head lice exposure, treat or not?

[Aeress]

Hi, just found out a friend had head lice over the weekend. We visited her last tuesday and she found lice on sat. So, we are coming up on a week since exposure. Should I treat the kids and me? I have checked a few sites and some say treating is ok in pregnancy, some say "no research."

any non pharmacy things to do?

dh is going to check me tonight. I have checked the kids and so far so good.

[pbjmom1029]

oh that brings back bad memories When my youngest dd was less than a week old my ds and dd went camping with some family friends and came home with lice

I would definately check everyones head for nits (eggs) and lice - go outside if it is sunny or go under a bright light if it isn't - check around collars and behind ears - when I taught prek those were really easy places to find the buggers - they are totally obvious (imo) when you see them - use a very very fine comb (after brushing or combing out curls or knots) to carefully go through the hair (this was the best advice I was given) - if you have a ds and they do have lice I would suggest cutting their hair very very short (or buzzing it) - for girls that isn't so easy if they love their long(er) hair - if the nasty bugs are in the hair you can treat them w/o chemicals by using a mayonaise or tea tree oil hair mask and leaving it on for several hours. Not sure of anything else that would work and come out of the hair easily

The gal that used to cut our hair suggested doing a vinegar rinse on my kids hair after shampooing daily to prevent lice from attaching to the hair shaft/scalp whenever they went camping or were in a group care setting where lice may be present (school, childcare) .

[Sheal]

DO NOT USE LINDANE!!! It's linked to birth defects, childhood cancers and bad reactions (including seizures and death).

[Aeress]

Thank you. I am planning to tea tree them today, and use some vinegar. I am going to have hubby check me this afternoon when he gets home. I think I will tea tree me just in case, and try olive oil.

Oy, I am almost done, no one is supposed to get sick.

I called our ped just to rule our any problems, and they said they usually see people getting lice within 1 week of exposure. *shrugs* so we will just tea tree or vinegar tonight t make sure.

[Usually Curious]

We had a bout of terrible head lice from my niece constantly exposing my kids (my sister refused to treat her home). I finally got rid of them by buzzing the boys and saturating my dd hair w/olive oil (at the root) EVERY NIGHT for two weeks. She slept in a shower cap. It was a pain to wash out but the two week cycle broke the hatch/lay cycle and defeated the lice.

[Hippiemommie]

Don't treat unless you find nits in their hair. Just because you are around someone doesn't mean you will get it.

[jrayn]

I hear coconut oil is good to use

http://www.wikihow.com/Kill-Head-Lic...sing-Chemicals

[Aeress]

Dh checked my head with the special comb and didn't find anything. We will keep checking for a few more days just to be sure. coconut oil sounds fun.

[TinyBabyBean]

I would put in olive oil or coconut oil and just keep it in there. We were staying with some people once and found out they had lice, my oldest got it but as soon as we found out we all put olive oil and none of the rest of us ever got it. Everyone else staying there that did not put olive oil in their hair got the lice. It was a large group of people. The oil will suffocate them. I say it is a good preventative, or a just in case since you were exposed.

[wildgarden]

I've also heard that lavender oil repells them (preventative) but it wont kill off the eggs. I used to work at a DV shelter when I had really long hair and I always put lavender oil in my hair. It smells nice too. We used tea tree oil to treat (like you said). Isn't vinegar amazing the number of things it is used for?