dealing with headlice

[Disneymaniacs]

My 6 year old asked me to see if there was something in her hair today and to my horror her hair was full of lice. I checked my son and he had what looked like two lice. I washed and brushed hair for 4 hours tonight. My daughter had so many eggs in her hair that it looked like she rolled in the sand. My son only had 1 spot so I am pretty sure he is ok. I used the RID 3 step treatment, changed sheets, washed clothes, vaccumed, etc. How will I know if it is gone?

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I would definitely contact the school or daycare, if that is the case, to let them know that your children had head lice. They got it somewhere from someone who may not know that they have it....that would be my first thought..

I think you have done what is correct for the treatment, I would also get rid of combs and brushes unless you can get them clean as you can reinfect if you are using them again...

When my kids were little, we did battle with these pesky little bugs, grrrrrrrr...Actually we belonged to a pool and all the kids got them, they are that contagious as they all shared bathing caps, combs, etc. One mother chose not to say anything when hers got them and that is how it became an epidemic.....I did exactly what you did with the addition of cleaning brushes and combs or getting rid of them and buying new ones.. I only did the treatment once and they were gone.. just make sure you keep checking..

HUgs!!!

 

[Christine]

Good luck with this. I had to treat my DD about 4 times plus get her a fairly short hair cut (finally) to stop the MADNESS!! We could not get rid of it for a long time.

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

Unfortunately, if you didn't get every single, teeny tiny nit, it will hatch, and the cycle will start all over again. That's why it is so difficult to get rid of. When my kids were younger, they got it once, and it took about a month to get rid of it completely. I used to wait until they were ready to nap, then had them lie in my lap as I went through strand of hair by strand of hair. If you can, check her hair in the sunshine....for some reason nits shine in sunlight, and they are much easier to see. Just keep treating and combing.

Oh! And don't forget to bag up stuffed animals and dolls.....any toys with a cloth surface. Someone might correct me if I'm wrong (it's been a few years) but I believe you need to keep them tied in a garbage bag for a week to make sure any confused ones die before finding a host. Good luck!

I, unfortunately, have had extensive experience with this, so if you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

 

[Honeybehr1]

We had our first experience last in August of last year when DS went camping with his Grandma. UUGGHH what a battle. We washed his hair with another brand because the lice tend to be ammune to RID. The only thing is you have to keep checking multiple times each day. The metal combs work the best and I found when his hair was wet, the knits would be easier to spot. I would pick them out and put them in a container and then throw the container away.

I bagged up every stuffed animal, hat, pillow, bike helmet in a garbage bag left it for 2 weeks. Bought new pillows, boiled all combs and brushes. I would only have DS sit in one chair in the living room and it was off limits to anyone else. I have really long hair and didnt want to chance it.

It took us about 3 weeks to get rid of each nit. Keep checking and combing.

 

[Honeybehr1]

I have heard that Mayonaise on their head left overnight works as well. My ped suggested this as well. We tried it out of desperation and we didnt find anymore live nits after that. It was gross.

The whole idea behind it is the mayo actually suffocates the lice so that they cant lay eggs.

My SIL swears by this method only she uses conditioner and then covers their head.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Wow......I have to admit my youngest is 29 so I dealt with this a long time ago and I only did it once.....I cannot believe how hard it is to get rid of them now.. I believe what you all wrote.. Yikes, I am so happy that I do not have to think about this again...

Hugs and I would listen to the experts here, seems they know what they are doing..

 

[Towncrier]

I feel your pain. We went through about three weeks of nit picking in order to get rid of our DD's lice problem. One product that we found very helpful was a flourescent pink hair spray that stuck to the nits and made them much easier to spot. You spray it on your child's hair and then brush it out. Anything that remains needs to be picked off.

As far as putting stuffed animals in a bag, I would leave them bagged for a couple of weeks just to make sure that all of the lice (if any) have hatched and died.

Good luck.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

Thanks for the advice. I may need more though. This morning I checked my pillow and there were 2 under it. I just changed my sheets yesterday. My hair is very long, any advice how to remove it out of my hair myself? I wash my hair twice a day, my house is very clean, I cannot believe I may have it too. My husband checked me last night and said he didn't see any but we both treated ourselves just in case. School is out and the kids come downstairs when they wake up and lay in my bed while I get ready and make breakfast so I knew it was a possibility that I may get it too. I didn't think about putting stuffed animals and helmets in bags. That sounds like an important step. I found a website that says they guarantee you will be rid of lice after 1 treatment of their nontoxic natural remedy and it only takes an hour to treat. Sounds too good to be true. Maybe it is mayonaise or conditioner.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

I have heard that Mayonaise on their head left overnight works as well. My ped suggested this as well. We tried it out of desperation and we didnt find anymore live nits after that. It was gross.

