Yuck Head Lice Aleart!!

[Bartock]

I just got an e-mail from DS school that there was a case of head lice, we better not get it, I will be so mad!!!! : : : :

[Bartock]

Great, now my head feels itchy, I hate that, there is no lice in my head, but i hear the word lice and my head gets itchy.

[grypx831]

I heard that they hate the smell of TTO and it keeps them away - maybe put a few drops in your shampoo? I think they hate coconut too, but I can't remember.

[gr8tfulmom]

Yes TTO is like kryptonite for them. Also if they *do* end up with it - we had the best luck with straight olive oil, showercap over night, combing, picking, combing, picking for about 3 weeks straight to ensure there were no hatch outs. Fingers crossed they don't end up with them - PITA, but it happens.

[maryteresa]

Yuck!!!! We just got the lice notice too.

[katallen]

At dd's daycare they get a couple cases every year and she hasn't gotten it. Be sure to tell your kids not to share hats and coats so you minimize their chances of getting lice and also send them to school with warm winter clothes so their teacher doesn't give them the spare clothes that are shared by everyone who forgets a coat.

[MamaSoleil]

Well, dd has lice, after 4 yrs in school, we've never had this problem. She has eggs, no bugs, but do the eggs come after the bugs?
I have no idea! I checked ds and myself, nothing!!!

ARGH!!!!!:

[sehbub]

We just got over a battle with the lice ourselves (well, DDs1&2, not DH or I or the baby, thankfully) never had the full blown bugs, but had the nits/eggs.

The ONLY thing that worked was soaking both of their heads in Vaseline and having them sleep with a shower cap on. The olive oil didn't do the trick as it wasn't thick enough. We tried the RID treatment, the tea tree oil, dog shampoo (they say it works!) and mayonnaise, but nothing worked until we resorted to the Vaseline.

They do say that using hairspray on the kids can help keep them away. I know it's not fun to use that junk, but if it keeps you from having to wash and bag every single item of clothing/bedding/toy they've ever touched, might be worth a try to get a can and spritz their hair before sending them off to school!

Good luck, and pm me if you need any help!

[sehbub]

Originally Posted by MamaSoleil

Well, dd has lice, after 4 yrs in school, we've never had this problem. She has eggs, no bugs, but do the eggs come after the bugs?
I have no idea! I checked ds and myself, nothing!!!

ARGH!!!!!:

Not necessarily. You can have eggs and never have the bugs. Hang in there!

[MamaSoleil]

I'm using mineral oil and vinigar...if this doesn't work I'll try vaseline...sounds icky and messy!!! But anything to get rid of this!
Thanks for the tips!
Mamasoleil/samson

[sehbub]

Originally Posted by MamaSoleil

I'm using mineral oil and vinigar...if this doesn't work I'll try vaseline...sounds icky and messy!!! But anything to get rid of this!
Thanks for the tips!
Mamasoleil/samson

If you do use the Vaseline, the ONLY way to get it out is to first soak it in corn starch...really work it in to their hair, making sure to get in to the roots, then dampen their hair and use dish soap (we use Dawn only 'cause it's so good at cutting grease), and THEN use clarifying shampoo. Seriously, I think my middle daughter is on her 12th or 13th bath and is still a little greasy. But she has super thick hair. Her sister with thinner hair had most of it gone after the 7th wash.

Good luck.

[folkypoet]

We had great luck with mayo when son was struck several years ago. It's thick, so it stays on well, and it's actually good for the hair. It works great for those with long hair, too. We slathered it on, wrapped our scalps in plastic wrap, and washed it out a few hours later. Easy and painless. We did this every couple of days for just over two weeks. No nit picking involved (though we homeschool, so no one was on our backs to make sure we scraped off every single dead nit).

