nertsmommy Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 The grandparents had the kiddos over the weekend. They took them to see a movie on Saturday. Today I found lice. DS had one louse and unhatched eggs. DD had 8 lice and unhatched eggs. Youngest DD has nothing. First, is it safe to assume they got them from the theater? Or did they have them before? I poured baby oil on their heads and combed through picking out the eggs and any lice I found. This took several hours. I did this while I waited for DH to get home from work and get Nix. Then I used Dawn dish soap to get the baby oil out and blow dried they hair because I didn't know that the lice stuff needed to go onto dry hair. I followed the directions on the box. Put shampoo stuff in, wait 10 mins, lather, rinse, comb through gel in, combed through, wash again. I braided DD's hair. Her hair is super long. I then vacuumed the whole house, especially the rooms they were in. I vacuumed the couch, all sides including underneath. I stripped their beds and vacuumed the mattresses. I am currently washing all bedding. I found the lice at 3pm and didn't finish up with their hair until 11pm. I also washed my hair out as well. I checked DH over and didn't find any, but I coated his hair in baby oil while he helped clean to try to prevent him from picking up any. What more do I need to do? I'm clueless here. I never had lice as a kid so this is all new to me. Thanks for any and all advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renmew Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 You did the right things so far. Put all pillows and blankets in the dryer. Stuffed animals go in trash bags closed up tight for a week or two. Comb out hair looking for the bugs and eggs for two or three more nights, until you find nothing. Then repeat ten days later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MariannNOVA Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 You did the right things so far. Put all pillows and blankets in the dryer. Stuffed animals go in trash bags closed up tight for a week or two. Comb out hair looking for the bugs and eggs for two or three more nights, until you find nothing. Then repeat ten days later. :iagree: Sounds to me like you are on the right track. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Element Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Definitely put stuffed animals into bags for a couple of weeks. Also, in the future when the kids go to the movies, spray short hair with hairspray and braid and hairspray long hair. The lice will be less likely to want to get into hairsprayed hair. I had to deal with lice twice when dd was in ps and shared a cubby with another girl that always had lice. The hairspray thing absolutely saved us that year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Don't foget bike helmets and car seats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bellabee03 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Go to http://www.headlice.org. That site has all the info you need! It's amazing how misinformed I was when the kids got them last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nertsmommy Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 Thank you! We usually take the kids to the drive-in not the theater, but I will remember to tell the grandparents about the hairspray. Could I use that trick now to make sure they don't pick up any around the house I missed? :tongue_smilie: Another question. Do I need to vacuum down the van and carseats and wash them. We won't be in the van again until next week. Will they die by then or should I strip the seats down and wash them now too? If machine washing and drying okay for a favorite teddy bear? DS has to have the bear to sleep. It was all I could do to get him down tonight without it. I'm not worried about it getting ruined in the wash because the poor bear has been washed many, many times. I just want to make sure he won't have bugs. I'm planning on running the sheets and pillows through the dryer every day for a few days and vacuuming the mattress every morning as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
renmew Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 You don't have to wash the bear, just put it in the dryer, real hot, for 30 minutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nertsmommy Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 Thank you all who answered. I feel like I can actually get some sleep now and tackle the rest in the morning. 10 1/2 hours is enough for tonight. I have to admit I was tempted to cut DD's hair to make it easier. Her hair is below her waist and took forever. DS was a piece of cake. I'll get some rest and start again in the morning. I am just so thankful that I found them so early. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PollyOR Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 First, I'm sorry you are going through this. Second, as a homeschooler you have to look at the lice with a microscope or magnifying glass. :tongue_smilie: Yes, that's what I did. I wanted my kids and neighbors to know what a louse looked like. I made sure it was in a sealed sandwich bag when I took it to the neighbor's house. She was still pretty nervous and I don't blame her. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammi K Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) The grandparents had the kiddos over the weekend. They took them to see a movie on Saturday. Today I found lice. DS had one louse and unhatched eggs. DD had 8 lice and unhatched eggs. Youngest DD has nothing. First, is it safe to assume they got them from the theater? Or did they have them before?. Incubation period is 7 to 10 days. Since your kiddos had several adult lice, I suspect they had them before the weekend. I don't think the theatre is to blame. I suspect they are sharing more than summer fun with someone else in the neighborhood. We dealt with this when my oldest was 12. She had waist length, super curly hair. Nit combs were useless - her hair was way to think and coarse to go through the comb. I picked over every piece of hair on her head. And, I guess you discovered, you can't just flick off the nits, you have to 'comb' them to the end of each strand! So, I understand your pain. :grouphug: It sounds like you have a good handle on things. Best of luck. ETA: Sorry, I didn't read the op carefully enough. I thought all 3 kids had both adults and nits and I was thinking the it was unlikely that all three got them from theatre seats. But, you may be right, it was probably the theatre. You probably shouldn't go postal on the neighbors! Edited July 31, 2012 by Tammi K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Down_the_Rabbit_Hole Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 We just went through this 2 months ago.:grouphug: Someone here told me to use conditioner and tea tree oil mixed and then comb comb comb. It was so much better then the harsh NIX chemicals and easy and safe not to mention cheap. Every morning I mixed TTO in white conditioner and coated her hair. Then I combed it out with a regular metal comb...this got the tangles out and the conditioner in. I then used a lice comb. We did this daily for a week, then every other day a few times then every 3 days, then once more a week later. The conditioner helps the comb go through easy as well as keep the little bugs from moving around. The TTO is nasty to the little bugs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemMommy Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 My suggestion is not to wait 7-10 days to retreat. That was WAY too long for us.......Also, we used the homeopathic route and ended up chasing lice for 4 months! It was awful. Be aggressive from the start! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nertsmommy Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 I'll have DH see if he can find some tea tree oil in our tiny town. Even though it's a pain to get out I'm doing the baby oil route this morning. I didn't think they came from anywhere but the theater because there are no other kids in our neighborhood they play with. I am trying to do all I can to prevent the youngest from getting them. I don't know how I'd get a two year old to sit still for me to pull them out of her hair. It was all we could do to hold her to check her head. I'm finishing up the washing and then I should be done except to vacuum the furniture, floors, and mattresses every day. And throw their bedding in the dryer every day. And of course check heads. I'll do this for a week, unless I find more, then I'll have to go longer. If I don't find anymore in 7-10 days do I really need to use those chemicals again or can I go with a less harsh follow up treatment? And we did check them out! The kids had to inspect each others hair and then examined the bugs! They aren't fond of most bugs so I was surprised that they actually wanted to view them.:) DH was more creeped out than the kids. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiramisu Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I wouldn't stress if you can't find tea tree oil. We used plain old olive oil, and combed through the hair two or three times a day for a couple of weeks. Yes, it was time intensive, but we have four girls and we've never had the lice spread from one girl to another. The only time we had a relapse was when dd was in ps and they were in the carpet in her classroom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FeFe Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 You're doing the right things! I had good results using the olive oil treatments on my daughter. I printed the treatment calendar and followed that for a month. A friend of mine just used Cetaphil cleanser for her DD and worked too. Sorry you have to go through this. Just try to look at it as quality time with your kids. My dd and I had some good conversations during our lice treatment month. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foster_sk Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I learned the hard way a few years ago that a lot of lice are resistant to the OTC treatments. What I found REALLY worked (and is not toxic, unlike Rid and Nix and whatnot) is Cetaphil! Google using Cetaphil for lice. I highly recommend it. P.S. I'm a pharmacist. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostSurprise Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 (edited) Treat more like every 5-7 days, 7-10 is too long. After Nix, treat weekly for 3 weeks using one of the alternative treatments (Cetaphil, oil, conditioner w/ dimethicone). The idea is to kill any eggs you miss that hatch. If you continue to kill before they can mature to lay eggs, you eradicate them. The day of the treatment change sheets, put pillows in dryer for 15m on high, vacuum furniture and floors. Use your brightest light to do the search. If you have a spotlight...use it! Put a movie on. Let the child relax. Using large magnifying glasses on the trouble areas (around ear/sideburn area/nape of neck/side of head you sleep on are the best for eggs). You have to pinch and pull them all the way down the hair. I keep a little bowl of alcohol nearby for when I remove them. There's also an electronic comb you can buy from Walgreens. We had a really bad infestation here. Its come back every 6 weeks for the last 6 months. We use this comb for spot checks every few weeks. It has a low level of electricity but it will kill a louse. The hum stops so you know it killed one (the circuit was completed). Its not perfect but it is nice for longer hair if they're hiding further off the scalp. Nix would not do it for us. Olive oil did not do it for us. Conditioner did not do it for us. I'm hoping Cetaphil did. Edited July 31, 2012 by LostSurprise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justasque Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 When lice are around, we braid and cover. If everyone's hair is under a bandanna or headscarf, they're less likely to spread it and they're less likely to catch it. Yes, you may look a bit odd, but it may be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momof3littles Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Another vote for looking into the Cetaphil treatment. The NYT had a piece about the protocol and its success a few years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tots2teens Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 My dd13 (who has thick, long hair) came home from a mission trip last summer with lice. It took forever to get rid of! I had the most success with using part Listerine & part water in a spray bottle. I would spray her scalp & hair then comb it out in sections. I also tried the Nix & it didn't do a thing. I sprayed her hair with Listerine & combed every night for about a week to finally get rid of them. Also, Sally sells a tea tree shampoo that she uses about once a week to keep the lice away. Good luck!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buttacol Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 We did this last december. First we did rid which only took care of a little bit. We waited the 7 days and then did nix, which really eliminated everything. Every day, we got hair damp, and dumped on a ton of conditioner. Any kind works. Then we took a flea comb from a pet supply store and combed through the hair a section at a time. We found the easiest way to see, was to flip all the hair over the eyes in front, and then start at the nape of the neck, and slowly work a bit down at a time. Much easier than trying to Bobby pin a section. Plus then you are constantly recombing each area. You will see the bugs, eggs, and anything else in the conditioner or in the tines of the comb. It is amazing how tiny they are. Rinse the comb in hot water each time and use toilet paper or a paper towel to wipe it clean. Make sure to boil after every use too. The conditioner would have worked alone but there were three with it, and it was Christmas with company coming. We wanted them gone! Vacuum everything every day. Bag the stuffed animals and other stuff. Or put in the dryer. And I washed all clothes, bedding and towels everyday. My house was never so clean!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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