The whole idea behind it is the mayo actually suffocates the lice so that they cant lay eggs.

My SIL swears by this method only she uses conditioner and then covers their head.

When I was a teenager I would put conditioner in my hair, wrap it in a towel, and go to sleep and then wash it out in the morning. My hair was so soft. I will try that tonight and mayonaise tomorrow if that doesn't work. Thanks.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

I feel your pain. We went through about three weeks of nit picking in order to get rid of our DD's lice problem. One product that we found very helpful was a flourescent pink hair spray that stuck to the nits and made them much easier to spot. You spray it on your child's hair and then brush it out. Anything that remains needs to be picked off.

As far as putting stuffed animals in a bag, I would leave them bagged for a couple of weeks just to make sure that all of the lice (if any) have hatched and died.

Good luck.

Is this a special hairspray or the kind you get at halloween?

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

Thanks for the advice. I may need more though. This morning I checked my pillow and there were 2 under it. I just changed my sheets yesterday. My hair is very long, any advice how to remove it out of my hair myself? I wash my hair twice a day, my house is very clean, I cannot believe I may have it too. My husband checked me last night and said he didn't see any but we both treated ourselves just in case. School is out and the kids come downstairs when they wake up and lay in my bed while I get ready and make breakfast so I knew it was a possibility that I may get it too. I didn't think about putting stuffed animals and helmets in bags. That sounds like an important step. I found a website that says they guarantee you will be rid of lice after 1 treatment of their nontoxic natural remedy and it only takes an hour to treat. Sounds too good to be true. Maybe it is mayonaise or conditioner.

I would use a lice comb just in case and see if any nits come off. It's a pain, and it makes you feel dirty, but believe me, I know from experience that no matter how clean you are, lice aren't discriminating. Good luck to you. I remember how icky I felt while I was dealing with it. It wasn't anything you did though, it's just one of God's creatures that I wonder why exists.......like mosquitos.

Oh! And I wondered if anyone else had had any experience with hair straighteners. I know that the shampoo doesn't work on the nits, because it can't penetrate the shell. However, can you fry the little suckers? Might be worth a try. Especially since the nits are attached to the hair strand and not the scalp.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

I would use a lice comb just in case and see if any nits come off. It's a pain, and it makes you feel dirty, but believe me, I know from experience that no matter how clean you are, lice aren't discriminating. Good luck to you. I remember how icky I felt while I was dealing with it. It wasn't anything you did though, it's just one of God's creatures that I wonder why exists.......like mosquitos.

Oh! And I wondered if anyone else had had any experience with hair straighteners. I know that the shampoo doesn't work on the nits, because it can't penetrate the shell. However, can you fry the little suckers? Might be worth a try. Especially since the nits are attached to the hair strand and not the scalp.

It's about time for my 6 week root touch up. Maybe that will fry some too!

 

[Ready to go in Ok]

It's about time for my 6 week root touch up. Maybe that will fry some too!

A friend of mine heard that if you put this hair stuff on your hair that is primarily marketed for coarser hair, it would smother the lice. Well.......she couldn't get it out. Then in all her wisdom, she decides that baby powder would soak up the gel. So, she and her 2 kids were walking around Birmingham with sticky, baby powdered hair trying to find someone to tell them how to get this stuff out of their hair. I can't remember how they got it out now. To add insult to injury, it didn't work.

 

[mrludwig]

I feel your pain . We went through this horrible experience a couple of months after I had major back surgery in 2004. Here I was wearing a back brace trying to vacuum everything and everywhere. I bagged up our stuffed animals,hats, pillows, etc... for over 3 weeks. I washed the all the bedding in hot water trying to make sure any sort of kritter or egg was killed. I also washed the mattresses. We also did the mayonaise with Reynolds Tin Foil over the kids heads. We would put it on at night and they would sleep with the mayonaise in their hair and the Reynolds Tin Foil over their heads. I was told this is suppose to help smother the nits. The nits are absolutely horrible to get out. We would sit on the back of our deck in the sunshine and pick at every piece of hair for over 3 weeks checking and looking for nits. You must get all the nits or they will hatch and the whole ugly process starts again. Good luck!!!

 

[Mackey Mouse]

It amazes me how some will take other's misfortunes and try to promote their businesses with absolutely bizarre names..

Sorry about that OP and hopefully you can get more information from experienced parents and not business owners trying to promote their own business.

