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Lice infestation, UGH!!

C

chemteach

TUG Review Crew: Veteran
TUG Member
Joined
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Messages
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Location
Los Angeles, CA
Well, we thought we had made it through another school year without having to deal with these nasty pests. But, alas, upon arriving home from our timeshare vacation, we found our daughters' hair infested with the little critters. We're pretty sure they actually got them before leaving for vacation because the infestation was so bad and lice have been going around their school all year, and one of my daughter's best friend's brother has lice right now. We discovered it the night before her 7th birthday party, and phoned everyone to say the party is still on, but that she has a bout of lice currently. Most people still showed up, we learned that 2 people have ongoing cases of lice, and 7 of the 13 kids there have had lice in the past year and a half. It's become a rite of passage at the elementary school.

So... has anyone out there tried the alternative remedies? We used RID on Saturday evening, and then licex Sunday morning before the party. I looked online and Nitmix seems to also be promising. I'm having a very hard time combing out the nits/eggs. I have 2 different metal combs, and nothing seems to work except seeing them and pulling them off with my thumb nail. The combs work great to get the lice out. We're washing the sheets/pillow cases/towels every day and hoping to end this ASAP. We'll probably use the RID again after 7 or 10 days from the first treatment.

ARGH!!! This is really annoying (big understatement!!!!)

Any advice would be appreciated. We are debating whether to go to "Hair Fairies" in Los Angeles because the infestation in one of my daughters was so bad. (We found over 10 critters on the floor while cleaning out her hair - it seemed there were so many they needed to find a new home.)

Thanks for any advice!

Edye
 
So sorry you're having to deal with that!
Have you considered notifying the timeshare so they can do a really thorough cleaning of the unit you were in?
Connie
 
You need to clean and treat all the furniture, bedding and stuffed animals. Anywhere your daughter has been including the car. From what I understand regular cleaning in a washer and dryer unless you have a sanitize cycle doesn't kill them. My sister went through this years ago and she bought chemicals of some type and all stuffed animals had to be frozen for 24 hours or in an airtight container for two weeks. I'm sure if you google it you will get lots of information.
 
I am a school nurse and have extensive experience with head lice. I'm sorry you are dealing with this, as it is quite an undertaking. There are natural treatments such as 1-2-3 Clear (I think it's available at Walmart) if you don't want to keep putting chemicals in your child's hair. Some parents have reported success with smearing a thick layer of mayonnaise through the hair and covering the head with a bathing cap overnight. This is supposed to smother the lice. You don't have to repeat the treatment more than once a week, but the treatments kill live lice and do not always kill the nits. Unfortunately, the only sure way to get the nits out is to pull them out one by one with your fingertips. You can also cut the strand of hair that has the nit attached to it. The metal combs with graduated teeth seem to work the best, but they don't get them all. Sit your daughter outside or next to a sunny window so that you can see them better. It is more difficult to see them in light hair. There is a product called Neon Nits. You spray it in the hair; it is bright pink. Then you rinse it out of the hair but it stays on the nits and they are easier to see. The Hair Fairies are old-fashioned "nit pickers" and are a good alternative if you aren't able to do it yourself. It is time consuming but certainly possible. The trick is to get rid of the eggs before they hatch. If one hatches, you are in for re-infestation, so it has to be done until it is completed, no going back to it another day. There are sprays you can use to treat the furniture, carpet, mattresses, etc. but there have been problems with them and asthmatics. Wash clothing, hats, bed linens in the hottest water and put them in the dryer for a long period of time. Bag all stuffed animals and dolls tightly in plastic bags and put them outside for at least 2 weeks. Lice cannot live unless there is a host. They will die in the bag and any nits that hatch will die also. Vacuum thoroughly the carpets, furniture and mattresses after treating, and make sure you throw the vacuum cleaner bag out as soon as you are done. Good luck to you through this ordeal. After you are done, remind your child never to share hats, hairbrushes, etc. and it is a good idea to go through her hair every week or so to see if you see anything. That way you can catch it early before it turns into a full blown infestation. (Also, I would notify the timeshare so they can treat the unit to prevent the next users from being infested also). -Jacki
 
we went throught this a few years ago and I was just diligent about picking them out of her hair. Every few hours I would pick. They were all gone in two days..

