Help please, Head lice is running our house!

Mary Cheadle - posted on 06/30/2011

Hi ladies....I've read almost every post and all is great advise. I am sitting here with mayonaise on my head and feeling like an artichoke. I tried the Rid - it was ok. I ended up having to pick up my 7 year old from daycare because she still had a few nits which were probably dead. So, I decided to call the pediatrician, and got something prescribed. In the meantime, I purchased Nix, which is supposed to be the best over the counter. Put it on me and Jessie, then slathered us each in mayo. I'm washing and bagging. It's exhausting. But, wanted to post about ROBOCOMB. It's battery operated and will kill live lice. Not eggs. Its zaps them and it's fantastic. Great reviews on Amazon. $25 at Walgreens. Worth the investment to have around the house. Good luck all = )

Lora - posted on 06/15/2011

For boys the best thing is to give them a buzz cut. The lice can't hold on to short hair. For my children I used mayo and vinegar. The mayo softens the nits and suffocates the adults. The vinegar breaks the bond that the nits have on the hair. You still need to go through his hair. I recommend getting a good nit comb and combing thru his hair EVERY day. Also, clean anything that his head comes into contact with.

JuLeah - posted on 06/15/2011

Tea Tree Oil - Lice hate that smell and will stay away from it. So, after you have killed them, mix some oil and water and spray his hair, pillows, blankets.

Prior, wash all blankets, pillows, in very hot water. Wash all brushes, hats .... very hot water.

Put him under a bright light, and in front of the TV, then get as many nits out as you can. Every day do this until there are no more nits to be found. Then check every other days for a few weeks until you know they are gone.

Everyone in the house needs to be treated, all pillow and blankets, hates, burshes ....

Get shampoo/condish that has a tea tree oil base and use it every day, so the oil is always in yoru hair .... good luck

Kathy - posted on 06/15/2011

I'm gonna sit here and read through the posts, but we just recently found lice on my 21 month old... Was very embarrasing cause we were taking her for a hair cut and the hair dresser found it. We live in a small town so limited resources, we got what the drug store had, it seemed to kill the bugs but she wouldn't let us put vinegar in her hair to help loosen the nits as they told us to. In fact she screamed with the lice shampoo, screamed at the comb, screamed at the vinegar and wouldn't let us even touch her. After the long battle knowing there were still dead bugs, maybe even live ones, and eggs left we decided it would be better just to cut it off, hoping that she takes after her father and it grows back QUICKLY. After reading some advice here there and everywhere I've decided that as it grows back I'm getting her coconut shampoo and she's using hairspray or something to help keep it out and I sure hope it works!! We can't figure out where it came from since she's been out of Daycare for 2 months now.

Tammy - posted on 02/13/2011

Tea Tree Oil also works wonders as a prevenative measure if you just add a few drops into your bottle of shampoo. You can find bottles of Tea Tree Oil in most pharmacy isles for less than 10.00.

Denise - posted on 02/12/2011

Do be careful with the shampoos from the pharmacy. Most of them are extremely toxic and some children have had reactions to them.

Karen - posted on 02/12/2011

Go to the pharmacy!!!!! They have a special shampoo for lice, or you can go to the hairdresser. Also, wash EVERYTHING! Should be good to go.

Misty - posted on 02/12/2011

I had lice myself when I was twelve and it is not hard to get rid of. but washing his head in vinegar works.. it will kill the lice... but to really make sure you have it all gone you will need to comb through his head strand by strand like when he is asleep or something.. or you could just buzz off his head and get rid of all his combs and pillows and hats...

Pam - posted on 02/12/2011

Make sure all his pillows, stuff animals, sheets, furniture, coats everything he comes in contact with are cleaned, vaccumed, put in the dryer. Head lice don't like heat so if you could get him to let you blow dry his hair and use lots of conditioner around the ears and back of neck. We had a situation where my granchildren had to get there hair cut really short they just somehow kept giving it back and forth. I hate putting those chemicals on a child so if there are other ways to help keep them gone i do it. Even vaccum ur dog if he likes to snuggle with the dog. If he has a favorite tv program activity etc. try to combine them take a break and go back later. Story time at night when he needs to be calmer lol might be a good time to double check, just any time he is still check him. Clean clean clean God bless u will b n my prayers

Isobel - posted on 02/11/2011

yes...a preventative...not a cure :)

Denise - posted on 02/11/2011

Tea tree oil. It is amazing. We mix a bit in a spray bottle of water and then add a few drops of something nice smelling like lavendar oil. Shake and spray hair daily. It has worked really well. Public Health in some places is now recommending tea tree oil as a preventative for lice.

Isobel - posted on 02/11/2011

I would buzz him, in fact, I did buzz my son, then you and the rest of your family need to be checked and treated...then anything that CAN be put into the dryer (like bedding) without melting should be put in on high for two hours...anything that might melt (teddy bears) should be bagged for at least a week.

