Ewww! She Has Cootie Bugs!!!!

Updated on May 13, 2008
K.A. asks from Land O Lakes, FL
43 answers

Okay I am so frustrated and don't know what to do. We discovered my daughter had lice after attending a birthday party last Saturday. Turns out one of the other little girls had it and her mother thought it was ok to send her and not alert anyone. (GRRRRRR) Anyway, so after using NIX, dog shampoo (I know you're not supposed to use it on humans but my sister-in-law told me it works great), mayonaise treatments, vinegar, blow drying, greasing her scalp, a full bottle of baby oil, 10 loads of laundry, some spray stuff for the carpets,etc and quarentine she was lice free by day 5. 2 days later she has it again and to make it worse my 6 month old son now has it too. I don't know what to do! I am black hispanic and I never had to deal with this growing up. To be quite frank it disgusts me. I want to chop off all her hair but Daddy won't allow it. Please, please, please HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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So What Happened?

First and foremost I would like to thank everyone for the advice. I think the tea tree oil is what worked. I applied some to their head and covered with a plastic shower cap. For my 3 yr old I sat her under a stand up dryer on med heat for 15 mins then washed it out with an olive oil shampoo that I added some tea tree oil to. my baby I did the same except since I couldn't use the dryer, I just left it on his head an hour. I haven't found anything since (*knock on wood*) and to make sure we had the house bombed and carpets shampooed the next day. I've slowly started opening bags, shaking out and inserting items in the dryer. I've got 1/2 my couch back now. Yay me!! :) I do want to warn against the NIX. I kept the treatment on my daughter's head 9 mins and it burned the hairline from her ears to the nape of her neck. In regards to child she received it from, that little girl has been in the cul-de-sac everyday still. Now I'm scared to let her back out!!!

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D.B.

answers from Tampa on

I suffered with lice with my daughter at school. The cleaner the hair, the more likely to get lice. I found that treating my daughter's hair weekly with tea tree oil kept the lice bugs away. You can find it at almost any drug store. I hope this helps you.

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J.C.

answers from Tampa on

Oh K., I hear your frustration!!! Last September my son came home from his 15mth shots and to my dismay I discovered the head lice. He has beautiful long curly shiny black ringlets and when I was combing out his hair I noticed the lice. I was in absolute denial thinking it was maybe a fruit fly. Long story short...It was the week from hell, but I learned more about lice than I ever wanted to. My son is afro-american and it is unusual in our culture because of our hair texture and the fact that we use a lot of oiler products in our hair. I had to get over the gross factor very quickly and get to work. I did everything you did, plus I had to sit him in his high chair (in front of the tv with snacks I would never normally give him) while I went thru every strand of hair to comb out the nits. I discovered where the expression "nit picking" came from. They are the hardest things to see because they look like lint, except they literally stick to the hair folicles. Lots and lots of patience... shockingly no one else in the house had lice. The nits are your biggest demons. One lice can lay over 50 eggs/nits a day. One thing that helped me was I poured a big glass of water and once I got a nit off, I would put it in the glass and I noticed that if it was a nit, it would float and magnify it... and if it was a piece of lint, then it would sink to the bottom of the glass..... I know the whole thing is just disgusting.... I took it very personally because I consider myself a neat freak and germ phobic!! My husband wanted to cut the hair off, but I couldn't let it go without a fight. I also used the nit shampoo three weeks in a row just to be sure. Very challenging with a toddler, but he kept his hair and is nit free. Your going to have to grit your teeth, but you will get thru it and feel like the Super Mom you already are!!! Best of luck!

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A.F.

answers from Tampa on

from experience - once you get her clean - use tea tree oil shampoo. lice HATE IT!!!! and they stay away. i had a terrible time keeping my daughter clean because my sister would not sit down and pull all the nits out of her daughters' hair.

now to avoid all the chemicals, next time - soak her hair and scalp in regular rubbing alcohol and then wash it out with your regular shampoo. then soak her hair and scalp in vinegar (white or apple cider - which ever you prefer). then rinse it out with plain water. put the conditioner in her hair so you can comb it out easily. sit down and pull all the nits out (and dead bugs that didn't wash out).

you can do the same with your son. these are natural remedies that won't hurt him like the NIX and such as.

these remedies work. i used them on my children and myself when i caught it from my children.

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G.B.

answers from Tampa on

Hi K.,

First, let me say you are NOT alone. We never had any run ins with lice until my daughter started kindergarten last year. We were lucky enough to dodge the bullet until the middle of 1st grade. This school year alone, we have received the wonderful letter someone in her class has lice atleast 5x. Searching the internet and finding out how dangerous the typical lice treatments are brought me to a wonderful Wellness Company with safe, natural products most based on tea tree oil. I've pasted an article below. Since using a tea tree shampoo, my daughter has not had any problems. If you would like more information you can email me. Head lice is indiscriminate. Clean, dirty, rich or poor, we all are the same to them. Good luck.

Dear Melaleuca friend,

I recently came across the following article in "USA Today" regarding Lindane,
a regularly prescribed lice treatment, and a sharp warning the FDA issued to
drugmaker Morton Grove Pharmaceuticals. The drugmaker recommends that two
applications of Lindane are required (several days apart) to effectively treat
head lice. What's frightening is the FDA's statement that this is, "extremely
alarming given that re-treatment with Lindane shampoo can lead to increased
exposure and possibly death."

