Lice - Havertown, PA

Unfortunately, my daughter had lice last summer. I only found 2 bugs but the nits would not go away! I treated her hair but the nits were still there. My mom read to mix white vinegar with water and spray it on her hair and comb it with that fine comb that comes in the lice kits. That actually worked! Try that to see if the eggs come out. Good luck! I know what a mess that can be! My husband and I were itchy for weeks just thinking about it!!

T. M I am so sorry to hear you have to deal with this. Just let me tell you one thing many years ago I had to deal with this I never thought about the kids stuffed animals, put them in a plastic bag tie the bag shut and leave them in there about a month unless you can get rid of them. I had three bouts of lice in one year with 3 children. I was beside my self I did the beds, bedding pillows and it kept coming back. finally someone told me that they get into the stuffed animals and thats was how it keep coming back. So for the third time I did the heads, beds and finally bagged the stuffed animals and did not see it again. Knock wood never will again either. Good Luck J.

My daughter has had lice twice, first in third grade, and then fifth. The first time, after doing research on the net, I realized she had it for 2-3 months (I felt like such a terrible mother). She kept telling me her head was itchy, and I thought it was a new shampoo. Anyway, because she was very infested, we followed the directions on the bottle to use it once, then twice after ten days because of the cycle of the eggs. My husband suggested to do it half way through after 5 days because she was so infested. It did take many hours to look at her hair EVERY NIGHT FOR EGGS, BUGS, ETC. It worked for the most part. About a month later, we had to do it all over again - I think because we might have missed 1-2 because there were so many.
Be sure to remind your daughters not to share combs, barrettes, headbands, etc. with anyone, as this is how it spreads. I know it could be tedious, but if you use those special combs they give you, and take small sections of hair at a time, it should be effective.
M. P.

Grab ahold of the eggs between your fingernails and pull out - this seems to work better than the comb. There is discussion about whether or not the shampoo kills the eggs - school won't let them back in with eggs, and you don't want to take the chance of them hatching.

They should be dead, but use your finger and a bright light and magnifing glass - it makes the work go much easier. I sued to spend hours on my daughters waist length hair - so beautiful - but a mess if you've caught head lice.

Don't forget to wash everything - coats, hats, scarfs, bedding,
spray all furniture, car seats,carpeting, pets.
they do travel and can be carried.
My daughter now 16, went through this every month in kindergarten - my daughter is allergic to the chemicals now and we would have to go the natural route if she ever caught them again - as long as you got under 3rd graders in your home - be prepared. It doesn't matter how careful you are.
Keep the faith - they do outgrow those stages!~

Hi T.
I'm not sure if the shampoo kills eggs but i was under the impression that ALL of the eggs need to be removed. As time consuming as it is, they need to be combed out. If any are left, they will hatch and...more lice! I wouldn't take any chances!!
Good luck! Your poor girls I am sure are sick of being combed...but in the long run it should be worth it.

Hi T., You must get all the eggs out or they will hatch and the process will start all over again. Everything in you house must be treated to. I am a hair salon owner and we carry a product called Fairy tales for children, it is a lice repel shampoo, cond, spray etc... All organic and natural plus a lice kit also organic and works awesome. the products help repel lice they do not like the smell. another trick is to rinse you childs hair with listerine they should come right out. They are calling them super lice and are be coming immune to the rid and nix products ,plus the also can burn your childs scalp . my son is in 2nd grade and uses fairy tales every time he showers and he has never got it. His class has sent home 3 letters this year and we have been safe. hope i helped, kristin p

I feel for you. I haven't had to deal with that so I can't answer your specifice questions. However, I wanted to pass along some info given to me a few weeks ago. I was at a kindergarten information session for new parents in our school district. One of the school nurses said that lice "love" squeaky clean heads and rubbing a bit of oil on your child's scalp once a week will help to keep the lice away. Good luck to you!

Hi T., I just went through this about 3 weeks ago. First with the 7 year old then it came back but on the 3 year old. It is hard. The school nurse reccomended using tea tree oil and the metal combs. I did this and it made getting the eggs out much easier. I rinsed the comb out as I went a long by dipping it into a white bowl. I could see the nits that way. It is also easier if the hair is wet. I was very frustrated. It took 6 hours on the 7 year old and just when I thought I was done, I found more! UGGGHHH. I do think they are dead once you have used the shampoo, but, I could not find any info on it. The treated nits are a cosmetic problem, I believe. But, they are not allowed back in school with nits present. Just be sure to retreat at 7 day mark to be sure and change the linens again at that time. I also was careful to not let them rewear their PJ's at night for that week. I bought new hairbrushes and put thier names on thier brushes as well. I did so much laundry, I thought I would die. I am still putting it all away! Good luck :)

About me: I am a 41 yo working mom and RN of 2 girls and married for 11 years.

T.,

Sorry to hear about the lice. I went through this last year with my daughters. My advice is keep combing every night until all the eggs are gone! I know, believe me I *know* what a complete pain it is, but if just one of those eggs hatches, you're going to end up right back at the beginning again! Ours went on for months because I didn't get everything the first time. If you haven't alredy, get some of the home spray and spray your couch, car, and anything else that can't be washed to make sure you don't get re-infested. Get new hairbrushes or run yours through the dishwasher. Keep combing and checking until you see no bugs or eggs for at least a week. Then check again in maybe another week just to be sure. I totally sympathize, but you want to be positive they are ALL gone!!

M.