I think she got it from the back of a movie theater seat.. Airlplane seats are also possible culprits.. I suggest when you go to those, bring a small towel to drape over the seat...what a hassel but worth it if you can avoid it happening again...
 
Sorry that you are going through this. My three kids had it in the summer a few years ago just before school started. We decided not to use the chemicals after reading that they are getting more and more ineffective. After studying the life cycle of the lice, we used Tea Tree Shampoo to kill the live lice and went through our kids hair twice a day after that for 3 weeks. I had them sit on a lawn chair outside where I could use the strong sunlight to see. It felt like the end of the world to me at the time. This too shall pass!

Advice - when you comb the hair for lice, make sure that your daughter does not have a high collar on her shirt where a lice could hide and then crawl back up when finished. I did lice checks at my kids school after that and the lady who trained us told us that they can hide that way.
- keep your daughter's hair tied up and not loose. Children tend to huddle together with their heads very close together. If the hair is loose, it is more likely to come in contact with another person's hair.
 
Thanks for all the replies.
I do need to phone the timeshare. We just discovered the problem late Saturday and feel like I have been living in lice land 24 hours a day since then. I spend about 2 or 3 hours combing out each daughters' hair. DH and I used the licex treatment and neither of us seems to have any live lice. I did have at least 2 nits - YUCK! So now we will be spending 6 hours a day on the girls and 2 hours a day on my hair. We clean the linens every morning, spray the furniture with a natural product from hair fairies and are planning to go to hair fairies when they open after the holiday. I'm glad to say I have seen no live lice in anyone's hair since that first evening.

I seem to recall that I read that it takes a live louse 10 days or so from birth to lay eggs, and then a week for the eggs to hatch. So if I comb every day for two weeks, shouldn't I be able to catch any lice before they are capable of laying eggs??

The stuffed animals and a few other items are packed away in bags and outside in the backyard. Hopefully this will all be a memory soon. And hopefully the girls will let me keep their hair up next year!

Edye
 
Lots of experts here, so I have a question. A friend many years ago traveled and stayed in cheap motels. He ended up with "crab" lice, and tried lots of stuff. He thought that the otc medicine Campho Phenique was the deadliest to the lice.

I remember that medicine from my childhood, but don't know if it's still around. It's made from camphor. Anybody?
 
Thankfully it has been a few years since we've been through this, but I certainly sympathize! Our school nurse recommended covering the hair in olive oil, letting it sit for about 30 minutes covered by a shower cap, then shampooing well. The whole family did this a couple of times after a particularly alarming outbreak as a precaution.

Sheila
 
When lice was going around one of my daughters' classes a couple of years ago, I ordered Nitmix over the internet, and applied it to her hair everyday before school. (I literally dipped her ponytail in it!) Fortunately it seemed to work as we have never had lice here...and I really do think having lice in the house would just put me over the edge!

However, in our case it was just used as a preventative, so I have no way of knowing whether it actually did anything or she way just lucky.

We don't get too many lice outbreaks here, but according to the school nurse, they seem to occur mostly after kids come back from a vacation to the islands and have gotten their hair braided there....

Good luck with it,

Sharon
 
Lee, I don't know if they still make campo-phenique or if it helps with body lice. I think the usual treatment for that is a topical application of a prescription cream like Lindane.
 
jackio said:
Lee, I don't know if they still make campo-phenique or if it helps with body lice. I think the usual treatment for that is a topical application of a prescription cream like Lindane.
Click to expand...

I just bought a tube of campho-phenique last weekto help draw out a boil. Got it at the local Rite-Aid drugstore.

I have no idea whether it is effective for lice but it would be an expensive remedy. a 4oz tube was $5.

I have luckily never had to deal with lice but remember reading somewhere that they really love very clean hair. If your daughters wash their hair more than twice a week it could be why your problem is so drastic.

Good luck.
 
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