Any Advice on lice?

[daisylove]

We just figured out DD has lice. We r using the RID shampoo. Any advice? how long does it last? Thanks

 

[chris31997]

It depends on how bad DD has lice as to how long it lasts and her hair.

Take her bedding(including her pillow) and wash it in hot water and dry it hot.

Than go get an allergy pillow case cover for her pillow.

After you wash her hair, you need to pick her hair. My DD has thick fine hair, so I had to put gauze over the comb to help get the nits. She also reacts to the chemical in the shampoo. After I picked her hair, I would cover her hair in lotion, a thick heavy lotion, and braid it. Oil would work here also. The lotion/oil smoothers the eggs and any nits you might have missed. Than she slept in a shower cap. We did this for a month, but DD has thick, long, fine hair. It was a pain in the butt.

Some people will tell you to vaccuum and put stuff animal into garbage bags for a week. I have never done this. I don't know how important this is.

Good luck you can do it.

 

[SLK1]

Oh boy...good luck. My three kids had it about six years ago and I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

1. Tell everyone and anyone your child was around so they can look for it on their child. There is this "dirty" stigma that goes along with lice but the fact is that lice like a clean head of hair. I was determined to get people to be aware that notifying others really helps the situation.

2. Bag up stuffed animals and decorative pillows from your child's room and put them away for ten days. Some say to just vacuum them but I wanted to be sure.

3. Wash bedding on a daily basis in very hot water. If you have a "sanitize" option on your machine, use that. Vacuum the floors every day for at least ten days. Also vacuum your furniture and your car (especially the seats) daily.

4. Use a nit comb and pick, pick, pick! The chemicals will kill the lice but you need to go after the nits. The nits stick tight to the hair shaft, close to the scalp. If you leave even one, you're back to square one as it'll hatch and create it all over again. Some also recommend slathering the hair with Olive Oil, putting on a plastic cap for a half hour, and then combing through. I did that too and they all smelled like bread.

5. Check all family members. Lice travel quickly and don't care about the age of the head they're on!

6. Keep your sense of humor! Don't be embarrassed. I will never forget having my neighbor come over on a Sunday morning so we could pick each others scalps (talk about bonding!) as her daughter had it too (and our kids had been playing together...which came first, the chicken or the egg?!?). I will also never forget calling my husband, who was out of town for two weeks, and he has the nerve to tell me, "Now I'm all itchy". It was a blessing in disguise that he was gone!!!

Good luck!

 

[fnkyyellow]

The most effective way is the nit comb. I can't remember the brand name in Canada, but it's a metal comb with long picks that are very close together.
You need to section her hair in 4 - then run the comb across all sides of the hair shaft - i.e. start at the front section - comb that section into smaller sections, starting at her forehead. Then comb that section from the ear side, then from the scalp side, then from the back of the section towards her forehead. Does this make sense?

It took me over an hour each time - add some conditioner to her hair and wet it so the comb gets through smoothly. You also need alot of paper towels, each time you go through her hair with the comb you need to wipe both sides of the comb on the paper towels. You will see the nits and live lice come out with this comb. I would do this 3 or more times a day, and keep on it for a few days after you stop seeing anything.

The shampoos etc can kill lice because it suffocates them - they breath from the sides of their body, so the lotions & potions plug them. Your best bet is to save your money and use the comb.

Good Luck!

 

[mjkacmom]

I have 3 metal lice combs (plastic ones do nothing), but I've used them just to go line by line in the hair (which I do in segments), and I pull the nits with my fingernails. The combs can miss the nits. As a PP mentioned, if you leave nits behind (the shampoo does not kill them), the lice will hatch again.

 

[Meshell2002]

You want to retreat a couple of weeks after the first treatment (if you miss any nits thats when they hatch). I actually like the cetaphil cleanser treatment (no harsh chemicals and its cheaper!). Slather hair in the cleanser then wrap plastic wrap around the head and put a shower cap on.....put a hair dryer on it to shrink the cleanser....wash off after 8 hrs....then run a nit comb through the hair. You can even use the equate version of cetaphil cleanser.....its like $6 for a big bottle....would do at least 3-4 treatments depending on the length of the hair.

I worked phone lines for peds office and that's what was in our protocol.

 

[SnipsNSnails]

I've had it 3 times in my life, once when younger, once my neice came to visit and gave it to me, and once I think I got it from my son who got it who knows where, probably church. That was the first time I had to deal with it on a child. The conditioner is key to getting the comb smoothly through the hair.

