent them outside for about an hour, it was summer, came in and washed out thier hair, put the shampoo in thier hair before you put any water on it. Then used a nit comb that I bought seperatly. I never had another problem, which was amazing because I had battled it for a year and the solution was really easy and here all along I had been struggling.
Just don't for get to treat the bedding, stuffed animals ect,. Rid makes a spray which is easier then trying to wash all the animals and dolls ect,. Hope this helped, try it it is natural and won't harm your daughter and envolves no pestacides.

My daughter brought them home twice from the school. You have to make sure that you get everyone picked out of their hair. I washed everything in hot water. I mean everything. If she has stuff animals, I would put all that stuff in a bag and take it out for about 3 days. Also, vacuum everything. I vacuumed the bed mattress, everything and the whole house. And i did that faithfully for a few days in a row. Throw that bag out....of the house. I used RID and that helped. I caught it early also and that seemed to help. A friend let her little girl come over and I sent her home and told the mother...get the stuff out of her hair, she thought because they were dead you did not need to pick out the eggs...not true...it is time consuming but you have to do it. Not fun.....

Use tea tree oil - mix a little bit with your regular shampoo. The smell is not very pretty - but lice do not like it - I have been using it for the last 5 years - my oldest is 11, then 7, 2 and 10 months - all girls - put your childs hair in pig tails w/braids - the tighter the hair is to your childs head the less likely she will get it - you also need to make sure that you use that lice comb very thoroughly. GOOD LUCK!

Get some olive oil and mix it with dawn dish soap. Put it in her hair saturate it so that it is dripping. Then wrap her hair in saran wrap and blow dry it until she cant stand it. Then put a shower cap on her and let her sit like that for a few hrs then rinse her hair and use the rid comb and get the dead eggs out. Walmart sells a comb called a Robicomb and it zaps the live lice and kills them.. I had to do this to my niece and it worked!! Good luck

If you cleaned her hair and did a thorough cleaning of your house and all of your linens, is it possible your daughter is getting it from another child?

Kim several years ago I had the same problem with one of my kids. Rid didn't work. I went to me Dr and his nurse had just done a in depth report on what worked. Putting peanut butter was the first choice however that is very difficult to get out of the hair. Second choice was to put maynaise on the hair. Put it on thick just before bed and put a shower cap on and in the morning wash her hair. It kills the live lice as well as the eggs!! Trust me it works, there are no chemicals and her hair will be soft and shiny besides!!! Where the expensive chem's didn't work this worked like a charm. Give it a try.

My daughter had a recurrent lice problem about 2 years ago. We did the usual RID thing, and it just didn't seem to work. After giving her these messy hair treatments at least 7 times, I went to a local GNC and asked if they had something else that I could try. They gave me an all-natural, organic form of RID, and I was amazed! Not only was it much easier to use, it didn't smell as bad and worked the first time! When all else fails, it never hurts to try the organic method. Especially on younger children who have more sensitive skin.

My daughter got lice soo much. This is so frustrating as a parent and not understood by many.

Here are some suggestions:

Buy the metal combs, as already suggested. Cake your child's hair with maynoaise and put saran wrap around just her hair (of course not her head). This is actually suffocate the bugs. I say do this for at least a few hours and keep a close eye on her. Rinse her hair really well and then use the metal combs to comb out all the lice, etc. Make sure the room you use to go through her hair is well lit so you can see well.

You'll also need to place all stuffed animals, pillows, etc in an air tight plastic bag for at least 2 weeks. AFter you vacuum your furniture, try spraying the furniture with the special shampoo that is made especially for this.

I recommend combing your daughters hair with the lice combs several times daily. As embarassing as it may be, you need to let the other parents that your child has been around as well as the school. Your ddaughter had to have picked it up from somewhere and the only way to get rid of it, is to have everyone get rid of it. Also, wash the coats.

I have been told to use a hair dryer. I guess lice can't live well in the heat. Also, there is a new device out that generates a lot of heat and doesn't use any chemicals. I think it may be expensive and I believe the U of U is the one who did the study.

The problem is, lice are now building up immunities to the chemicals that once killed the bugs. The chemicals have been used for so many years, that they don't kill the lice like they used t.

