Lice Scare at School...Help!!

Had the same thing at my daughters school. The treatment uses really harsh chemicals so I just french braided my daughters hair tight to her head and pinned up the braids everyday for a month. It was a pain and took way too much time but that and daily shampoo was what I did. We were OK but the whole thing made me nuts!

First, calm down. It will be ok. My 8 year old daughter did come home from school with lice. What you want to do is comb throw your daughter's hair slowly. Look for a small silver to brown colored bugs. Check for eggs on every hair.They may look like dandruff, but if it doesn't move then it could be a nit. Don't treat her unless you find lice. Some treatments have a pesticide. All you can really do is check her hair now. Hopefully she won't get it!!

Yes, go ahead and treat her. You can buy the stuff over the counter at a pharmacy -- ask where it is if you don't see it. And don't panic. This is a normal thing == like mosquito bites. I remember freaking out when my kids got lice, but 10 yrs later, when we had 2 more kids, I just said, "oh well, time to do the lice shampoo", and it made the whole situation much easier.

It happens to everyone at some point. So don't let it get you all upset. Just buy the special shampoo and follow the directions. Then follow up by doing it again -- the timing is on the box.

This happened to us more than once, and my kids did not get lice. Hopefully the pre-school will take the proper precautions and clean the room. My dd's preschool closed for a couple of days to clean all the toys, carpet, etc.

Teach your daughter to not use other people's hairbrushes, combs, hair accessories, etc. Also not to try on hats, headbands, etc that other kids have worn. This can be hard if they have dress up boxes at the school.

I have heard that wearing hair up in a high pony tail or bun and spraying the back of the hair with hairspray helps.

Also you might consider buying tea tree shampoo and conditioner and using that for several weeks. It is supposed to discourage lice.

I have heard that lice don't like Coconut shampoo. Not sure how valid this is, but I break it out anytime we get a scare. It either works, or we've just been lucky so far, it's hard to say. Can't hurt to try it, I guess.

If your nervous about it, go ahead and treat her. It won't hurt. Better safe than sorry.

I would NOT treat on a preventative basis with a commercial over the counter pesticide. It is not good for both children and adults.

Tea Tree oil is a very versatile oil. Order a small amount online and the Essential Oil will last a very long time. Not only is it good for head lice, it is good for acne, cold sores and is a good inhalent for a stuffy head. I clean with it too.
You should always do your research on it first before using. It almost always needs to be used in a diffused form when being used on or in contact with humans/animals.

In fact, I keep a stock of EO's and slowly am cleaning out my medicine cabinet. They work great for so many things.

good luck. and for the record. My 19 year old got lice twice, my sons both have come home with it and of course I have ended up with them too. It's crappy dealing with it but in the over all scheme of things there are worse things that could happen that are harmful. The only thing harmful about headlice is the pesticides people use to rid them.

Hit up a local healthfood store like Kimberton markets. Things like tea tree and other oils are supposedly preventative measures. I just attended a healthfare and was hooked by the idea of PREVENTATIVE measures. i teach at a junior high and cought the nasty little things the other year. It is not a big deal but an extreme annoying pain in the butt to clean and sterilize the entire house.

Something I posted for another request along similar lines, their daughter already had lice:

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!

You could wash her hair just in case, but the shampoo won't prevent lice, I would use it if you felt because it is so thick you may have missed seeing any in there. It won't hurt, but is very drying. Also, wash her coat, book bag, and anything else she had at school in hot water.

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 students 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!
Also, another mom posted a similiar question and received many responses. Here's the link:

http://www.mamasource.com/request/15070348700272295937

go to a beauty supply store and buy tea tree shampoo it has tea tree oil in it and the eggs can't stick to the hair. Buy a lice come also and comb her hair and see if any eggs are in it. the best one is the metal comb.
good luck
T.

Hopefully your child will not get lice. My son just had it and it was horrible. It was easy with him because I could just shave his head.

If she does get lice, put mayanase all through her hair and put a shower cap over it and let her sleep like this overnight. The mayanase smothers them and they die. And besides that it is good for your hair. I know it sounds weird, but it really does work!

There are a few preventative products. Some online at Fairy Tale hair Care that contain tree tea oil, or you can buy tree tea oil to add to water or detangling spray yourself. They also sell products with crysanthamum in grocery and drug stores to repell them. I believe an ounce of prevention is best.

Hey J.
We went through this on and off for almost 6 months last year,it was a nightmare.I am not saying this to scare you,just to share my knowledge.Just because your daughter wasn't near her,doesn't mean their coats etc weren't close enough, or that some other child didn't get them and your daughter could be exposed through another child.The nits have a 7-10 day incubation period, so be sure to check her often.What about taking her to a nurse, we have a local health centre where nurses will check kids and adults to see if they find anything.

That being said,the over the counter treatments are not always effective,and are VERY harmful.I wouldn't recommend using them.Definitely get a good tea tree oil shampoo and go to a health food store and get a bottle of the tea tree oil itself.Dilute it in some water,maybe half a cup and run it through your daughters hair,then shampoo with tea tree oil shampoo with added tea tree oil in it.Lice hate this.I would recommend doing this a few times,perhaps once a week for the next month,to be on the safe side.Lice could go around many kids before they are stopped.We actually do the shampoo about once a month now to try and help prevent lice from coming back.I would recommend braids or a ponytail as much as possible.Hairspray and mousse are also good suggestions.I have heard apple cider vinegar works well,but smells awful.

Don't wait,check her hair maybe when she is watching a movie or a few tv shows,it can take a good hour to go through her hair,little sections at a time.Look for not just live lice but also nits as you might not see any live lice if her hair is thick.
Good luck!

Don't be scared but be preventive! I manage a kids salon and I am a stylist and we carry a line of products for prentive care for lice!!! Lice is attracted to clean hair so these products help build a layer on the hair shaft that does not let the lice attach to the scalp! Let me know if you or any other Moms out there would like more info or stop by the salon to check it out! Snip Its Salon is located in Exton's Whiteland Town Center.

We just had it for the first time 2 weeks ago. What i learned from the pediatrican and school nurse is they like CLEAN hair. They can lay their eggs and stick them to it. They can not do this with dirty hair. One thing the pediatrican said to try and prevent it was, braid the hair tight and spray with a ton of hairspray.

I used to be just like you and HATE getting that dreaded note. I missed this note, it was the week my daughter had a fever. I would have braided and sprayed her hair if i knew it was in the class. I was told many times that this is just a right of passage for childhood...lovely...i hope we only needed to go through it once!!

I've heard that lice don't like squeaky clean hair or hair with a lot of product in it.

Hi J.,

I don't think there is really anything you can do prior to getting it to prevent it, except not letting her get exposed to it in the first place. That can be hard to do though because you can't tell by looking at a kid if they have lice or not. You could also explain to her how people get lice from someone else, but that may scare her to think of little bugs being on people.

It's good that the preschool noticed it (hopefully early enough)and contacted all the parents about this though.

L.