Lice can't live off the scalp for more than 24 hours but they can lay a lot of nits in that day and it takes a week for them to hatch.

If you are using a commercial treatment...read it carefully. Most people seem to think they are shampoos, but most are actually conditioners and DO NOT WORK IF THERE IS CONDITIONER ON THE HAIR BEFORE YOU USE IT OR IF YOU USE CONDITIONER FOR A WEEK AFTERWARDS.

Lastly, you need to nit pick every day or every other day.

Try to do it all in one day if possible. Good Luck and Happy Nitpicking

Sherri - posted on 02/11/2011

An easy fix because he is a boy give him a short buzz cut. It will grow back and it will solve the problem 100% as long as you wash everything washable, spray down car seats, couchs, mattresses, and bag up all stuffed animals.

April - posted on 02/11/2011

It is extremely important not to use traditonal lice treatments on children as they contain pesticides. Please read Jesse's story www.headlice.org. This mother lost her son to leukemia after treating him with pesticide lice treatments. Pesticide exposure is the number one cause of childhood leukemia. Her website gives some great tips on how to treat the lice naturally. You can use tea tree oil to kill the lice. I would put several drops in his shampoo as a preventative as the tea tree oil will soak into his scalp and his hair making it an uninviting place for lice. They can not take the tea tree oil. When using tea tree oil to treat lice you have to use it every day until the lice and nits are gone. You have to wash his bedding every day in hot water. You can also use extra virgin olive oil on his hair to comb it out, the oil will make it hard for the nits to stick to the hair. It's something that you just have to be very, very diligent with but I can not stress enough not to use pesticide lice treatement on children. Very dangerous.

Mabel - posted on 02/11/2011

DO NOT USE ON SMALL KIDS.THE SMELL WITH KILL THEM!!!! My dad served in the army before I was thought of and when the guys would get lice the drill Sargent would take a bar of lie soap(from the drugstore)and a bottle of clear rubbing alcohol.Cut the pieces of soap up into the bottle of alcohol and shake until dissolved then pour on hair....let stand in hair for a few minutes and then rinse wash and rinse again.I can guarantee the lice are dead and take the rest of bottle and spray the pillows and other things he comes into contact with that won't fit into the washer.Easy as a hell and the lice won't come around for a while after this crap,but like I said it smells like hair color and will make your head feel like it is freezing cold.

Lori - posted on 02/11/2011

I battled this annoying issue for SEVERAL months with my daughter about six years ago. I tried EVERYTHING... Standard OTC treatments, daily nit picking, Mayo, olive oil, tea tree oil, etc. The only thing I found that worked was an all natural treatment I found at www.headlicecure.com. I was definitely skeptical about trying an unknown product purchased online. Much to my amazement, by the 2nd treatment my daughter was lice free. My best friend's two year old also had it back in late summer and she just couldn't get rid of it either. I gave her an extra bottle of this "cure" and after one use, she had no further problems.

Kelly - posted on 02/10/2011

Either your not getting rid of it or he is picking it up from some other household or kid...so some of the tips here are good. I have also heard of using oil and then wrapping the head in a plastic shower cap and sleeping over night in it. It drwons them. So maybe the other tips here are the same. I had two girls use that method and they had long hair. Also just get him a buzz cut before this and shorten the length and make it easier to get them all.

Amanda - posted on 02/09/2011

Have to admit i have not heard of a few of those treatments but am more than willing to give them a try, will be funny to see how he reacts to peanut butter and mayo on his hair lol I have tried many of the store treatments (lyclear, hedrin etc) and many conditioners and cleaning of pillows and blankets and whilst they seem to work for a short time they seem to come back. Never thought of the car seat needing cleaning though so will def be doing that. Thank you all so much for your help, i will give these ideas a try and let you know how it goes. :) x

OWENS - posted on 02/09/2011

ty to wash his hai every other night instead of every night your head needs to have some oils in it for scalp health anyway and the lice dont care for that to much.

OWENS - posted on 02/09/2011

after you use the lice treatment soak his hesd in peanutbutter.leave it on till is startes to get kind of hard then wash out.the eggs and what ever will stick to it then you can just go over it with a fine comb a few times to sweeo the rest out.gross but it realy works.

D. Christine - posted on 02/09/2011

black bags for all stuffed animals ,, hot water to wash all you can ,, dont forget to spray his chair in car,, and lots of cleaning it takes time and dont give up sorry hun,, i used Mayo in hair leave it on for at least on hour let him run with it ,, those other stuff burnt my kidos hair,, and pray bunches for patiences

Louise - posted on 02/09/2011

Get some lyclear and treat the whole family. Throw away his pillow and buy a new one and vacuum his bed and head board. When you wash his hair use lots of conditoner as the lice find it difficult to grip the hair. Us a nit comb every other day to make sure he has not picked up any more. If your son is at school ask the school to send a letter out asking all parents to treat their children so that the risk of spreading them is curtailed.

Katherine - posted on 02/09/2011

What have you tried?