Need Lice Advice!

Ya know when we are little girls and say we want to be moms, how come we don't think about things like this happening?

Because motherhood has a lot af good points but my mama dod not tell me about all these bad things like nasty little buggers in my babies head, and nasty green snot, that is easily wiped onto MY shirt and not the kids, and she did not tell me how hard it would be to leave the house for work without getting a stain or some sort on me. (That is a given)

Well sorry you daughter got the cooties, but at least you caught it instead of the school, good catch.

I've been going through this recently with my daughter, who incidentally gave lice to my boyfriend's daughter. Actually, they are home again today on the 3rd round of delousing.

I found that the CDC fact sheet someone provided the link to here has the best information. A flea comb is the best comb to get out the nits in my experience. And spray vinegar in her hair when you are combing it to unglue the nits from the hair shaft.

Hi M., my daughter (age 8) had lice this summer for the first time. I was so upset ... but it happens. The itching will be there for a while until the "bites" heal up. Just be very faithful every day to use the nit comb and comb through the hair after washing and use lots of conditioner. DO THIS EVERY DAY FOR SEVERAL DAYS. Those nits are so hard to ge out of the hair. I also felt itchy so i treated myself once and never really felt like I had it. Also remember to wash bedding in VERY HOT water and vacuum around the bed and other places where she hangs out - i.e. couch, beanbag, etc. GOOD LUCK.

I feel strongly that parents should be informed
that conventional chemical lice treatments can be harmful to our children, and that there is a safer and more effective natural treatment available. Parents should carefully consider whether they really want to use chemical over-the-counter and prescription lice treatments commonly recommended by physicians and pharmacists.

This is what we use for prevention and can also be used for treatment.

Please go to the following web address for Research Report:

http://www.rmbarry.com/research/lice-melaleuca-oil.html

they sell sprays to spray her bed, wash all her linen,and if there is stuffed animals wash them, do not use the same hair brush,you will have to treat again the hair i believe in 5 days, read the box,and also get the rid comb ,it is alot of work but is she had bugs then there is eggs also,when all is gone from her head try using a hair oil to her hair that keeps them from sticking to her hair, that is why many blacks do not get them,use that rid comb everyday on her hair, and wash the hair brushes,

Hi, I also had this when my daughter started school. I am also a licensed hair dresser. So here is my advice: Make sure you treat your home items too. Washing pillows, blankets - all bedding. I'm not sure what you are using to treat your daughter, but I used RIT (I think that is the name of it). Also, please make sure you use the comb that comes with it. I know it is time consuming to do that BUT you have to because that is what removes the actual eggs. After treatment, I continuted to check my daughter for the next couple of weeks. Oh, and pets, you may want to check your pets.

Hi M.! I know how horrifying it can be to find out your child has lice for the first time...I know I was when I found out my son and I both had it! Treating her head with the lice shampoo and combing through it with the comb is great, but you also have to wash everything she sleeps on, sheets, pillows, the whole nine! Then you'll also need to spray down her mattress, pillows, couch cushions, whatever she's been around or on for the past week just to make sure that all the eggs and nits are dead and gone...that should take care of it. Also, if she's attending daycare, tell the people at the daycare so they can let the other parents know to check their kids heads...it doesn't do any good for you to go through all this if she just ends up with lice again because some other parent isn't paying attention!

I went through this alot when i was a kid, and i have been threw this with my boys. my mom used to use baby oil in my hair . She would make sure it was all covered and then put a shower cap on my head to sleep in. It has worked for me when i was little and it has worked for my boys, plus it is alot cheaper than the lice shampoos. It also helps with dry scalp.

You have alot of great advice already. Don't forget to treat the car seats inside your car as well lice like hidding in the fabric seats. Also you can ask you local pharmacy for printed information on how to treat the problem. Places like Walgreens often keep informational phamplets on the subject.

Try Mayonnaise! I had a friend that always used it and she said it works wonders. You basically wash their hair in it and let it set for a wile, then rinse it out. Use a very fine comb to comb through it piece by piece. Wash all your linens including stuff animals. That will get it out of your house.

Heres some info for you.

It's also a good idea to use a fine-tooth comb on your child's hair after regular shampooing every 3 to 4 days for 2 weeks. Wetting the hair beforehand is recommended because it temporarily immobilizes the lice and they become easier to comb out.

