URGENT ADVICE NEEDED - headlice!

[ErinD]

One of the kids I watch has been scratching her "neck" all morning. I just checked her head and she is CRAWLING with lice! She slept over (did not share a bed, but has been all over the house, half of which is carpeted, and on probably ever piece of furniture). What do I need to do once she's gone? This is our first experience with lice. Do I need to lice-shampoo all our family just in case?

 

I do own a steam cleaner, in case that's relevant.

 

I can't stop scratching just thinking about it. Trying not to freak out here.

[MariannNOVA]

You DID point out the little problem to the adult who picked her up, didn't you?:confused:

 

Spray, vacuum, treat everyone, wash linens and clothes in hot water and dry on HIGH hot, stuffed toys, throw pillows, things like that into the dryer on HIGH hot for a good amount of time (an hour). If you can, put things that you don't need into black plastic trash bags (or any color for that matter) seal tightly and put them away for about 4-6 weeks -- don't open, don't touch. THAT is the easiest way to cut down on washing and drying -- good solution for plush toys, throw pillows.

 

I know this s*cks -- we went through it last summer -- we called a Lice Professional -- best $350. I've ever spent. And, they come with a guarantee -- you can google for one in your location.

Edited November 6, 2011 by MariannNOVA

[ErinD]

I'm waiting for her mom to come get her. I did leave a message on her cell to say she should pick up shampoo on her way here.

[MariannNOVA]

I edited and actually gave you some practical advice -- sorry -- lice freak me out.

[In2why]

I am so sorry ugggh!!!!! We have had to do this twice.

 

There isn't any way to do this cheaply or fast. Assume that your house is infested and treat everything or you will need to do it again in a few weeks when the half measures do not work.

 

All Bedding need to be washed and dried in the dryer. Pillows and stuffed animals go in the dryer on high for at least 30 minutes. If you can't put them in the dryer they need to be sealed in Plastic garbage bags for 6 weeks.

 

Each child needs to be inspected for nits and all should be treated with the shampoo and if nits are present they need to be removed.

 

There is a spray for furniture and carpets and don't forget your vehicles if they have fabric seats.

 

All hair stuff like combs, brushes, hats, hairbows etc need to be treated of thrown away.

 

If you have girls with longer hair braid it after you treat them while doing the rest of the house, and check the child that comes over because if her parents do not do all of the above she will have them again in a month. Many parents try to do the minimum and they just keep coming back. :glare:

 

It is a major pain, and I am itching just writing about them lol.

[Mandamom]

Vacuum the carpeted areas. The lice can't live off a host past 10 days.

 

I use vinegar for lice removal so I would recommend that you wash/rinse heads with vinegar for a day or so or even every other day for a week until you are sure that the lice are gone. It will sting the eyes and open cuts so be careful there. I prefer it much over the OTC products.

 

If you find a nit or lice in the hair start picking. Where there's one there are usually many. The sunlight helps you see the nits better so I am always picking and checking heads outside.

 

I hope that you don't end up with them. They are a nuisance.

[justasque]

Put everyone's hair up and put on bandannas to cover it.

This is your new look for a few days.

[kalanamak]

We have very resistant lice at work, and the "chemicals" don't get them, particularly if heavily infested. We wash with a solid shampoo, heavily butter the whole scalp and all hair in Mayo, and wrap well with Saran wrap for 6 hours, comb out with a fine nit comb, shampoo and comb out again.

 

The only thing, after kwell-type stuff, LiceBGone caps, etc. etc. that gets our tough ones is mayo. It isn't nasty to do, and if my kid had it, I'd do that over the "chemicals". Mayo cuts off the air, and no bug becomes so resistant they can get by without respiring.

[RegGuheert]

No advice, but I have been tagging 'head lice' for some time now. Just click on the tag at the bottom of this page for many previous discussions on this topic. Good luck!

[Running the race]

You've gotten great advice. We also called a professional to come over and comb everyone's hair. She recommended putting olive oil on the scalp. This must do the same thing as the mayo. We washed, bagged, vacuumed. You name it; we did it.

[ErinD]

Thanks everyone for the FAST advice! There is a stack in the laundry room taller than the washing machine, ready to be washed. The carpets have all been vacuumed and so have all the furniture and mattresses. No sign of anything on anyone's head so far but since she only came over last night I will keep checking.

 

My youngest was overdue for a haircut anyway, so I just took the clippers to him and he is delighted because he is now as bald as Daddy! :)

 

Have I forgotten anything?

 

Teamwork is a wonderful thing, isn't it? I can't imagine if I'd had to do all this by myself.

[Starr]

The child with the lice needs to be checked for nits every day. If she has nits she will not be admitted to ps. My big concern would be her being properly treated and not bringing them back into the house.

[ErinD]

Luckily for me, the one with the lice is not mine nor does she live here - she just sleeps over about once a month.

