Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I posted last week that dd had a rash on her neck, ears, and scalp. Someone mentioned looking for lice and I did but did not see anything at the time. Well, Sunday we spotted the little devils. I treated her hair with RID shampoo and used the nit comb but later that day I saw a live one in her hair, does that mean the shampoo did not work? What is the earliest I can re-shampoo...the bottle says 7-10 days but if I am still seeing live ones can I do it sooner? And because dd uses my brush and slept on my pillow the other day, I have some too...not like her but I used the shampoo and when we combed my hair I had a few...GROSS!!!!! (now I cannot stop itching and feeling things crawl all over me). 44 yrs old and having 3 boys I never had to deal with head lice. Leave it to dd to introduce it to the family. Do you think it is coincidence the two boys she plays with got their heads shaved last week...summer cuts or lice treatment:glare:. What about the dog, could she get it too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Girls' Mom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The shampoo is worthless IMO. It never worked for us. What DOES work is nit combing EVERY DAY for about 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kwickimom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Cetaphil soap works well...you can use that instead of the shampoo and its safe. Just slather it on and put a plastic bag or shower cap on overnight and rinse in the a.m. And brush, brush, brush those nits out. Like a few times a day. Even when you think they are gone, keep brushing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 The shampoo is worthless IMO. It never worked for us. What DOES work is nit combing EVERY DAY for about 2 weeks. Figured the nit combing was a biggie. ...but how does one nit comb their own hair:glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Cetaphil soap works well...you can use that instead of the shampoo and its safe. Just slather it on and put a plastic bag or shower cap on overnight and rinse in the a.m. And brush, brush, brush those nits out. Like a few times a day. Even when you think they are gone, keep brushing!! Can I use that now, even though we used the RID shampoo yesterday? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The Cetaphil treatment happens to be excellent. Here is the link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/15689-lice-treatment-using-cetaphil/ There are other links too -- just google. The nit comb is your friend -- section off hair with clips, spray, use a bright light and comb, comb, comb. After treatment, lavender, tea tree oil and peppermint oil are helpful. Lice don't like any of those things -- rub any of those three oils in your hands and smooth over the hair. Lice also love clean hair -- so hair that has a layer of hair spray on it for instance, well, they don't like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedmom4 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My girls both had lice years ago. I had never seen lice before and had no idea what was going on until I saw them all on their scalps. :001_huh: I was mortified. I got all of the over-the-counter products but it wasn't getting rid of the actual lice on their heads. I got a prescription from the doctor. I don't remember what it was called but it smelled like turpentine. It made their scalp sting a little but I wanted those critters dead! I also bought an over-the-counter spray for the couch and rugs. I bagged up all the stuffed animals and dolls and put them in the garage for a month. I washed all of the bedding in hot water. We got rid of them completely the first time and no one else got them. Good luck! Elise in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 The Cetaphil treatment happens to be excellent. Here is the link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/15689-lice-treatment-using-cetaphil/ There are other links too -- just google. The nit comb is your friend -- section off hair with clips, spray, use a bright light and comb, comb, comb. After treatment, lavender, tea tree oil and peppermint oil are helpful. Lice don't like any of those things -- rub any of those three oils in your hands and smooth over the hair. Lice also love clean hair -- so hair that has a layer of hair spray on it for instance, well, they don't like that. Very helpful. thanks. I will try this today and will add the oil in after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevilla Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Get the TErminator Lice Comb (I've even seen it at Babies R US and Buy Buy Baby stores now). You need to comb daily or twice daily in the beginning and keep it up for a few weeks. This will be more effective than anything else. RID shampoo is not as effective anymore (in the first place it only killed live bugs, not nits/eggs, so you still had to comb before they hatched) but now many lice bugs are resistant to the RID. