Head Lice!?!?

Becky - posted on 02/28/2010

We had to deal with this when my oldest daughter was about 9 months old, she is now 25. My nephews came to live with us and had head lice. Our doc gave me a prescription for a lotion to use on the baby's head (also on the cat) and a shampoo for the older kids and my husband and I. We also had to bag up bedding and stuffed toys etc out in the shed for 2 weeks. Vacuum and spray furniture and carpet. Wash all clothing sheets towels etc in the hottest water possible and use a capful of the shampoo along with reg detergent. Don't waste your time and money with OTC shampoos, get the good stuff from your doc.

Amanda - posted on 02/28/2010

Thank you so much for all your help. I think i am going to go with the tea tree oil and the comb. I will let everyone know how it works. Again thank you so much for your feedback. Amanda

Brandi - posted on 02/28/2010

call your child's pediatrician. The live bugs are only half the problem, you have to get rid of the nits (eggs) they STICK to the hair shaft and can be very hard to remove. Your child's dr. will be able to help you determine something safe for your child to use. Also, you will need to vacuum A LOT and empty the bag IMMEDIATELY or scrub out the filters and holder for the dirt. Put all stuffed animals into plastic garbage bags and tie it up tight. Put them outside for 2 weeks (this will kill the all the lice and the nits that hatch). Anything that can be put in the dryer, put in the dryer ON HIGH for at least 20 mins. coats, hats, gloves, anything like that either dry in the dryer OR use the 2 weeks wrapped in a garbage bag outside. You will have a rough time getting rid of these. So sorry to hear about your loss (and your unfortunate gain). My sister is 9 years younger than me and when I was a senior in H.S. she brought home head lice like 4 times that year. Just when we thought they were gone, it would start all over. IT WAS HORRIBLE. Good luck.

Denise - posted on 02/28/2010

I have four kids and the girls have had lice twice each...Groan. The best remedy is to suffocate the little buggers. Take vaseline and put it all over the baby's head. If you can, get one of those cotton baby caps but line it with plastic- just enough to cover the head. I know, the baby will want to pull it and be hot. If that doesn't work, just leave the vaseline on for at least 24 hours...Get an extra sheet or two for the crib...Keep re-applying if necessary for that time. Then you get that nit comb and comb away.

To get the grease out of the clothes and crib sheet, use a small dishpan of dish washing liquid and apply it to the soiled spots and let it soak overnight. Rinse well. Hang dry to see if the spots have come out. If not, repeat until you see no more spots...

It is a very frustrating thing to have happen for sure. I went crazy for a week! Just be as patient as you can....

Michelle - posted on 02/28/2010

try tea tree shampoo lice dont like this and it keeps them away...you need to check his hair for eggs using a fine tooth comb

Jodi - posted on 02/28/2010

I totally agree with the tea tree oil. I swear by it. If you add drops to shampoo and conditioner, it is a fantastic preventative. I also have a water bottle of diluted tea tree oil that I spray on the kids hair regularly too, and we haven't had problems since we started doing this.

In the meantime, you need to go right through your baby's hair at least once a week until you get rid of them. It sounds like you are missing the eggs. You can get rid of the lice easily, but the eggs are a pain in the neck. You literally need to go right through their hair with a nit comb and get them out. The twice my kdis have had them, I have had to go through them with the comb and to do it properly can take hours. Believe me, spend the hours!!! It is worth it to get rid of them.

Hilary - posted on 02/28/2010

Try shampoos with Tea Tree Oil in it or buy a bottle of tea tree oil at your local Vitamin shoppe. tea tree oil will kill what you have and keep you from getting more. I put a few drops in my kids regular shampoo bottle and they use this everyday to prevent them from ever getting it. You can also buy special shampoo with that ingrediant in it at any Kids Snips, but it is a bit expensive.

Siân - posted on 02/28/2010

Hi Amanda,



Have you tried the 'Nitty Gritty comb'? It is just fantastic, gets everything out with ease. I wish I knew about it years ago!



You won't have to spend money on expensive hair treatments which don't always work very well anyway, and the comb can re-used. Eggs and lice are removed as each prong on the comb is spiralled, so it pulls everything out in one go.



I've introduced a few people to it now and they are all as impressed as me!



Good luck! :)

Tracy - posted on 02/28/2010

try hair conditioner it stuns the lice and they let there gripe go a little, fine tooth comb it through his hair also, u can use tea tree oil, i made my daughter of hair spray stuff off tea tree oil, water and jasmine, the jasmine to hide the smell of the tea tree, it stops the lice staying in there hair, ( thats probably more for when u start him in schools and stuff like that), also my daughter got them and we treated her washed everything and treated myself too, and they just kept coming back i had no idea what to do, then we moved house and i thought that would fix the problem, ( i was blaming her school) anyways they reappeared in the new house and i was like aarhh... anyways my husband decided to flea bomb the house and it got rid of them we have not had them since... they where living in the rugs....

Maddy - posted on 02/27/2010

my little girl picked them up at 6 months old and we found baby oil and a fine toothed comb got rid of them, you have to repeat it like a week later tho coz of eggs being missed and its very hard to keep them still long enough (i geve her a biscuit and put cbeebies on which kept her still just long enough)