You can also ask your doctor for a special shampoo that is stronger then the Over-the-Counter stuff.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

Hi Kim,

My step-son came to live with us a few months ago and his poor head was seriously infested. I sat him down and treated him the same way I did my 2 daughters a few years ago when they had lice. Obviously, after we clean their heads we need to clean the house. This includes bathing the animals, vaccuming, and spraying.

I used olive oil on their heads over night, sealed with a shower cap. Then for 2 weeks, morning and night, I combed through their hair with a nit comb section by section under the brightest light I could find. To keep the lice away, my kids all wash their hair with shampoo that has melaluca oil in it. You can buy shampoo with it already there, which can be expensive, or you can go to your local health food store and buy a small dropper bottle of the oil for $10 or less and put between 10-15 drops per full bottle of shampoo. Doing this kept the lice out of my girls' heads while I was treating my step-son.

Good luck! It looks like you've got a lot of great advice. Let us know how everything works out for you.

LICE!!!!!!!! I KNOW Youre probaby freeking out! I feel for you. I scratch my head just thinking about it. We've had to go through it twice. ICKY! But, they pick it up at school, and it is no indication of your personal hygene. Always remind yourself of that. I used to freek myself out thinking I hadnt kept my kids clean enough. But that was just be being grossed out, and paranoic. So, hang in there, and try this. IT WORKS
From what i understand, yo shouldnt use RID more than once in a short period of time, as it IS A PESTICIDE, and we put it on the scalps of our kids. When I had to go through this I had four kids, a husband, and myself to treat. EVERYONE got treated with Rid. Then we did the lice comb thing. Make sure to use the special little comb that comes in the RID packege, or you can pick up a metal one at a pharmay. I prefered the metal comb. Our girls all had vey long hair, the plastic ones sometimes broke. Do this outside, or someplace you can sweep up thouroughly. Comb comb comb comb comb. Thats the trick.
After youre done, you can repeat treatments for the next three weeks, once a week, or if you ever think you see more. Try using Mayonaise. Not Miricle Whip... Mayonaise. I guess Mayoniase is thicker, or soemthing, and really smothers any live critters. I had my kids wear a shower cap, and leave the mayo in all night long... then rinse, and comb comb comb the next morning. A week or so later, I made the whle family do the mayo thing again, and I went through thier hair with the comb. NO LICE! NO NITS! I checked them aobut once a week for the rest of the school year. I was very freeked!
CLEANING THE HOUSE: I am sure you cleaned very well. And it probably worked. Did you take away all stuffed animals? Health dept suggests you take away all stuffed animals, bag them up in trash bags, and store them in the garage for at least 3 weeks. The bugs cannot survivie without a host. THen bring the stuffed animals in and wash them. (tip: never put a stuffed animal in the dryer on any other setting but COLD. This helps the fur stay they way it was when you bought it!) I left our stuffed animals out in bags in the cold garage for 6 weeks JUST TO BE SURE!
Dogs and cats: I am told they dont get lice like we do. I dont beleive it. So I bathed my dog every few days with Dawn dish detergent. Dish soap woks wonders on killing fleas, so I tried it on the dogs. I never saw any lice on the dog, bt he had to be treated just the same. He sure was soft and shiney! Thats a plus!
One last tip. If your husband has a beard, he may fight you, but his beard must be treated too. My hubby threw A FIT about havinhg his beard treated. I became very stern and said "No way in hell am I going through this again. Sit still and let me treat your beard!!!!" I won. hee hee
Good luck! I havent had lice in 5 years now. We had one lice scare since, so we threw mayo on everyones head just for safety sake. In this case, we saw no lice, or nits, we had just been with a family whose kids had lice (and they didnt bother to tell us. NICE EH?)
As for your hair. BE CAREFUL. If your hair is permed or color treated, the RID is going to burn your hair ends. It burned my hair ends, and I dont color or perm. I had to get two inchees cut off after I did RID due to the drying damage. My hair is very long, so 2 inches didnt mean much. My daughters hair faired better to the chemicals in RID. (Probably cuz Im over 40, and post menopasal. Hormones have changed my hair, made it thiner, and less strong.) And as gross as it is, Mayo really is a good conditioner. Just RINSE VERY WELL!
Good zLuck, and remember, ITS NO REFLECTION ON YOUR CLEANLINESS! I PROMISE!
Your friend at Mama Source, S. (____@____.com)