T., my husband and I swear that lice are the worst thing we have had to endure yet as parents. Both of my girls had lice and we struggled on and off for MONTHS to keep them clear. You absolutely have to get rid of every single egg, every school has a "no nit" policy and will not allow them back for 24 hours after seeing an egg on their head. You don't want to keep using the shampoos, they are harmful and not very effective since these bugs started morphing into "super lice".

Getting rid of lice is a pretty big underhaul, you need to wash EVERYTHING in hot water, bag everything that can't be washed and put it in storage somewhere for at least two weeks (stuffed animals, etc). Either steam clean or spray all furniture, car seats, etc. wich lice repellant.. think of ANYWHERE your daughters heads touch.

One of the tricks that we found to work well was to douse the girls head in olive oil and have them sleep in shower caps all night. The oil drowns the lice and suffocates them, it also helps make the eggs easier to slide off the hair.

While the combs seem convenient the only truly effective way is pulling the hair into different sections over and over and pull those eggs out manually. Sometimes the combs pick up eggs close to the scalp only to drop them along the hair shaft as you're pulling the comb away from her head. If it's in your fingers then you can be sure you've removed it.

I wish you all the best of luck! This was a highly stressful and emotional time at my house.

T. i feel for you. Yes you have to get all the eggs out or they will come back. Also you have to put all the stuff animals in plastci bags and put them out side for 2 weeks and spray every thing beds, couch ect with rid spray. Then in 7 days you have to do the shampoo again. Get tea tree shampoo at a beauth supply place and use it all the time it has oli in it that the lice can't stick to the hair.
good luck.
T.

I would advise you to get rid of all eggs also. My oldest went through this when she was in grade school. We spent hours and hours trying to get rid of them. They kept coming back. Finally, the nurse suggested that we contact her doctor and he gave us a prescription for them. They never came back and so far my youngest hasn't had them.

T.,
When my oldest had lice, I couldn't get rid of them for 2 weeks. Finally in tears I called my pediatrician, who recommended that I divide her hair"like the dandruff commercial" and apply an entire treatment to each side of her head. It worked! I didn't realize her hair was thick and needed more than one treatment at a time. I also ran all combs,brushes,baseball caps,hair accessories through my diswasher with a cup of vinegar. I threw out my pillows. I treated everything-couches,carpets,etc. Removing the nits from the hair is extremely time consuming, but the schools will not allow the girls back without every nit removed. I found the metal combs worked much better than the plastic ones. Vacuum your matresses too. I forget how long lice can survive off the human body, but it might be like 3 days. My cousin the beautician also told me to rub hair spray, gel or moussse about 1/4 inch from the hair shaft after her shower. For some reason, the lice cannot eat through it. My daughter is now 21 y/o and we've never had lice since 2nd grade. Hope all this helps you!

I don't think it's okay--I believe you have to get them. And I think you need to retreat after a certain number of days. I did see online that white vinegar loosens the eggs from the hair shaft. That might be pretty easy, cheap & worth a try....google vinegar & head lice for specifics. Good luck. You'll live through this, although I have heard that irt is a real nightmare. Just don't forget all the bedding, stuffed animals, combs, brushes, hair ribbons, etc......Vacuum the furniture, the mattresses, the rugs.....or leave the house sealed up tight for a 3 day vacation--they can't live past 55 hours w/out a human host. Of course, do that after you treat yourselves. Hang in there.

We went through this last summer...no fun...my daughter and I both have very, very long hair(24 inch+) !!! I tried EVERY strange remedy under the sun...they were stubborn Super bugs! I tried sooo many different things that I'm not sure what ones worked...but I'll save you the sloppy weird ones and give you my advice.
1)Spray ALL stuffed animals with Lysol or lice killing spray(sold at walmart) seal in a garbage bag...they will need to stay there for I believe it was 2 weeks...you may wanna google the time.
2)Get a cheap METAL toothed lice comb (I know walgreens sells them)... use that in between treatments with small amount of baby oil applied near the scalp. It is a pain to wash out, but you can't use the chemicals day after day and it WILL take several attempts to get ALL the eggs and lice.
3) keep a small cup of vegetable oil next to you when combing to put the "survivors" in...they can't jump out of oil but they can jump out of water. Also a washcloth on your knee to periodically wipe the baby oil off the comb will lessen the mess.
4) Green apple shampoo...I don't know if this one holds water but I figured for $2 it's worth a shot...supposedly it prevents the lice returning.
WASH EVERYTHING IN VERY HOT WATER!!! SHEETS, CLOTHES,JACKETS,HATS,SCARFS, DOLL CLOTHES, ETC.
5) Boil all combs, hairbrushes, hair ties ...if they can't be boiled seal them in a ziploc bag or just pitch them. I replaced ALL hairbrushes and combs and boiled/bagged all ties.

That's all I can remember right now...if I think of others I'll add. I know it's very trying and frustrating almost overwhelming at times...I had nightmares for weeks after LOL...But you will get through it with some determination and patience.

Most head and body mites like lice have actually evolved to a point where they've developed a resistance to nearly all conventional pesticides and pesticide shampoos and washes - which are actually dangerous to your child and even gave one of my ex's 4YO sons a seizure (but he was not an epileptic, he was normal).

I can reccomend 2 things: 1) shave your child's head and squish the mites and eggs as you come across them in the process, or 2) go to http://www.safesolutionsinc.com/Non-Toxic_Pest_Control.htm (cut and paste to your browser window if you can't click), scroll down, and order the "Lice R Gone" shampoo. The active ingredient is a synthetic enzyme that does not affect humans but mimics the mites' body chemistry and forces them to molt prematurely, whereupon they are exposed to the other ingredients in the product and it kills them. It also kills the eggs this way. Good luck!