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Head lice

americanwoman

americanwoman

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My daughter got lice at school and it's so hard to get rid of. I'm told this is common in kindergarden so I'm looking for any tips.

So far I've done two shampoo treatments I got at Walgreens, alot of vinegar treatments, and nightly comb throughs picking out the nits. This has been ongoing for about three weeks now. I've also washed and double washed everything but it seems like it's not going away. Any more ideas or tips?
 
I've heard that they have a special comb for that.
 
americanwoman said:
My daughter got lice at school and it's so hard to get rid of. I'm told this is common in kindergarden so I'm looking for any tips.

So far I've done two shampoo treatments I got at Walgreens, alot of vinegar treatments, and nightly comb throughs picking out the nits. This has been ongoing for about three weeks now. I've also washed and double washed everything but it seems like it's not going away. Any more ideas or tips?
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No advice, but I wish you the best with this. Been trying to rid my cat of fleas for weeks now.
 
Make sure she's not getting anything from her bedding and whatnot. When you're certain she's not, look to the school as the source of reinfection, because three weeks seems like a long time.
 
americanwoman said:
Thanks, I got a comb with the treatment but I don't think it's the good "special" comb because it doesn't really work. I did see some of those so I'll pick one up.
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When you do the treatment you have to make sure you wash everybody's bedding and clothing in hot water too. All of it.
 
americanwoman said:
My daughter got lice at school and it's so hard to get rid of. I'm told this is common in kindergarden so I'm looking for any tips.

So far I've done two shampoo treatments I got at Walgreens, alot of vinegar treatments, and nightly comb throughs picking out the nits. This has been ongoing for about three weeks now. I've also washed and double washed everything but it seems like it's not going away. Any more ideas or tips?
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Fire.
 
Can be a real problem. Body lice are worse.

Your problem is their eggs.

Washing won't get it. But when you do, hot water soak in the washer for 30 minutes in laundry soapy water first. The eggs are in the cloth furniture, pillows, mattresses and carpeting. Obviously the problem is severe. I would suggest:

1. Replacing her pillow. Put old ones in plastic bags for 2-3 months. Put plastic covers over her new pillows and over the mattress, which you may need to steam clean. You may want to cover the couches with plastic for a couple weeks to prevent a next generation re-infestation. Flip the mattresses and couch cushions if feasible. Not just her bed. All beddings. Steam clean hard floors.
Obviously any animal bedding.

2. Rent a shampooer and do the carpeting, cloth couches and chairs. Do it deeply and ideally twice. Finally, steam clean anything that can withstand it.

This problem is likely not limited to just her room, but the whole house/apt. When we had a problem with body lice I think she was seriously considering just burning down the house and rebuilding! But the steps above solved the problem. She does all that at least once a month anyway to avoid fleas. There is every imagine little bug and critter out in the woodland swampland around out house. The no-see-ums are the worst.
 
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My daughter had it last month, what a joy that was. My neck still hurts from the extended nitpicking sessions. We were worried it would be hard to get rid of but it wasn't that bad.
RID follow instructions. Shampoo and do a thorough check of all hair for eggs and dying lice. We used a variety of clips to separate the hair and checked small group one at a time in good lighting. We actually have a headlamp that came in handy for that as well (it was a $4 LED impulse buy that I just KNEW would come in hand!)

Check every other day for eggs and destroy them then get them off the hair or just pull that hair out. That seemed to be the biggest thing.
7 days (or whatever), do the shampoo again and re-check. We rechecked twice after the final shampoo and all clean.
We also did complete laundry all bedding etc. that first day, and then every few days after. Watch coats w/hoods (we just banned it for two weeks) and anything else that their head may come in contact with. Treat it if you think you need to.

If you're having issues with it for whatever reason, look it up I think there is a franchise that does it for like $100 or something. Pricey, but they supposedly guarantee results so it's one and done from what I understand. I will likely do that next time, if heaven forbid there is a next time.

I was fortunately immune since I have close clipped hair. We considered everyone shaving their head but opted not to.