Keep in mind that head lice don't survive long once they fall off a person. So it's unnecessary to spend a great deal of time and money trying to rid the house of lice. here are some simple steps you can take to help get rid of the lice and their eggs, and help prevent a lice reinfestation:

Wash all bed linens and clothing that's been recently worn by anyone in your home who's infested in very hot water (130 degrees Fahrenheit, or 54.4 degrees Celsius) then put them in the hot cycle of the dryer for at least 20 minutes.
Dry clean any clothing that isn't machine washable.
Have bed linens, clothing, and stuffed animals and plush toys that can't be washed dry-cleaned. Or, put them in airtight bags for 2 weeks.
Vacuum carpets and any upholstered furniture (in your home or car).
Soak hair-care items like combs, barrettes, hair ties or bands, headbands, and brushes in rubbing alcohol or medicated shampoo for 1 hour. You can also wash them in hot water or just throw them away.
Because lice are easily passed from person to person in the same house, other infested family members will also need treatment to prevent the lice from coming back.

In your efforts to get rid of the bugs, there are some things you shouldn't do. Some don'ts of head lice treatment include:

Don't use a hair dryer on your child's hair after applying any of the currently available scalp treatments, because some contain flammable ingredients.
Don't use a cream rinse or shampoo/conditioner combination before applying lice medication.
Don't wash your child's hair for 1 to 2 days after using a medicated treatment.
Don't use sprays or hire a pest control company to try to get rid of the lice, as they can be harmful.
Don't use the same medication more than three times on one person. If it doesn't seem to be working, your child's doctor may recommend another medication.
Don't use more than one head lice medication at a time.

M.,
The best technique for my children last year was to treat hair with any over the counter shampoo, follow combing instructions. After combing has been finished, completely dry hair with blow dryer. Here's the weird part...after her hair is dry, put mayo or miracle whip, in it and massage it in really well and re-comb her hair. I did it on our deck in the back yard so the sun could help me find each and every little nit and louse. After combing her hair for the second time, wash it with her regular shampoo and conditioner making sure to get all the remaing mayo out. The trick is the oil in the mayo helps to loosen the nits that seem to be permanently glued to each shaft of hair. It works M. it truly does!

Also like some of the other advice that has been given, be sure to bag up ALL of her stuffed toys, pillows and non-washable items for 10 days. Typically lice/nits can only survive up to 3 days without a host...but just incase they're playing their own version of "SURVIVOR"...I would recommend 10 days.

Your bedding, her bedding, all sweaters, hats, and most all your clothes should be washed in HOT water and dryed in a HOT dryer.

The floors and furniture need to be vacummed and probably sprayed with any over the counter "lice spray". Also be sure to dispose of the vaccum bag once the entire house is cleaned.

You mentioned you felt itching also...well that probably mean you've contracted lice as well. It's nothing to be embarrased about and you should treat yourself the exact same way as you do your daughter. Remember to vacuum car seats as well...unless of course they're leather!!!

Good luck, you will make it through this! Don't feel overwhelmed, just take one step at a time!

L.

you can take her to the health department and they can check her. also the school nurse can check her.

I have all the lice advice you need ! my mother had 9 children and belive me we have had our share. First you only use the treatment shampoo once in a 7 day period. And yes go ahead and treat yourself and anyone else who lives in the house. Next strip all the beds and pillows couch pillows too. Wash them in hot water. Special fabric have dry cleaned. there is a spray you need to get its wright next to the shampoo. Its for the Mattress couches, stuffed animals, Car ect.. Stuff you can't wash. Ok now befor you childs hair dryes after you have rinsed it out go through her hair PIECE by piece and pull out any lice eggs its hard work and she won't like it but its the only surefire way to get rid of them. There are lice combs that will help. The eggs look like little pieces of sand or dandrift at the base on the hair they are attched to the hair grab it with you finger nails and pull gently it will cme off.
Oh you can also put stuffed animals and pillows in garbage bags tie them up for 2 weeks. Thats if you don't want to spray them. Hope this helps. if you have any questions just ask.
M.

Did you clean her bed and clothing and anything that was cloth that she came in contact with just before the itching started? If not then they may still be living in the fabrics...be sure to buy the cleaners that rid makes and do a complete cleaning.

