Head Lice...YUCK!

[Mama Bird]

:sick How the heck does a homeschooling family continue to get head lice? My daughter had them for the first time in public school Kindergarten. When we moved, we decided to homeschool. She's had them twice since then. Bad! It was always just her...nobody else got them. I wear a lot of non-frizz spray in my hair, and I've been told that lice don't like that. My DH is completely bald...lucky! My son doesn't stand still enough to get them...or so I thought. So, we all three with hair have them. I'm so disgusted by this! And it is making me feel so nasty to use these chemicals in our hair on the spray on our mattresses, our van, our furniture, etc. My hair is extremely thick, and long, and naturally curly. I called my mom in tears yesterday after DH found nits in my hair. I was afraid I'd have to cut my hair. I know I'm vain...but my hair is the only thing I really like about myself. It's my one pretty feature. Well, my mom and my sister came over to my house last night and treated and combed through my hair. That was hard, because I have a very tender scalp (my whole family knows that you don't even talk to me as I perform my daily torture of brushing my hair...) and it hurt so badly. Plus, we can't go to church this morning.

Last time we went through this, it was just DD's hair. We went through a lot to get rid of them, and it took a couple of weeks. But they've been gone over a month, and we have them again. Where could we be getting them? The only place I can think of is church. We haven't gone to the movies, she hasn't been to anyone else's house, she isn't in any playgroups. What up? :mad

[Teribear]

:hug I had them several years ago (before I had kids) and didn't know i had them until they'd already hatched another generation. :sick *shudder* I was SO mortified. As near as we can figure I got them at a company picnic. Your child could EASILY have picked them up at church...but they can jump some serious distances so you could have honestly picked them up anywhere. I'm not a crunchy mom so I don't think I can offer you any help other than to suggest that RID did the job for us. We treated everyone in the family and sprayed all soft surfaces.

It totally grossed me out at the time until my hairdresser (who found them) told me how many times she sees them and that it has nothing to do with personal hygene whatsoever.

Sorry you're going through it.
Hugs!

[Kasi]

It *could* be a reoccurance of the same infestation if any nits were missed the first time around, but since you mentioned you hadn't noticed any for about a month...then it is unlikely a reoccurrance. Church is a possibility, as are crowded places you may have had to stand next to others...close enough for clothing to touch, or any place with furniture you may have sat in after others (like at the doctors office).

You might want to check out http://www.headliceinfo.com to see if there are any ideas you haven't tried yet.

My oldest & I both have very very thick hair, and the last time we encountered headlice (when he was in daycare), it took us over 4 weeks to get rid of it. Most effective for us was olive oil and hand picking the nits. Combs didn't do it very well, so I'd use my finger nails to slide the nits off the hair and rinse off in very hot water.

So sorry you are having to deal with this. Lice is just such a yucky nuisance! Hugs!!!

[Sandy]

Are you bagging up all the stuffed animals and pillows for a few months? Sometimes that helps.

Also, we had a terrible time with these critters a few years ago. Here's what we did to get rid of them...no chemicals involved. Get a large jar of vaseline and some shower caps. Thoroughly coat the hair with vaseline..it's gross but this works! Put a shower cap over the hair and let that sit several hours (we wore ours all day and treated the whole family--even though some of us had no evidence of critters. The hardest part is getting the vaseline out of your hair. Towel off as much as possible. Then you'll need to use something that's a good grease cutter to shampoo with...Dawn dishwashing liquid comes to mind...

The idea of this is so smother the critters...and it really works. You'll still need to comb out all the nits, but this one treatment should take care of things. Lice actually like clean hair better than dirty hair so using a gel or something on the hair sometimes helps...they can't cling to the hair shaft.

My daughter had the worst time with lice...and she had very long hair at the time. (I think we could have saved more of it had we used this treatment right away instead of the chemicals that are on the market. )

It's really frustrating. HTH.