Head lice can be very difficult to get rid of. Through my experience as a preschool teacher and having dealt with it many times, here is my advice: some things to think about when cleaning your house is that lice can live in carpet so vacuuming is very important. Vacuum your floors, couches, etc. Then you need to make sure to replace the bag that you used or dump the dirt into the garbage and take it out. You may have to wash bedding daily to help get rid or it. If this is not an option, bag it up in a garbage bag for 2 or 3 days. This is a good idea with dirty clothes and stuffed animals as well if you can't get to them right away. Heat kills lice as well. You can put stuffed animals, pillows in the drier for 15-30 minutes on the hottest temperature and it will kill them. Lice can't live without a host and most will die within 24 hours without one. Last, but not least, there is a comb that you can get at Wal-Mart. It is called the Robi Comb. It costs around $25. It has metal teeth and uses and electrical current between the teeth to kill lice and knits. It is not harmful to your child and the directions are very thorough when explaining how to use it. It is much safer than using chemicals repeatedly. They is suspicion that head lice are becoming immune to the chemicals and this comb works wonders. You can use it daily for 2-3 weeks and it will help get rid of any little lice that seem to stick around when you think they should be gone. Hope this information helps. Good luck!

If you put a few drop of tea tree oil in their shampoo it will help keep them from returning. It is a natural alternative (and very effective) from the harsh chemicals in other treatments. I have access to it at a good price, so let me know if you'd be interested!

A.

you need to treat not only her but your furniture, her toys, her clothing etc....i went thru this many years ago with my kids...and the doc told me that, for example the kids sit on the sofa and their heads rests against the back of it....a few bugs or eggs rub off....later they sit there again and pick them back up...furniture, bedding, toys, hats etc all have the potential for harboring the yucky little devils!!....i think rid makes a spray you can use...use it liberally!!....wash all bedding etc in very hot water,....including pillows....spray mattresses and the areas around them....etc etc etc.....

any stuffed toys etc that can't be washed, put in the dryer on the highest heat and keep them in rotating there for at least an hour...if they can't be put in the dryer, try putting them in a plastic bag in a freezer...leave them there several days....then put them in the dryer on 'air' so 'things' will fall off....
good luck!!

D.

Ewww, yuck! I'd try the whole thing again and reclean your house. Other than that I don't know. Good luck!

Hi Kim
I used to get lice all the time it seemed as a kid. Thankfully I haven't had to go through it yet with my own boys but time will tell.
Like another person said MAYO it works great... Also they don't like heat so after a bath or shower blowdry her hair instead of air dry.... And clean clean clean in the house. I always got it from others and my mom tried all the stuff on the shelfs it always seemed to hurt, but once we went to mayo it was pretty painless and easy.
Good Luck let us know how it all turns out!

Hi Kim,

Get a product called Lice Be Gone. You can get this in health food stores like Nutrition Plus. It is all natural and you can use as much as you need and often as you need. IT will not harm your daughter. It is the only thing that worked for me ...and trust me I tried everything.

Good Luck

It is so nice to be able to come here and ask for help from other mothers that go through the same embarrassing things too. We had our first encounter last year and my husband freaked out. It was no big deal we caught it early and just cleaned up a few times. The big thing is to get the eggs out I went to wal mart and got the set of combs that are for getting nits and bugs out. The nit comb has longer teeth and are very close together they really pull the eggs out. And once all the live bugs where gone you just had to keep doing a comb through to get the eggs out. Everyday or once a week after I was the every day for a week and then once a week for a month. Make sure you are not putting the eggs on the floor that you comb out. Put them in the garbage and take it out to the curb when you are done. Also, if you have some things that can’t be washed or dried you can put them in a plastic bag and place in a deep freezer or just leave for a few weeks. Strip the bedding and wash. Also, make sure you do your cars. Just spray the stuff that you put on the couch and carpet. You will get through this and it will be no big deal.

Treat your kids again, and then use Denorex shampoo for the next 3 weeks. Denorex shampoo smells really awful, but it'll work.