Good luck! When it breaks out in school nearly everyone gets it. If you like Southpark there is a classic on head lice, I highly recommend it.
 
Good think Ikari posted here. I'd have my feelings hurt if I was the only one not to get a like from AW.
 
I went through the gauntlet with my daughter and recently she went through it with the grandkids. The circle of life. It's the hell of non-stop laundry, combing hair with the world's smallest comb and not feeling clean wherever you sit in your home for quite some time (do I spray the couch or burn it?). :mrgreen:

Know this, chances are you'll be repeating the whole process within the month and there will be future outbreaks. Someone always fails to dose their kid in time. Btw, think of the poor teachers who face this all the time. Wonder if they can write off their Rid as a job related expense?
 
Bug bomb the place too
 
There was a tragic incident when a mother used an insecticide for head lice causing the child's death.
 
americanwoman said:
My daughter got lice at school and it's so hard to get rid of. I'm told this is common in kindergarden so I'm looking for any tips.

So far I've done two shampoo treatments I got at Walgreens, alot of vinegar treatments, and nightly comb throughs picking out the nits. This has been ongoing for about three weeks now. I've also washed and double washed everything but it seems like it's not going away. Any more ideas or tips?
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Since shaving their heads is not a option for you then I suggest trimming their hair short. This also makes using a comb a lot easier. Lice love long hair.


Stay away from plastic lice combs and the plastic lice combs with metal teeth.Most of those things are garbage. What you want if you can find them are the two sided solid metal lice combs,one side has a really fine tooth comb and the other side is a little bit courser lice comb.They do make plastic lice combs like that that somewhat decent but they can break easily if the child's hair is tangled up. I you have animals then you better treat them just in case.There is pet shampoo that kills lice.

You do have to wash everything.If it can not be be stuffed into a washing machine there is bedding spray that you can spray on the carpets,beds, couches and etc.

You also get your kids to be more cautious when playing around other kids like no sharing hats,combs and brushes, no sticking their heads next to other kids heads and so on.Because if children do not exercise these precautions then they will get it again.
 
americanwoman said:
My daughter got lice at school and it's so hard to get rid of. I'm told this is common in kindergarden so I'm looking for any tips.

So far I've done two shampoo treatments I got at Walgreens, alot of vinegar treatments, and nightly comb throughs picking out the nits. This has been ongoing for about three weeks now. I've also washed and double washed everything but it seems like it's not going away. Any more ideas or tips?
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Don't exhaust yourself with scrubbing your house top to bottom - just wash clothes and bedding routinely.

We have 4 kids - I have long hair - we deal with lice every few years. It's part of life - Welcome.

I:
Have several different types of nit combs. Some are better for the larger lice, others are better for the nits.
I always do lice picking outside in the sunshine or in a sunny window. Never at night. Never with fancy lights. Sun highlights the eggs and makes them much easier to see and it's free.
I do not do any picking when the hair is wet - this just makes it harder.
I do not bother with Nix or Rid. These are pesticide brands and the last time I did lice treatments they were 100% ineffective. A Brand called Lice Away and another called Lice MD work the best - instant death. It affects them differently than Nix or Rid. Also, you can use these two more frequently. (My daughter prefers Lice MD)
I put a few drops of tea tree oil into each shampoo bottle. It smells like licorice - so only a few drops are needed. The oil from it acts as a repellent.
Do several weekends worth of treatment (treat - and pick - the first week - then check each weekend after that, treating once) - even if nits are not found. All it takes are one or two tiny lice (itty bitt, hard to see) for it to come back.

Deep cleaning floors and all that jazz- unnecessary. Just do laundry after treatment.

It took me 10 years to figure this out. LOL
 
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I had this problem a lot when I was a kids because I had really looooong hair. It's very easy to pick it up at school if the kids have their bags/coats touching each other, shared furniture (like in the reading corner there might be bean bags or other seating that all the kids use) or if your child likes to share hairbrushes/combs with their friends at slumber parties. You just have to keep shampooing, combing and cleaning EVERYTHING. And talk to the teacher about how the bags/coats are stored.
 
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