Members
Change Profile

Discussion
Topics
Last Day
Last Week
Tree View

Search Board
Keyword Search
By Date

Utilities
Contact
Administration

Documentation
Getting Started
Formatting
Troubleshooting
Program Credits

Coupons
Best Coupons
Freebie Newsletter!
Coupons & Free Stuff

 

Ugh!! Lice

Moms View Message Board: General Discussion: Archive November 2007: Ugh!! Lice
By Tink on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 04:26 pm:

Is this something most little girls get at one point or another???

I'm totally grossed out about it but I noticed my youngest scratching the back of her head and, sure enough, I found some nits. We did the Rid treatment, washed everyone's bedding in hot water, bagged up the stuffed animals, sprayed all the upholstery with Rid spray, cleaned all the hairbrushes and combs, checked the other kids and dh, had dh check my head (which has been itching like crazy since I found the nits), and kept her home from school today. Unfortunately, after spending 2 1/2 hours combing and picking at her hair (and of course it had to be the child with super thick, waist length hair) last night, she still has a bunch today. I'm literally having to pick them out one by one, which is taking forever and is killing my back. We've been at it for another 2 hours now.

Luckily, I haven't even found a dead louse, much less anything still alive. Does anyone have any tips or tricks to make this even a little easier? Have I forgotten to treat anything that could reinfest her or the rest of us?

By Tink on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 04:39 pm:

One other question, I'm fairly certain I know who she got these from but I don't know the family at all and it's been several weeks since she played with this girl. How in the world do I say "Your kid gave mine lice. Keep her out of school until you've taken care of it"? Honestly, I can't stand this little girl and I'd already talked to my dd about not playing at her house again because of the filth and the lack of safety they provided while my dd was there. Can I call the school and ask them to do a class lice check without causing a problem myself? I've already let the parents of kids she's played know about this so they can be on the lookout. I certainly don't want any other parents to find this by surprise like I had to.

By Anonymous on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 04:49 pm:

I called the school when my neice had them and I told them to check the class out so they did and the rest of the kids in her family were checked to and all were sent home. I did feel a little bad about doing it but my daughter was in school to and I didn't need her to get them. My brother didn't know I called and no one else knew I did it they will never tell anyone but they will check if you call that is something schools hate.

By Happynerdmom on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 05:02 pm:

I'm sorry you're having to deal with this, Tink! BTDT. Both my kids had lice at the same time, but fortunately dd's hair is fine and thin, and ds's hair was really short at the time. It was many years ago and I can't remember exactly what I used, but it took care of it. I'm sure you'll get good advice from someone. As far as the school, you're supposed to let the school nurse know she has lice, and they will most likely do a whole-school check, at least that's how it works around here. You're right, there's no nice way to say "your kid gave my kid lice," especially since you don't know for sure. Unfortunately lice is an equal-opportunity pest and doesn't discriminate between "clean" and "dirty" people, LOL! Good luck! It's a PITA for sure!

By Enchens on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 05:25 pm:

I remember getting lice in elementary. My mom had three of us with long hair to deal with! She finally just cut our hair and then dealt with the lice. I think she used the Rid stuff, or something from the drug store. She did exactly as you did, the laundry, the bedding, combs and brushes, hair stuff, checking everyone else... And yes, the schools are sensitive to stuff like that. You just report to the school that your child had it and they have the school nurse or the equivalent do a headcheck. I remember that I worked in a school office when I was in jr high, and when you sign a child out, you have to put the reason. Well, the children who were signed out to go home because of lice never had that written as a reason. They always had the medical term, and of course, most don't know what that is, so privacy was still kept.

Ditto on lice being equal opportunity. They don't discriminate between male and female either.

By Karen~admin on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 08:00 pm:

BTDT as well. Mine got it in preschool, on picture day, when one of the helpers used the brush I put in Jen's cubby to brush every child's hair with. UGH! The little girl who brought the lice to school wasn't treated properly at home and the next week we had to do it all over again. This child's head was literally crawling with bugs!

I think many of us have to deal with that at some point.

I feel for ya!!!

By Imamommyx4 on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 08:15 pm:

This is making my head itch.

By Truestori on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 08:37 pm:

Tink,

I remember my daughter getting it in 1st grade. She had blonde hair past her butt and it was a nightmare. UUGGHH I washed everything, and then I would change her sheets and pillow case nightly and put her blanket/pillow in the dryer for 60 minutes before bed. I would take her in the sun daily and clean her hair of all nits. We also put oil and tee tree oil in her hair every night to smoother any suriviors...and left tea tree oil dabbed behind her ears and in her hair with it tied in a high pony tail until all the kids in her class were cleared..Goodluck

By Tink on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 08:52 pm:

Jeez, I just cannot get rid of these nits! I keep combing and picking for an hour at a time then we both need a break. When we start up again, it's like I haven't gotten rid of a single one!