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingersmom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Cetaphil was the only thing that got rid of my sons lice. Yuck! Slather the whole bottle through the hair, blow-dry and leave on hair overnight. Rinse out in the morning (its soap so it rinses easily). Remove nits, etc. Repeat with cetaphil in one week and again in one week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mlbuchina Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The only thing that I found to work was a wet head and a rat-tail comb. We tried using the shampoo, but it didn't work, and I ended up having to go over every strand of hair on my dc's hair many times. I had a nit comb that came with the shampoo, but the rat-tail comb was easier to use. It had the tail to help section the hair, and the comb part was longer. The teeth of it was more fine than the nit comb, so it really helped in locating the eggs and nits. Oh, one more thing. Light. Bright light shining on the head so you can see them and pull them off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jann in TX Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My dd brought some unwelcomed visitors home after our trip to Africa last summer. DD has long, thick and VERY WAVY hair. We did a box treatment as soon as we walked in the door (we noticed them the night before we left for home-- so we slathered her hair with conditioner for the night-- no live ones seen in the morning). We nit-picked several times a day for about one week. I ended up with a few (oldest dd turned out to be a great nit-picker :lol: ) I did not do a box treatment-- I opted for another treatment I saw on these boards-- add several drops of tea tree oil to Panteen conditioner and leave on for an hour or so. I also added a few drops of tea tree oil to my shampoo and conditioner every time I used it for the next few weeks. Oldest dd and dh ended up doing the same thing as a preventative. We were lucky that we found out before our home was infested!!! If you are still seeing adults then you need to treat with a different product or 'suffocate' them with mayo or conditioner. They DO NOT LIKE tea tree oil! Put on a good movie and nit-pick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandamom Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I use vinegar and pick and pick and pick with a nit (or flea) comb. Also, we go outside and sit on the back deck because natural sunlight helps you see the nits so much easier. We haven't had lice for a couple of years but when we did I got to be pretty good at eliminating them. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justamouse Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My dd brought some unwelcomed visitors home after our trip to Africa last summer. DD has long, thick and VERY WAVY hair. We did a box treatment as soon as we walked in the door (we noticed them the night before we left for home-- so we slathered her hair with conditioner for the night-- no live ones seen in the morning). We nit-picked several times a day for about one week. I ended up with a few (oldest dd turned out to be a great nit-picker :lol: ) I did not do a box treatment-- I opted for another treatment I saw on these boards-- add several drops of tea tree oil to Panteen conditioner and leave on for an hour or so. I also added a few drops of tea tree oil to my shampoo and conditioner every time I used it for the next few weeks. Oldest dd and dh ended up doing the same thing as a preventative. We were lucky that we found out before our home was infested!!! If you are still seeing adults then you need to treat with a different product or 'suffocate' them with mayo or conditioner. They DO NOT LIKE tea tree oil! Put on a good movie and nit-pick! :iagree: Tea tree oil os what did it for us. That and washing all bedding in hot water every day and vacuuming the bejesus out of their room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipper Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 No advice but I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that you are having to deal with all the brushing. We thought once that my oldest daughter had them. The school claimed they found one on her. I had no clue what to do so I went straight to our pediatrician (my oldest is disabled so I was hoping he would have some advice). He couldn't find any on her and was baffled as to why the school thought she had them, but he suggested doing the treatment anyway. I believe they also sell a spray you can use on pillows and such. I keep a spare can in my first aid cabinet just in case. Good luck with it all. I'm sending prayers of patience for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 No advice but I wanted to tell you how sorry I am that you are having to deal with all the brushing. We thought once that my oldest daughter had them. The school claimed they found one on her. I had no clue what to do so I went straight to our pediatrician (my oldest is disabled so I was hoping he would have some advice). He couldn't find any on her and was baffled as to why the school thought she had them, but he suggested doing the treatment anyway. I believe they also sell a spray you can use on pillows and such. I keep a spare can in my first aid cabinet just in case. Good luck with it all. I'm sending prayers of patience for you! Thank you. We both have long hair and it takes so long to do the combing. I do have some spray and we used it yesterday twice (I needed to do it again for my comfort). Washed all bedding twice in hot water and bought new pillows. No one is sitting on the fabric furniture for 48 hours. I plan on washing the pillow cases every day for a few weeks. I think the most traumatic event was putting all