They also make a spray. Spray it on anything that can't be washed and don't forget the car upholstry. Change the bedsheets daily. Bag stuffed animals and tie tightly. It's an enormous pain for sure.

 

[dizneechic]

You want to retreat a couple of weeks after the first treatment (if you miss any nits thats when they hatch). I actually like the cetaphil cleanser treatment (no harsh chemicals and its cheaper!). Slather hair in the cleanser then wrap plastic wrap around the head and put a shower cap on.....put a hair dryer on it to shrink the cleanser....wash off after 8 hrs....then run a nit comb through the hair. You can even use the equate version of cetaphil cleanser.....its like $6 for a big bottle....would do at least 3-4 treatments depending on the length of the hair.

I worked phone lines for peds office and that's what was in our protocol.

I second Cetaphil! We had our experience last Sept, and thank goodness I will say our experience wasn't half as bad as I was expecting. First off it was both of my boys, my dd and us adults went unscathed. I did treat my dd with Cetaphil once just to be on the safe side.

We removed every cloth item in the bedrooms (thankfully everything else in the house is leather and wood so wipe downs were easy) and bagged it up and tossed in the basement. Pillows got tossed and replaced (covered) and bedding washed daily. Car seat covers, jackets and backpacks were washed daily. We did this for 2 weeks and declared ourselves clear.

Ours was found by the school nurse who found one live lice on my oldest. She checked my other 2 and myself and we were all clear, but since my boys swapped between a particular bed while we were on vacation just before our dx I treated them both as if they had it. She recommended Cetaphil and a metal nit comb and that's what we did. One good combing w/ the nit comb, Cetaphil treatment (we left it on overnight), rinse and another combing. Wait one week and repeat comb/Cetaphil/comb. The 2nd week out I rechecked with a combing but the boys were clear (and were remarkably clear after the 1st week as well) so I just did periodic checks every few days after that keeping an eye out.

I think we were really lucky our experience was with a light case and with the boys and shorter hair. And for those with strong stomachs that want to know what to look for, I have some pics of what we found (that still make me itch and sick to my stomach).
Nits in hair - white eggs near arrows:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/dizneechic/lice_nit.jpg
Nits in rinse bowl along w/ 1 lice - see arrow (yes we rinsed the comb under water a 2nd time before going back through hair):
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/dizneechic/lice_bowl.jpg
Up close and personal with lice and nits:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/dizneechic/sizes_2.jpg
Previous pic size comp w/ a quarter:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/dizneechic/sizes.jpg

 

[solobel]

Dizneechic, those pics are very helpful! Most people have no idea how tiny the things they are looking for are. Or how to tell the difference between dandruff and a nit.

Thanks for posting!

 

[adventure_woman]

??...I have seen a preventative type shampoo at the store. Does that work? I am so scared of DD getting lice!

 

[dizneechic]

Dizneechic, those pics are very helpful! Most people have no idea how tiny the things they are looking for are. Or how to tell the difference between dandruff and a nit.

Thanks for posting!

Glad they might be helpful. The worst part for us was decoding dandruff from nits, especially in the beginning (my middle guy has dandruff). Needless to say I still randomly obsess when he has flare ups.

??...I have seen a preventative type shampoo at the store. Does that work? I am so scared of DD getting lice!

I don't know if the shampoos work, but we used tea tree shampoo for years and never had problems. I stopped while on vacation and had the kids just use ours (one less bottle to travel with) and when we came home they had some special ones they wanted to use and we let them. It was during that time we had our experience. We've since gone back to tea tree shampoo (and a regular conditioner for my dd) and have been free since. I did purchase the leave in conditioner / "lice repellant" from the Fairy Tales line and used it on my dd during my boys episode and for the remainder of "jacket" season in school. I don't know if it works but it sure made me feel better for trying.

I think the best thing you can do to prevent is try to teach your dd not to share hats or dress up types of things in school or with her friends. Its REALLY hard though and we chose to explain but not obsess over it. Those little buggers crawl (fast!!) and travel so hanging jackets and backpacks on side by side hooks in school was the thing I became paranoid about (hence the spray). Lice don't penetrate nylon so having items made of that vs fleece, cotton, or fur lined hoods also helps to prevent them from traveling.