[believer]

My daughter got them from school when I was pregnant with my 3rd child and I was so paranoid - I was told that I could not use the harsh chemicals on myself, but I needed to treat myself because I was due soon and if I had the baby and I had lice, they would not bring her to me :eek , so we found a "natural" treatment that we used on me and my 2yo son - I was paranoid - and we used the chemical on my daughter and my husband too, I think, and we used a spray on all the furniture - I had a wonderful friend who came over and helped me with everything so I would not have to be around the chemicals - it was a hassle. I can't remember what the "natural" stuff was, but I got it at the drug store and it was the only natural one they had.
Good luck with it! Also, we bagged up all of the stuffed animals in black trash bags and put them in the garage for about a month and ran all the bed pillows through the clothes dryer on hot.

[iplsmama]

There is a battery operated comb that emits a sound and when it contacts a louse or nit it goes off. This is the best method for ridding yourself of them that I have found. It electrocutes the lice and you use it on dry hair so can be done daily, if not more. That is THE natural way to get them out. We have used the olive oil, plastic bag on the head over night thing first then Robocomb every day. Works like a charm. The chemical stuff is not that effective anyway, I wouldn't use it.

[Mama Bird]

Well, I'm sitting here with Mayonnaise smeared all over my hair. I'm marinating. My kids are also mayonais-ed. My son hates the shower cap! :td The worst part is that the elastic on this cap must have latex in it, because it it making the nape of my neck itch. :hissyfit We bought all new pillows. (Except my feather ones...their covers are getting washed, the pillows go in the dryer on the hottest setting for an hour.) Everything, from bedskirts to quilts is getting washed in hot water. I need to do our curtains, too, because they hang by our bed. Thank God we don't have carpet to worry about. The van has been treated.

I'll look for one of those combs. I would be so much more comfortable with that, especially on my children.

This is just so gross. It makes me feel so nasty and unclean. So...do I have to wash the sheets every day?

[Maggie]

(((Haley))) I'm sorry you guys are having to deal with that! How frustrating! I hope you get rid of the icky things quickly!

[Heather Micaela]

ITU :hug
I taught pre-school and the lice kept coming bakc after we had scrubbed every inch of our school and wouln't let any child in w/o a lice screening. It was :hissyfit
And I got them too. It was so embarassing that I had to be sent home. Worse is we had One car and my DH had to come pick me up. It was like I was sent home for being "bad" LOL. My sweet DHspent all afternoon washing my hear and picking out nits
Out of curiostiy: anyone itch their head while reading this thread? :crazy

[Vipers_Princess]

bumping this thread to ask what to do about a child whose hair is so thin and fine that the robicomb doesn't register anything but adult lice, and who has just come home from a week's stay at Grandmas {who had cousins staying there also without my knowledge the week prior} literally with a good third of her hair containing at least one nit...?

[Kasi]

bumping this thread to ask what to do about a child whose hair is so thin and fine that the robicomb doesn't register anything but adult lice, and who has just come home from a week's stay at Grandmas {who had cousins staying there also without my knowledge the week prior} literally with a good third of her hair containing at least one nit...?


I would suggest picking the nits out by hand...using your finger nails, strand by strand. Tedious, hard work, and a bit painful for the mom, but it works the best.

[Vipers_Princess]

thanks :) That's what I'm trying to do, but her sensory integration and general ADHD type behavior, combined with her personality and my mother accusing me of 'abusing the poor kid' because I ask her to hold still while I go through her hair... It's already mega short, and I'm afraid that when she starts school in a week or so {finally got her initial testing done today for special education} they're {the school} going to flip. They've already called DCF on a friend of ours b/c her daughter & son had lice for the third time since last spring... :(

[Mama Bird]

I'm sad to say that we are STILL fighting them. The Robicombs do not work for us. It didn't register eggs on my daughter's hair, and my hair is very thick and naturally curly, so the only way I can get a comb through my hair is when it is wet. I took mine back.