Clean!... Everything! You are suppose to take any stuffed animals and put them in garbage bags for about two weeks. Check your childs head everyday!(Metal nit combs work wonders!If you do not get the nits,they will hatch to new bugs.) And was her bedding everyday for at least a week! You will need to notify her school(No one ever wants to)But its likely that is where she got it from. And if they can find the child with it,then that will hopefully put a stop to it.
I have 4 girls with long hair and one of them got it from VBS a few years ago! It was a nightmare to get rid of. You MUST stay on top of it! After buying RID many times, I found out that NIX works better. Buy a metal nit comb, you can find these wherever the nix and lice items are at the store. After you treat her hair and it is wet or dry(I would do both)comb it with the metal comb. This will remove the eggs(Small white things attached to her hair.)They seem to be attached at the neck and behind the ears, more than the top of the head.
another one I was told, Put mayo on the head,coat well, cover with shower cap. Then let the child sleep like that all night,wash out next morning. And of course keep combing with the metal comb.
Good Luck!I certianly feel for you. And what I also learned is put your childs hair up in a pony tail everyday to school! It makes it harder for them to get lice.
B.

HI M. U MIGHT NEED TO CHECK YOUR DAUGHTERS HAIR FOR NITS THE EGGS THAT THE BUGS LAY SHAMPOO KILLS THE BIGGER BUGS BUT IT TAKES A FEW DAYS 4 THE NITS TO HATCH YOU MIGHT NEED A FINE TOOTH COMB TO TAKE TO YOUR DAUGHTER HAIR SO U CAN GET RID OF THE NITS

you have to spary your whole house ,wash her stuff animals in hot water and her bed clothes in hot water ,anything she lays on,it would not hurt to do the whole family hair.put some lice medicine in your shampoo,it will help to

M.- I am sending you instructions that my sister (she's been through this twice with her daughter) sent to a friend of mine. Don't panic...you CAN get rid of the lice, but you really do need to follow these instructions to the letter. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Hang in there!!!
The best thing to do is call your Dr. immediately for a prescription called Ovide. Not every pharmacy carries it, so call around and find one that does first. It's $140.00 and you insurance may not cover it. But, it is the only thing that I have found that works. I have heard that vinegar works too.
How much have you gone thru your daughters hair? You should literally be going strand by strand - I know, it sounds crazy. If your daughter has as much hair as mine, be ready for a long hall. It took me 6 hours at a time - twice a day. You have to get every egg out & those combs don't do it. Even after you use the medicine, you have to get every egg out.
Put a sheet on the couch and over your lap.Section her hair off w/ clips and get a really good light. Then very slowly, little clumps at a time, start picking thru her hair. I actually have a small pair of needle nose scissors that I used to cut each hair out that I found an egg on. Look for live bugs as you are doing this as well. They are very tiny & hard to catch - use your fingernails. Just keep going little sections at a time. Go thru each section w/ the little comb and check all angles in the light.
If you or your daughter need to get up & walk around, be sure to be careful w/ the sheet covering the couch. Every time you finish, stand her in the tub, take off all of her clothes & put them in the wash. Wash the sheet.
Discard your clothes as well. Change the sheets, blankets, comforters, stuffed animals, etc. every morning. Any stuffed animals that she has on or around the bed, put in a plastic trash bag & see lit for 2 weeks. Every jacket that has been on or near a hanger or hook near hers must be cleaned.
Clean the car seats.
If there are other children in the house, start checking them as well.

I know that you are probably crying by now & I am so sorry. It is horrible to go through.

I have 2 s and they have had head lice and I found that first and fore most find out the source. Notify the schools and I use coconut oil in their hair and the oil deters the bugs because they can't latch on. It's only 99 cents at Kroger

I know this may be a couple of days late. I just thought you should know that it is not safe to keep using lice treatment everyday. You should use it on day one then retreat in 7 days. The chemicals in the stuff can actually cause brain damage. my little sister had it so bad in kindergarten. her dr said it is not good to keep treating with that stuff. i am also a hairdresser. i had a customer one time that put vaseline on her daughters hair overnight and they slid right off the next morning. spray your house and her stuff animals good. dog flea treatment is cheaper than the lice spray and works just as well on the funiture and toys. and keep her hair dirty. your sheets need to be changed everyday and washed. good luck

When my daughter was younger we had a HUGE fight with lice. We tried everything. Combing, picking, washing, spraying the furniture, her stuffed animals, bed clothes, mattress EVERYTHING. You name it we tried it. I got so deperate at one point that I listened to a "home remedy" of putting vasaline in her hair. Note: Don't try this one. It doesn't work and it just makes a mess of their hair. The way we finally got rid of the lice by washing her hair and then taking a section at a time and commbing through it. As you finish each section braid it and put it aside. That way you know what part you've already worked on and you're not going over the same area twice and not really doing a lot of good. You might have to do it another time, but this really does work.