 

[LauraV]

Oh you poor thing.
I went through this two months ago with both of my kids, DD9 and DS5 (who also gave it to me). I am not sure which was worse, the physical work of cleaning everything, every day or the psychological torture knowing that there were bugs on my head.
This is what I did.
Day 1 – Treated with RID-Walgreens brand and nit picked for three hours (thank goodness by girlfriend came over and went through my hair several times over the week). Washed all bedding and clothing and vacuumed floors. Bagged and put all stuffed animals and extra pillows away in an extra room. The stuff is still in there!
Day 2 – Called pediatrician who said to put the Cetaphil facial cleanser on their hair, blow it dry and leave it on overnight as it is suppose to smothers the nits. Everyone got this treatment. Washed all bedding and clothing and vacuumed floors. Nit picked for two hours.
Day 3 - Washed all bedding and clothing and vacuumed floors. Nit picked for 2 hours.
Day 4 – Put all bedding and jackets through the dryer and vacuumed. Nit picked for 2 hours.
Day 5 – Same as day 4.
Day 6 – Treated with RID and did the same as day 4.
Day 7 – Same as day 4. Looked at nits under microscope and found one with a nymph moving inside it. So much for the Cetaphil killing them.
Day 8 – Same as day 4. By this time I found only one on my son and three on my daughter.
Day 9 – Same as day 4. Found no nits!
Day 10 – Same as day 4. Found no nits.
Did nit checks weekly for the next two weeks. Finding and removing the nits are the key to getting rid of the problem.
I know have a BA in the Lousey Sciences!

 

[goofy4tink]

Been there, done all that!! My dd, now 31, went through 4 different bouts with those nasty critters. And to make matters worse, my ex-mother in law was a beautician (I use that term most loosely!!!) and told my dd that she got bugs because her hair was dirty! Nasty old witch!! Actually, lice like clean hair!!!
Now, my 13 y/o dd knows that she never, never uses anyone else's brush, comb, hat...nothing!!! We've been lucky so far..knock on wood. But, man, I remember those nit-picking sessions and the nasty tar stuff that we had to use.

 

[Disneymaniacs]

It amazes me how some will take other's misfortunes and try to promote their businesses with absolutely bizarre names..

Sorry about that OP and hopefully you can get more information from experienced parents and not business owners trying to promote their own business.

No kidding. $29.99 and I bought the ebook. The advertisement said it used 2products you already may have in your kitchen. It turns out it is olive oil. It didn't mention a second product though. The olive oil is supposed to smother the lice. I guess I'll give it a try if I see any new lice before I use more chemicals on the kids. I did it to myself and it really smells bad. The directions say to hold a towel over your face during the whole treatment. Yuk!

 

[Disneymaniacs]

Oh you poor thing.
I went through this two months ago with both of my kids, DD9 and DS5 (who also gave it to me). I am not sure which was worse, the physical work of cleaning everything, every day or the psychological torture knowing that there were bugs on my head.
This is what I did.
Day 1 – Treated with RID-Walgreens brand and nit picked for three hours (thank goodness by girlfriend came over and went through my hair several times over the week). Washed all bedding and clothing and vacuumed floors. Bagged and put all stuffed animals and extra pillows away in an extra room. The stuff is still in there!
Day 2 – Called pediatrician who said to put the Cetaphil facial cleanser on their hair, blow it dry and leave it on overnight as it is suppose to smothers the nits. Everyone got this treatment. Washed all bedding and clothing and vacuumed floors. Nit picked for two hours.
Day 3 - Washed all bedding and clothing and vacuumed floors. Nit picked for 2 hours.
Day 4 – Put all bedding and jackets through the dryer and vacuumed. Nit picked for 2 hours.
Day 5 – Same as day 4.
Day 6 – Treated with RID and did the same as day 4.
Day 7 – Same as day 4. Looked at nits under microscope and found one with a nymph moving inside it. So much for the Cetaphil killing them.
Day 8 – Same as day 4. By this time I found only one on my son and three on my daughter.
Day 9 – Same as day 4. Found no nits!
Day 10 – Same as day 4. Found no nits.
Did nit checks weekly for the next two weeks. Finding and removing the nits are the key to getting rid of the problem.
I know have a BA in the Lousey Sciences!

I am only on day 3 doing pretty much the same schedule as you. Instead of Cetaphil we have been slathering on conditioner and covering with shower caps each night. We are still picking nits 3x's a day. Every time I pick nits, I think I may have gotten most of them, but the next time I look there are still lots of them. I hope if I am diligent that we will be over this in 10 days too. I am really bothered about my lice. My husband had his eyes dilated on the day we found the lice and he still cannot focus enough to see any. My hair is long and I am worried that they are just crawling around in different parts of my hair. My best friend lives an hour away and said she will come help me on Friday but I am afraid if I have any they will get back on my kids. What did you do to your couch? I sprayed it with rid and have been vaccuming it. Should I stuff the pillows and cushions in garbage bags too?