When i was a child my mother had to deal with lice several times with me, i had very long hair and got it a couple times. Well, now its my turn to deal with it with my son...great huh? I am not freaking as much as my husband is, he is just a bundle of stess about it. So, my question is Does anyone know any other remedies for lice other than the normal treatments? My hubbie is at the store now buying those but I know sometimes there are other things you can do to help the process along, and also know that it doesnt always work so well. I have heard you can do something like to try to smother them somhow, how does that work?? So, if anyone has any other home remedy ideas they know or have tried and succeeded with, please help. Also, what about my furniture and other things that may have been exposed? I have already put all his bed clothes in the washer with hot hot water, and bagged up all his stuffed animals and things. What else should i do, like for my couch and the rest of the usual places he may have been. Thanks!
Hellman's Mayo is the best and safest treatment. The Prescription and over the counter medications really are not safe especially for young children. Yes, the mayo smothers them. Also toys like stuffed animals should be placed and sealed in plastic garbage bags for a long time.
Good Luck.
Btw, read the instructions on those standard treatments for head lice - they say not to use them twice within a certain number of days because they can be very toxic.
Cholesterol, a leave-in conditioner with a weird name, is great for smothering head lice. You leave it in overnight with a shower cap on over it. Then just rinse it out the next morning. Also, comb his hair with one of those special lice egg removing combs afterwards. Good luck!
If the idea of mayo all of your kids head makes you a little queasy (I hate mayo on a sandwich!) I think you can do the same thing with cetaphil lotion. Google it and it will bring you to a drs homepage and there will be more detailed info. Good luck!
My last go round with lice (6 kids - it's gonna happen a time or three), I used mayo (not Miracle Whip) and a lice comb. I applied the mayo to each child's head and covered it with a shower cap and let it set for an hour. I then combed out each child's head with the lice comb. If you spend less than an hour (even on short hair) combing, you did it too fast. The mayo smothers the adult/hatched lice and makes it easy to slide the eggs off of the hair shaft, but if you miss even ONE egg, you will be starting over very soon. If it is freezing at night, bag everything up and freeze it outside for a night or two, then wash in the hottest water the material will allow. For furniture, I did use a furniture spray and then vacuumed the snot out of them as well as all the carpets, hardwood floors and mattresses. I threw all of the bed pillows and bought new. Do not leave your vacuum in the house after doing all of the lice vacuuming - empty the cannister in an outside garbage and leave it in the shed for a few days before bringing it back in the house. Finally, make sure that you vacuum and spray the car thoroughly, paying close attention to the head rest areas. Finally, if you have pets, you may want to have them treated and kenneled for a few days.
Vacuum your furniture every day where he is sttting until you think they are gone..
We used tea tree oil. It worked, but it is very hard on eyes, as the fumes from it are very very potent. I think we may have cut it with another oil. But i tell, you. the first application was full strength, and they were falling off dead onto her lap. The problem is the eggs. If you miss just ONE , it can hatch a whole new round of eggs get laid. you need to keep on top of combing out the eggs with a nit comb out of his hair- everyday. If you can , give him a crew cut or a buzz, and make things easy on yourself.
Watch for shared hats, (sports teams.) Don't let your kids try on hats at the stores either. My child got it from the Library- they had put out different hats for a history month- and of course all the kids tried them on. They started a huge wave of lice problems in the community.
You can use a mixture of hair conditioner and baking soda on his head. The baking soda helps to grab onto the nits and then use a fine toothed comb to make sure you have gotten them all out. I would then coat his hair with olive oil and put a cap on or a towel over his pillow when he sleeps. Keep tons of hair gel on his hair because lice love clean hair and will not go survive with hair products. As far as furniture vacuum everything and wash his coat, hats, scarves, and gloves. Lice is more of a pain in the you know what then dangerous. I am sure your husband is freaked out, I think I would be too. Fortunately, I have never had to deal with it personally but I have had children at my preschool with them. Good luck!!
on the lice subject i thank god my daughters havent got it yet but i had got it a few times when i was younger and i have very long and thick hair.my grandma use a combanation of beer and mayo. she mixed it together and it worked she washed it out about 20 minutes later and took the comb throught my hair and all she found was dead ones,so that is what my family always use.its actually good for the hair it hydrates it and makes it have a super shine. but i hope this helps you.
Over the counter doesnt really work anymore. I would suggest you check on line. They have places you can go where they use no toxic stuff and cut out the lice. They go strand by strand. You can't tell that any hair has been cut. It is usually the least traumatic. Also if you use over counter and they check him at school and find any they wont let him back in.
My children are allergic to the store products. We order cleaning supplies, boady soap, laundry detergent from a company called Meleleuca. These products contain tea tree oil. There is a product you get at your local herb store and buy shower cap this smothers them. You wear it about 4 hours then wash your haisr with vinegar. Since we get laundry detergent from Meleleuca our laundry is good to go.For furniture and carpets you put around 8 to 10 drops in a squirt bottle the the rest water. You then go to town squirting down everything. That's it. My children have never had lice but they have had kids that spent the night with them that had it so I treated every body. Thank God for Meleleuca. You will find tea tree oil is exspensive in Herb stores. it's not through Meleleuca. Good Luck and Best Wishes. It is better to be proactive!!!!!!!!!!!!
Catslight
wal - mart sells a spray that you need to put on the bed couch carpet etc. if he sleeps with stuffed toys wash in soap and hot water. wash all bedding. anything he has come in contact with. even if he has been in your bed. if all the over the counter doesn't work ask the dr. for a wash. good luck and god bless. mom of 7,R.
V.:
You can use Helmans real mayonaise. The oils in it smothers the lice and make it easier to get the nits out. It also acts as a conditioner for the hair where the medicated shampoos have all the chemicals, etc. You cover the hair good in the mayonaise and then place a shower cap over hair for 3 hrs. It is messy and it runs. If you do not have a shower cap can use a grocery bag. As for furniture, carpets, car seats if cloth, there is a can of spray you can get at drug stores and spray them. Do not forget to treat pillows. I usually throw them in dryer on hot. Good luck... lice are no fun at all!
You can cover there head in vasoline and wrap saran wrap around there head and that suffocates the lice. You would want to do this well before he has to return in public because it does cause the hair to be greasy for a while. You want to leave the vasoline and saran wrap on for at least 24 hours. Good luck!
I heard that real mayo in the hair for a few mins sitting smothers them. I heard it on The Doctors show. I also heard that coconut shampoo keeps lice from coming back. Also, hairspray or gel in the hair keeps them from coming back so while you know it is going around school, keep some form of gel or hairspray in his hair. Not sure what to do about the furniture but I am curious to learn with you.
I just read through these and wanted to respond that one mom thought you should have your pets treated or kenneled. My ex is a vet and I know for sure that animals and humans don't share lice. Lice are species-specific. Meaning that human lice won't live on animals and vice versa. So don't worry about the pets if you have any. (And make sure you comb through the hair and get all the nits attached to the hair shafts.)
We got a spray can of stuff that you could spray on the furniture and carpeting. After using that we put sheets on all the furniture and Mom washed them everynight. We also vacuumed everyday, sometimes twice a day. We were not allowed to sit unless the sheet was on the furniture or the floor. I also remember mom keeping a glass of rubbing alcohol that she kept dipping the comb in. Even though we used the shampoo some of the little critters were still alive. The alcohol did them in. I think she may have poured some on our scalps to. Good Luck, be patient and diligent in the cleaning and checking.
Go to headlice.org. Follow their instructions. Most old wives tales don't work, and pesticides are horrible for kids. Going through their hair and removing the nits and bugs until there are no more is tha best way.