 

I'm just going to keep checking the heads in our house and cross every digit! I must have asked my husband to check my head about 30 times so far today - every time I start thinking about the lice, my scalp starts to itch in sympathy!

[MariannNOVA]

Boy, do we know our lice stuff on this board! :D

 

I used the Cetaphil treatment prior to calling the Lice Professional and it worked really well. When the lice professional came to do everyone's head, she found 2 in dd's head (she was the person who was exposed at a birthday party) and that was it so the Cetaphil had worked well, because all three kids had them when I checked.

 

If you can, consider taking all the laundry to a coin operated laundromat -- you will be able to get a ton of laundry done in a smaller amount of time and you can do larger loads.

 

Gosh, I'm itchy now as well.

 

Oh, and lice prefer clean hair to dirty hair -- they can slide along the hair shaft easily if the hair is clean. For this reason, don't overwash during the week. Use a tea tree oil or lavender shampoo (lice hate TTO and Lavender). After washing, checking scalp, and braiding (if you can braid, then braid), put tea tree oil in your hands (about a nickel sized drop) and coat the child's hair (scalp and braid) with it. Peppermint oil works as a deterrent as well. Lice seem to hate that too. Also -- I tell folks to spray their kids hair with hair spray -- it coats the hair shaft and the lice tend not to like it as they cannot attach and move to the scalp.

[mo2]

Luckily for me, the one with the lice is not mine nor does she live here - she just sleeps over about once a month.

 

I'm just going to keep checking the heads in our house and cross every digit! I must have asked my husband to check my head about 30 times so far today - every time I start thinking about the lice, my scalp starts to itch in sympathy!

 

I would be sure to check her hair outside before she comes in your house, even if it is a month or two before she comes over again. Unfortunately, a lot of parents aren't very good at getting rid of lice. They seem to think all they have to do is use the RID, Nix, or whatever, and they're done. If only it were so easy.

[QuirkyKapers]

I ws just thinking the same thing, I would maybe take a break from having this child over. That way if it reoccurs, you aren't having the same situation again.

[Mergath]

The FDA approved a new lice treatment earlier in the year called Natroba. It's prescription only, but you don't have to worry about combing out all the nits afterward. You put it on your kid's head for ten minutes, and bam, kills them all dead. Might be something to look into if you find yourself faced with an infestation. I've read that OTC lice stuff is almost useless now, because the lice have become so resistant.

[bettyandbob]

The child with the lice needs to be checked for nits every day. If she has nits she will not be admitted to ps. My big concern would be her being properly treated and not bringing them back into the house.

 

 

Not true. Schools in my area are now allowing kids with lice to attend. Reasoning is because lice are nuisance, not a health threat.

 

However, just because the schools are permitting children with lice doesn't mean you have to. If she's the only one you babysit and you will let her return, I'd insist on checking her daily and treating her everyday she's at your house until you've been through a whole lifecycle (two weeks?). Treating her: check for lice, bath her and do the mayo treatment and wash her clothing. And I'd charge extra for the hassle.

[lorrainejmc]

My dd caught them once when she was in school. I don't remember doing anything so drastic as boiling and steaming everything; I saved that for when she caught thread worm. :eek:

 

I put conditioner on everyone's hair and combed through with a Nitty Gritty comb. Dd and youngest ds had them, no one else. Repeated daily until there was no evidence of any lice or eggs, then it became a weekly habit until THAT GIRL from THAT FAMILY was not in her class any more.:D

 

I'm so glad we homeschool now.

[Lovin Learnin]

I second the Cetaphil treatment method. I especially liked it because we weren't using toxic chemicals. This worked as stated for dd and we were done with them after 3 treatments. It also required minimal work for ridding them in the house. Highly, highly recommended.

[MariannNOVA]

The FDA approved a new lice treatment earlier in the year called Natroba. It's prescription only, but you don't have to worry about combing out all the nits afterward. You put it on your kid's head for ten minutes, and bam, kills them all dead. Might be something to look into if you find yourself faced with an infestation. I've read that OTC lice stuff is almost useless now, because the lice have become so resistant.

 

:iagree:I've read that as well, and the lice professional we used 18 mos ago told us the same thing.

[Starr]

 

 

Not true. Schools in my area are now allowing kids with lice to attend. Reasoning is because lice are nuisance, not a health threat.

 

However, just because the schools are permitting children with lice doesn't mean you have to. If she's the only one you babysit and you will let her return, I'd insist on checking her daily and treating her everyday she's at your house until you've been through a whole lifecycle (two weeks?). Treating her: check for lice, bath her and do the mayo treatment and wash her clothing. And I'd charge extra for the hassle.

 

:svengo:

[lula]

We also used the Cetaphil treatment. (My daughter is highly allergic to some of the ingredients in the typical lice treaments.) It actually worked: Frankly, I was shocked.

 

I think the washing of linens, bagging of items, etc is also helpful even if only to provide peace of mind!