Also, be religious about combing. Use a hair dryer on high heat too. You want to keep them from food, and kill them with heat.

You also need vacuum everything, couches, carpeting, etc... strip beds and wash on hot and put them in the dryer. I sprayed the house down (every cloth thing in the house with water with tea tree oil and lavendar oil in it). We even put plastic zippered mattress and pillow covers on. Pull all stuffed animals and dolls, etc. You can either put them on the dryer on high (which I do not recommend as it can melt some stuffed animal fur) or put them in a black garbage bag for 3 weeks.

My sisters had lice and I went over to my mom's house to take care of it. We were successful, but the are darn hard to get rid of. Good luck.

Kim,

We had lice for the first time last year and used LiceX. It is a product we found online. It worked great with no order, stinging or any of those wonderful things. It comes with two bottles for two easy steps. All of five of my kids had it since someone brought it home and we didn't realize it. I even got it with my very long hair (past my butt) and it was easy to do.

We found it online. I will double check the name but, I am pretty that is it. It has a nice orange scent. The second step is more of a procaution to make the lice not want to attach in case you missed it off of something.

Good luck!!

A.

YOU HAVE TO BUY THE SPRAY ALSO AND SPRAY ANY WHERE IN YOU HOUSE SHE HAS BEEN ,COUCH,BED,CARPET ETC, ALSO ALL STUFF ANIMALS AND TOYS SHE HAS PLATED WITH PUT IN A GARABE BAG FOR TWO WEEKS PUT PILLOW PLACTIC COVERS ON HER BED AND PILLOWS AFTER YOU SPRAY THEM FOR FOR TWO WEEKS. SHE COULD OF GOT THEM FROM TOUCHING SOMEONES COAT OR HAT THAT HAD GOT THEM OR PLAYRD WITH THERE TOYS OR EVEN TOUCHED SOMEONE IN THE STORE. IF YOU TAKE ALL THESE STEPS AT LEAST YOUR HOUSE WILL BE LICE AND NIT FREE. I HOPE THIS HELPS YOU B.

Hey Kim,
I was "lucky" enough to get lice for the first time when I was 18. It can be hard to get rid of. You have to clean everything that she has come incontact with. Beding, toys, clothes, everything! They say stuffed toys and stuff that can not be wasthed, should be put in a bag and left for 48-72 hours. That lice can not live more then a day or 2 without a blood supply. Also if you have a family pet, they could have it as well. It is a LONG, HARD, prosses to get rid of it all, but cleaning everything is the key! I remembering washing all of our beding, cleaning the couches, carpets, rugs, everything. And wear a hair net when you do it because they can jump onto you. Also get new hairs stuff, or boil your old stuff. Have you ben checked and/or your husband? You guys may have it too and that's why it hasn't gone away. They also say try washing your hair with dog shampoo, they don't like that stuff! Good Luck!

Hi Kim:

Lice is difficult to deal with for anyone.....it sounds like you didn't get all the eggs the first attempt. I know how frustrating this is!! Re wash with the RID....and use a metal nit removal comb to go through her hair section by section. This will take time and patience! The comb that is in the kit won't remove the eggs well enough.
Call around to Wal-Mart or Wal-Greens to see what store has the special comb.
Personally, I don't think the lice can live off of the head for very long so give your carpets and furniture a once over with the vacuum. Wash her bedding and vacuum her matress and dry her stuffed animals that she might sleep with on high in the dryer for 15 minutes and I think you'll have the lice issue under control.
Also once your finished going through her hair and removing the nits and eggs....give yourself a good shower and use RID also.....just to be sure they didn't transfer to you.

Good Luck with it Kim

K.

Hi Kim,
I have 3 daughters. They are not older now. I every year they where in school we had lice problem. My girls are blond so the eggs did not show only the lice. I used everything on the shevel. I found if you get the grease that you would put in their hair help to get rid of the problem. Do wash everything of theirs first use one more time the rid or A1000. Then just every night grease their hair get one of those shower caps. You should see over time that you have no more lice. Do tell the your daughter to keep her hair to herself too. Don't use anyones hair brush or get close to any other chlid hair. That another way they seem to pick it up. i hope this helps you.

Susan M