We do not use those horrible toxic chemicals in our hair anymore. I had no idea the kids of scary things in those. Instead, we comb through her hair often and I do a visual inspection about every other day.

We can completely get rid of them and go for several weeks without lice, then they come back. The only source I can think of is church. :td

[boonpnutsmom]

Do you know anybody that sells Melaleuca Wellness products? The Naturals Melaleuca Oil Shampoo is excellent for getting rid of Uku's. And it is all natural. It does have wheat products in it so it is not Gluten free if that is a issue in your house. From my understanding you would do the same as you are with the Mayonaise, and coat your hair with the shampoo and then cover it. I don't think I would suggest this for small children but it should work on your think hair. HTHs

Description....
This rich, naturally honey-colored shampoo, contains a high concentration of pure T36-C5™ Melaleuca Oil—guaranteeing the naturally moisturizing and cleansing properties of this essential oil are maximized to deep clean hair while paying special attention to the scalp.

Provitamin B and vitamin E moisturize and enhance the smoothness of your hair and scalp, while additional natural ingredients, like wheat germ protein, silk amino acids, and sunflower seed oil, add vitality and luster to leave your hair soft and manageable.

Unlike chemical-based medicated shampoos, Naturals Melaleuca Oil Shampoo is alcohol-, fragrance-, and dye-free and leaves no lingering odor. Plus, it's gentle and safe enough to be used every day by everyone in the family.

[cobluegirl]

Here is a a note I got from a friend of mine who went through this last year.

She's getting them from church. That's where Tigerlily contracted lice about this time last year. School just started, lice just started getting passed around again. I'm sure her children are in Sunday school with kids who attend public school. If she really wants to track down where the lice came from she should call the schools that have children who attend her church and find out if they are having outbreaks.

To help prevent this in the future I'd suggest that she put her daughter's hair up or braid it, and to keep her son's hair really short.

Is she using olive oil on her hair? Not only does it kill the nits, but it might help the comb go through her hair easier.

Oh, also reading over that again, I see that her daughter had them over a month ago and they've come back. It's very possible that they did not get rid of them completely. All you have to do is miss one nit which can take up to 21 days to hatch and you will be infested again. They might inadvertantly be spreading the lice in their church. The best way to get rid of the lice is do olive oil treatments and comb outs every 4 days for one month.

Hope that helps!

[Mama Bird]

Thank you. I've used Olive oil before, and it does work well. I am at the point where I just want to scream...DH isn't dealing with any of this...he shaved his head a long time ago. :hissyfit

I'll rebag all the stuffed animals today. Can the rag dolls just be washed on hot? My son is very very attached to his Moses rag doll Mom made him...I don't want to deal with taking away a comfy thing. How about my daughter's American Girl doll? She has a soft body, but her hair is "fake."

I have a can of the spray you can use on the soft surfaces. I just really hesitate to use it on their mattresses. What would happen if they inhale the stuff? I have used it on the seats and carpet in the van before. The car seat covers will get washed today. Bluh...so much work. :banghead


ETA: We do a lot of hand-picking. I've found a way to keep the eggs and adult bugs in one place: we use a lint roller. When I'm done picking, I put it in the kitchen sink and burn it...lol. Extreme, but I am beyond caring.

[Vipers_Princess]

ETA: We do a lot of hand-picking. I've found a way to keep the eggs and adult bugs in one place: we use a lint roller. When I'm done picking, I put it in the kitchen sink and burn it...lol. Extreme, but I am beyond caring.


Going to try that this weekend. We did the handpicking thing three times already this week, and Jordan and Kaitlyn both opted for a haircut. {Used the wrong 'teeth' on Jordan's hair, so now she looks more like a boy than ever But she likes it so... oh.well.} But I'm going to stay on top of this stuff and I refuse to let them take over the new house....

[cobluegirl]

I am so sorry you are still dealing with this....((HUGS)) We have never had to deal with it.