my dd's stuffed animals in a bag and telling her they had to stay in the car for a few days....she has such an attachment to 3 of them. It was hard and she has visited the car a few times just to check on them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 The shampoo is worthless IMO. It never worked for us. What DOES work is nit combing EVERY DAY for about 2 weeks. :iagree: We just discovered lice at the end of last month. We used the nit comb several times a day and it's been a few days since I've seen anything at all. I'm still combing every once in awhile, just to make sure. Only 4 of the 8 of us got it, but dd and I had it for awhile, not knowing. We thought the scratching was due to city water instead of well water (we had just moved). I was absolutely disgusted when I found the lice. :ack2: We never did use any special medicines or shampoos. I was going off of this article: http://wondertime.go.com/learning/article/how-to-treat-lice.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 Thank you.We both have long hair and it takes so long to do the combing. I do have some spray and we used it yesterday twice (I needed to do it again for my comfort). Washed all bedding twice in hot water and bought new pillows. No one is sitting on the fabric furniture for 48 hours. I plan on washing the pillow cases every day for a few weeks. I think the most traumatic event was putting all my dd's stuffed animals in a bag and telling her they had to stay in the car for a few days....she has such an attachment to 3 of them. It was hard and she has visited the car a few times just to check on them. we didn't vacuum the couches at all, although I did wash the bedding. The article I posted above gave the argument for focusing on the head, not the house and that worked for us. The lice cannot live off the human head for very long, and they don't like to be off the head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 One more thing, sorry, I also read an article that suffocation is not a good technique on the head because lice can turn off their breathing apparatus for a long time and still survive. :ack2::ack2::ack2: I think it was this one: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6556272 Comb, comb, comb! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 :iagree: We just discovered lice at the end of last month. We used the nit comb several times a day and it's been a few days since I've seen anything at all. I'm still combing every once in awhile, just to make sure. Only 4 of the 8 of us got it, but dd and I had it for awhile, not knowing. We thought the scratching was due to city water instead of well water (we had just moved). I was absolutely disgusted when I found the lice. :ack2: We never did use any special medicines or shampoos. I was going off of this article: http://wondertime.go.com/learning/article/how-to-treat-lice.html I decided to try the conditioner and baking soda this morning since I had both on hand. Happily dd only had about 6 lice that I combed out but she did have tons of nits (those are the eggs, right?). it was so much nicer to do then the RID (and will be less expensive, we spent $35 on the RID and extra shampoo). I then had her wash the conditioner out and we blow dry her hair. We will do this again tonight and over the next week. I am going to get some Tea tree oil to add to it and put it in the shampoo just for preventative measures for the rest of the family. I guess the key is to get rid of the newly hatched lice so they do not lay new eggs and try and get as many of the eggs out before they do hatch. I am still washing the bedding daily just for my own sanity and no one will sit on the fabric furniture for a week or two since I forgot about the lice laying eggs. Daily checks on hubby and ds to make sure they do not get it. SIGH...I'm exhausted already. Thanks for the link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I.Dup. Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 I decided to try the conditioner and baking soda this morning since I had both on hand. Happily dd only had about 6 lice that I combed out but she did have tons of nits (those are the eggs, right?). it was so much nicer to do then the RID (and will be less expensive, we spent $35 on the RID and extra shampoo). I then had her wash the conditioner out and we blow dry her hair. We will do this again tonight and over the next week. I am going to get some Tea tree oil to add to it and put it in the shampoo just for preventative measures for the rest of the family. I guess the key is to get rid of the newly hatched lice so they do not lay new eggs and try and get as many of the eggs out before they do hatch. I am still washing the bedding daily just for my own sanity and no one will sit on the fabric furniture for a week or two since I forgot about the lice laying eggs. Daily checks on hubby and ds to make sure they do not get it. SIGH...I'm exhausted already.Thanks for the link. Yes, the conditioner just makes them a lot easier to see. If you're getting tiny brown things, those are the nits. I can't really see eggs. But they don't sexually mature for 9-12 days so as long as you're combing every couple days (or 5 times a day like I was :tongue_smilie:) you'll get them all out before they can continue reproducing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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