[sehbub]

Originally Posted by folkypoet

We had great luck with mayo when son was struck several years ago. It's thick, so it stays on well, and it's actually good for the hair. It works great for those with long hair, too. We slathered it on, wrapped our scalps in plastic wrap, and washed it out a few hours later. Easy and painless. We did this every couple of days for just over two weeks. No nit picking involved (though we homeschool, so no one was on our backs to make sure we scraped off every single dead nit).

Yeah, that's by far the biggest annoyance. School's policy now is that if they see even one nit, they immediately send the child home. A kid could have a head full of nits and never have an actual bug. It's kinda lame.

[boobybunny]

Heat and picking out the eggs works the best.

[momto l&a]

If you have eggs than that mean you had to have a loose or lice lay the eggs.


Doesn't it

[MOM2ANSLEY]

my mom shaved my brothers head(crew cut)....it was summer and they enjoyed it and covered my sisters hair in baby oil far about a week and combed often, washed vacumed etc
I try to keep an eye on dds hair

[lindberg99]

Originally Posted by momto l&a

If you have eggs than that mean you had to have a loose or lice lay the eggs.


Doesn't it

Yep, you can't catch nits. The live bugs can be really hard to see (they move fast) but if you see nits in the hair you know that there is (or was) at least one live bug there who laid them. Once the bugs are dead, you can still have live, dead, or empty eggs in the hair.

I had good luck using the cetaphil method (http://nuvoforheadlice.com). You can leave the cetaphil on the hair and you really can't tell except the hair doesn't look quite as shiny as normal and when you need to wash it out, it washes out easily.

[sehbub]

Thanks for the Cetaphil info. We'll have to try that next. DDs 1&2 apparently have nits again, according to their biomom. She called us today to tell me to expect a call to go pick them up from school tomorrow as she's tired of dealing with it and is going to send them to school anyway. : We've been dealing with this for 3 weeks now, and after doing the Vaseline treatment, they were nit free for 5 days, and then got them back again after being at her house. But naturally, she blames us for having a "filthy" home. I will be SO glad when I don't have to deal with her on this anymore! :

Sorry to hijack. : We'll try the Cetaphil.

[punkrockmommy]

My DD has lice now and the daycare director told me that they can not live through hair dye. <She told me this because my dd has had 2 different colors now blue and pink> So if the other stuff doesnt work maybe she can go red or green for x-mas thanks for the other options i have not yet had to deal with this yet i am a bit upset. I know the mom who's kid she got it from and it kinda bugs me that she let her girl go to day care knowing she had lice. Oh well

[Ixcuina]

Originally Posted by sehbub

Not necessarily. You can have eggs and never have the bugs. Hang in there!

Ok...so I have a question. Every website I have looked at says that you cannot get rid of lice without treating them. But, just today, I started to notice something in my youngest (3 yo) hair (maybe it was the lighting) so I looked closer.

I started to see a bunch of small, whitish-looking things attached to his hair shafts. So, of course, my first thought is "LICE!"

I start searching the internet. And now I am confused!

I have come to the conclusion that the 'white things' are egg-cases (they are stuck to the shaft). But, they are all about 1-inch or so away from his scalp. I could not find a single moving creature! I know live lice are fast and hard to see, and his hair is long so that makes it even harder. It seems like the cases might be empty. I took a few off and tried to 'pop' them (like mentioned on websites) but could not get a 'pop' out of them. So, maybe they are dead or hatched.

BUT...how could he have had an infestation that went away without treatment?? Is it possible that there is no active infestation (since the egg-cases seem dead and they are so far away from the scalp)? Or, is there a good chance that there is something still going on since I never did a treatment in the past (not realizing that there was anything there)?

For what it is worth, we had company with us back in early December for 10 days. Turns out that they had lice (the 2 kids and 1 adult), but I was not told about it until they had been gone for over a month. The mom did not know about it until they got home from our house, but they definitely had it while here. But, that was 2 months ago! Could he have been infested then and I never knew, and the lice somehow went away without treatment?

And, how did the rest of us (my 6 yo especially) get away without getting them???

Please help me solve the mystery! Especially before I decide to go ahead and start treating his head!!