I did let her school know why she was home but nothing was said about checking the rest of the class. Even if they do check, they had a school wide lice check in the middle of October and no one from her class was sent home. I just happened to be working in her room that afternoon. Given the amount of nits I'm finding, I'm fairly certain she's had them at least that long. *sigh* I should probably just accept that she's going to be out of school until Tuesday.

By Colette on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 09:04 pm:

None of my kids or I have gotten lice (I work at the school) I do remember one year, when my youngest was in first grade it was almost an epidemic in her class. She was one of 5 kids that didn't get it (out of 25), as soon as I found out it was in her class I googled it, and I would wash her hair before school, tightly braid it, and then smooth a few drops of pure tea tree oil over her scalp and the braid. I have also heard that coconut oil works. I hope you get rid of them soon.

By Tonya on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:22 pm:

Call the school and ask for a check it is the right of the parents to have this done. If your child has them then they are suppose to do a class check automatically. Good luck.

I have think hair and had them a few times growing up and can remember my parents taking shifts going through my mess of a head looking and picking.

It takes forever good luck!!

By Yjja123 on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:29 pm:

You can put mayo or vaseline on the head and wrap with a towel or plastic wrap. Let it sit all night long and wash out the next day. It will smother the lice and kill any that you could not get.
I can tell you horror stories about the chemicals sold to kill lice. My daughter is lucky not to be blind! She came very close to losing her vision permanently from an over the counter product. Be very careful!

By Marcia on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:34 pm:

Five of the 7 of us had it at one point, and a couple of my girls have had it a few times since. What a pain! We did use the chemical stuff at times, but the best thing was leaving oil in their hair overnight ever few days. You also need to buy a good lice comb, not the one that comes in the package. I paid $25 for mine, and it combs out the bugs and nits. We've never had a problem since I bought that one. If I see anyone scratching, I check right away, but usually it's nothing.

It might not have come from the family you think, because lice prefer clean hair. Once I got rid of it, I put lots of gel and hair spray in their hair, and tightly braided it.

Good luck!

By Crystal915 on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:35 pm:

Poor kid!! I remember getting lice when I was in elementary school, it was just MISERABLE! I hope you guys can get rid of them easily!!

By Cat on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:35 pm:

Thankfully I've never had to deal with lice, either having it or my children having it. I do have two boys, though and if worse came to worse they'd have very short hair! lol I do remember the school-wide checks--the principal coming around with two pencils. Ew! Good luck, Tink.

By Unschoolmom on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:48 pm:

Tink - Could you call up the parents in question and just say that you found lice in your daughter's hair and were calling to let them know in case their child caught it from your daughter?


My daughter got them when she was five (I thought we might miss out on lice since we homeschool, I still have NO idea where on earth she got them from) and I just let any parents of kids she might possibly have played with know and framed it as me concerned that they might have caught it from my daughter.

By Wandilu on Thursday, November 8, 2007 - 10:56 pm:

My DD and my DS"s 3 kids each just went thru this. All 6 of the kids had them at the same time.Actually my DD's kids caught them and passed them to my DS's kids ( hey, thats what family's do...SHARE :) Anyway, it took them over 2 months of CONSTANT treatment to finally get rid of them. My DD buzzed both of her boys hair, which took care of their's. They were almost bald!! Luckily in was in the summer. But her DD, age 5, was another story.It was a battle to get rid of hers. And ,they all did the extensive cleaning,etc, and treated the parents hair as well. My son spent over $300 in the process of ridding their family. My DDIL has very long thick hair, as does their oldest DD. Please be careful useing the ones like RID , because these are actual pesticides and can be very harmful. You can look up natural remedies for lice on the web and get some good ideas. The Tea Tree oil is really good.A good trick to keep them from coming back...put mouse/gel/and or hairspray on their hair each day.The lice are not able to attach to the hair .

By Dawnk777 on Friday, November 9, 2007 - 12:25 am:

Sarah got them, when she was 2 (from the babysitter, which I found, when I called, that it had been going through her house). I was pregnant with Emily and I had it, too. She still had fairly short hair and it wasn't that advanced on her. One treatment did the trick for both of us. The doctor had to call over to OB, to find out what I could use. They recommended Nix and I did use it. Obviously, Emily is fine.

It was just so much work to clean everything and wash everything and vacuum everything. Ugh. Plus I felt so bad bagging up the stuffed animals for 2 weeks, too. I guess I must have done a good enough job, because we have never had them since.


Add a Message


This is a private posting area. A valid username and password combination is required to post messages to this discussion.
Username:  
Password:
Post as "Anonymous"