Even though I've never actually had to deal with lice treatments myself (yet.....I'm sure it's inevitable!) I am a nurse and I know that you'll need to treat more than just your daughter's hair to get rid of the little pests. You will need to wash all of her sheets, pillow cases, pillow covers, etc, in hot water, as well as clothes she was wearing before the hair treatment. Because a lot of stuffed animals and dolls can't be washed in the washing machine, you can elminate any possible nits on them by putting them in a large plastic trash bag and sealing it for at least 2 weeks. The CDC has a great FAQ article on dealing with lice at:

http://www.cdc.gov/NCIDOD/dpd/parasites/lice/factsht_head...

Hope this helps. Good luck!

J.

I think this is funny - my daughter was just sent home today for lice!

To get rid of the nasty little things, it's usually best to...

1 - vacuum the carpets and matresses,then empty the cup or throw away the bag.

2 - wash linens, clothes, coats, scarves, etc., in the hottest water possible, then dry in the dryer for as long as the fabric can stand.

3 - wash stuffed animals the same way.

4 - all items that can't be washed can be bagged up in a trash bag and placed on the back porch for one to two weeks.

5 - treat both her AND yourself with the shampoo.

4 - spray the upholstery and mattresses with a lice spray.

5 - comb, comb, comb, comb. You'll need a steel toothed lice comb, and you'll have to go through her hair for an hour, maybe more, depending on how thick her hair is. Do this right after you have shampooed her hair. Divide the hair into sections, and begin to comb, starting close to the scalp, and it will draw the nits and lice out. You can soak a paper towel in rubbing alcohol and use that to wipe the comb off.

Sometimes, instead of using the shampoo, you can just comb. Olive oil will help "unglue" the nits... you'll have to rub it through her hair and let it sit for a few hours. After you're done combing her hair out, you might have to wash her hair with dish soap (it cuts the grease better) and then rinse it with vinegar to get all of the oil out.

When I was little, I often became reinfected because we forgot to spray the cars upholstery, or my bookbag - things that travel or are outside of the house that you normally don't think about.

Hope this helps!

Hello there. You think your little girl had lice. Well you need to treat the whole family. Also you need to clean her room. You also need to take all her stuffed animals and put them in a bag and leave them in there for a wile. With out a human they cann't live. But you may have to treat more than once. You also need to let your daughters teacher at school know what is going on. They also may want to clean up there room. Also they may be a child in her class that has it and is not getting rid of it and your child may get it again do to that. Hope you have good luck with this.

M.,

When I lived in Flordia I got it often from other kids. I have been told that lice likes clean hair. My mother would send me to school with my hair in a pony tail and alot of hair spray that kept them away but the day I would go to school with my hair down I would get it. The lice shampoo always made my scalp dry and caused me to itch also. I also remember my mom pulling the eggs out and breaking them between her finger nails, not inside the nail but the out side. Every one else also gave great info on the lice. I would also make sure after the shampoo to condition her hair realy well,not only does that shampoo make your scalp dry it makes your hair dry. I hope you don't feel embarrassed by this it happens to the best of us. If I think of any thing else I will let you know.. Good luck. You have alot of great advice on this from other mothers.

M. G

M.

It isn't just washing her hair with the shampoo that gets rid of the lice. If you saw bugs then she has nits. Nits are the egg sacks that the bugs hatch from. You must go through every strand of her hair, top to bottom, and make sure she has no nits. Schools usually have a no nit policy, so if you don't know what they look like ask someone in the office at school to check her. If the nits aren't removed completly, she will have bugs again as soon as those hatch and the cycle will start over again. Also, if you don't get rid of them with her, she will pass them to someone else who will pass them back to her! I would let the teacher know she has been exposed to them, becasue the other kids in her class need to be checked or the cycle could be never ending. I have dealt with this too many times and is on of the reasons I am glas I homeschool now.

Ask a pharmacist for information.

My daughter is also 6 and has had lice recently. I hope it's not going around the schools. I had to treat her hair 3 times before I got rid of them. I find that the NIX works the best. Make sure you comb her hair to get the nits out. I even combed her hair in the shower with her head full of conditioner. Good luck.