 

[of2dbeach]

Last time the girls had lice the school nurse told me to put Listerine on thee heads and put a shower cap on top leave it on 30 mins to kill the lice then i used a bunch of conditioner and combed there hair while sitting infront of the tv. there hair is long and took forver but better then using chemicals on there hair. a good way to avoid lice. put there hair up every day. put conditioner in it in the morning and dont rince it out or use hair spray/ get. you still need to wash everything in hot soapy water . i take everything to the laundry mat just to get it over with .the mouth wash has to contain alcohol to work. and hope they didnt scratch much or it burns

 

[PatsMom]

My daughter's school had an awful epidemic of lice when she was in first and second grade. I got to dreading the call from the school nurse! The best investment I made was a good metal comb. The plastic ones that come with the shampoo's were useless.

The school nurse told me that after I did the shampoo, put mayonaisse all over her head and then put her in a shower cap for an hour. The mayo smothers any remaining live bugs. And it makes the hair shaft slippery so it is easier to remove the nits. She smelled like a salad but it worked!

I did remove all her soft toys, comforter that couldn't be washed in hot water, etc and bagged them up for 10 days or so. I also sprayed the upholstery in addition to vacuuming.

For years I was paranoid whenever I saw her scratch her head!

 

[MomNeedsVacay]

to add to what everyone else said---get the metal combs with long teeth--- every single time to run the comb through the hair, wipe is on a damp, white paper towel--- you can see the nits that you've just removed... Keep dragging the comb through and wiping on a damp papertowel... Refresh with a new towel often--its gross but satisfying to see all of the nits you remove...BLECH!

 

[taymaesmom]

There is a new lice killer out called Lice MD, its amazing. My dd has super thick long hair. This stuff is super slippery and easy to comb through. You put it on leave it for 10 minutes then pick thru the hair with the lice comb and then wash and your good to go. It works amazingly well and has NO SMELL! Its the best stuff I have ever had to use. After you wash it out your hair feels healthy, not dry and smelly. Our school nurse suggested it. I did everyone in the house even though dd was the only one with any and she had it bad, so she got a second round 10 days later just to be on the safe side.

As far as preventive, there isnt much you can do, lice like clean hair and they are easily transfered when you come in contact. If your school has a problem with them then I suggest you blow dry or straighten your dd's hair every day, most adult women do not get them because they apply some type of heat to their heads every day and that keeps them from investing. Also keep your kids coats, jackets and backpacks washed and clean, most kids share lockers or throw their coats in piles on the playground and lice spread that way. Our school doesn't let the kids leave their jackets/coats laying around anymore due to a big lice outbreak.

 

[TracyM]

One week ago, I found the nit in my 4y DD, long thick hair UGH. This lead to a a day of cleaning, turning the matresses, bagging toys, trip the laundramat, vacuuming EVERYTHING and a 3 hour combfest. Did I say I called in sick to get it all done in a day! Then I invested in a Robi Comb. Check it out on amazon though available through Walgreens. It electrocutes the little buggers, even the really really tiny ones. I have used the comb everyday this week and no more bugs or nits! yeah and no chemicals

 

[Goofy_Mom]

We actually had to get a prescription lice killer. My DD kept getting those little bugars every year for three years straight, the last time she shared them with me (snuck into my bed)

 

[Sheepdog23]

I would just like to say please be careful with the lice shampoos on the market. The main ingredient Pyrethrin/permethrin is extremely toxic and very nasty. It is the same ingredient used to keep bugs off horses and it has been known to eat through plastic and cause cancer. The warning labels on the animal products are more thorough than on those which come into contact with humans. I have even discontinued using them on my animals after what I have read in equine journals. Regular combing is just as effective, if not more effective and much better for your child.

 

[RMulieri]

A good thing to use is TEA TREE Oil..Google it..It is excellent for scalp health and issues and lice HATE IT.In fact I make a spray solution with it and spray my daughters scalp a few times per week during the months where lice is more prevalent around here( school is in session ,winter months).It is very strong smelling and takes some getting used to, and should not be used near pets

 

[DISNEYJAZZ]

i'm not sure if they still make thi sproduct but years ago when my now grown kids were school aged they had lice { itch itch scratch scratch just thinking about it...lol} andi found something at walmart called 'clear' it was natural made from botanicals,it dissolved the glue that holds the nits to the hair shaft.and yes a metal comb is a must!