If you've read any of our materials on head lice, you're already aware of
this problem, but it’s good to see it reported in the mainstream press.
Click on the link below to read the article:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-01-30-lindane_N.htm

I offer up one word of caution regarding the article. You'll see that "USA
Today" offers alternatives to Lindane. Unfortunately the alternatives are
dangerous pesticides as well. In our book, "The Melaleuca Wellness Guide" we
offer safe alternatives to the standard prescribed treatments. Additionally,
our "Head Lice Research Report" has important information on Lindane, Malathion,
and the other chemicals commonly prescribed for head lice. Click on the link
below to access this free report:

http://www.rmbarry.com/research/lice-melaleuca-oil.html

Sincerely,
Richard M. Barry

Try to have a great day!

G.

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K.R.

answers from Tampa on

Stop using the over the counter stuff. You are putting poison directly on your child's skin and letting it sit there for 10 minutes. It isn't safe.

There is great advise already given to you in the posts. What worked for us was to wash the kids hair then load it up with as much conditioner as we could. It took an entire bottle for my daughter's long hair, but it worked. Let it set for 10 minutes or longer and then rinse. You will then need to go through their hair and pick out the nits every day for a few weeks. We invested in a metal nit comb. Well worth the money.

You don't need to spray either. Just vacuum daily and keep the stuffed animals put away for a few weeks. Lice can be treated without the poisons.

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J.B.

answers from Tampa on

I would be afraid to use any chemicals on the baby, and the hair may be more fine so the NIX comb might not catch the eggs adhering to the hair shaft - for the baby I truly think it would be easier to cut all the hair off.... The only way I have seen all the nits removed is to first do the vinegar rinse to swell them, mixed with oil to make the hair slippery; then part the hair off, in rows, about one-sixteenth inch deep sections about 3 inches wide. Hold a white 3x5 card under each section with the thin strip of hair held tightly across it and you can see the nits. Then you can scape each one off the hair shaft with the fingernails of your thumb and forefinger , like you were picking it off after sliding it down the shaft. This was the ONLY way we got my one child lice free and it took me 10 hours to do it...We tried everything else first. It was the nightmare of my life.... This may be harder with very curly hair; my daughter's hair is very straight, but also very long.

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I.K.

answers from Tampa on

I have been through this myself, many years ago..as far as your 6 month old all you can do it oil and pick it out. When I was going through this I got to the point that you are at and it is hard. I found the best thing is oil treatments with a shower cap on the head for 5 to 7 hours and then comes the process of combing and picking. They have some good lice combs at Walmart that are metal and you can disinfect and save. I stopped using the chemical based shampoo's when I heard it caused seizures in some children because they are actually pesticides. If I can be of any more help please feel free to write me. My name is I. and I have 4 children 3 are grown with their own and 1 is in high school, I also have 2 grown step children and 9 grandchildren between my hubby and I so I have been there more than once! My email address is ____@____.com.

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R.D.

answers from Tampa on

I would highly recommend trying some of the natural treatments first because it will be much safer for your young children. Once you have treated them, I would start using a shampoo with tea tree oil for your whole family to avoid re-infestation. Tea tree oil is a natural way to keep lice away! Prevention is the best way to deal with lice. Much less work that clearing up an infestation. I do carry a botanically based shampoo with tea tree oil in it. If you are interested in trying a sample let me know & I can mail it to you. You can also check it out on my website at http://www.naturalsolutions4you.myarbonne.com the product is Item#: 760 Arbonne Intelligence Daily, Self-Adjusting Shampoo with Tea Tree Oil (18 fl oz) $25.00 It is very concentrated. I have long hair and a bottle lasts me almost 6 months. If you have any questions feel free to call me at ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com Good luck!
R.

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E.B.

answers from Fort Myers on

Hi,
My name is E. and I am a Kindergarten teacher in Italy and am used to this uneasy situation... (caught them myself last year...) Unfortunately there is no prevention to lice and the only thing to do is to go through the treatment (regular shampoo, never heard of dog shampoo but if it works well better!) and then check the child's hair daily and remove the lendins. Either you use a very thin comb or simply by hand. The lendin won't detach unless you "unthred" it all along the hair. This is something you should do daily until you find none are left. Just to make you feel a little better: they found out that lice only go on clean hair...
ciao!
E.

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L.F.

answers from Tampa on

Hi K.,
I know how you feel! I'd never come across it before, and then my daughter (with beautiful long auburn wavy hair) got it 3 times in 3 years. The only thing that worked for us was a natural method using olive oil we found in a book we got from the library called "Head Lice to Dead Lice" or something like that. It's a great book b/c it explains all about lice, that they prefer CLEAN hair to dirty and don't like hair coloring (hence, I've now highlighted my hair to be immune!), hair gels, etc. and it outlines the method for cleaning your house to get rid of them (ie: putting away all stuffed animals, etc. in dark plastic bags for a couple of weeks), etc. Also, it explains that products like Nix don't work on many lice anymore b/c they've become immune.
I'm so sorry you're going through this. It's a long process, but you will get rid of them eventually.
good luck!
L.

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R.G.

answers from Tampa on

The best way to pick nits is too go outside in the sun.The nits shine and make it easier to pick them out.Especially on dark hair it really helps.Take a comb and go thru every lil bit of hair.The nits are the problem,because left unpicked they hatch.
I had this when my daughter was in pinellas county schools and I used tea tree oil with baby oil.Vinegar helps to wash out and a good blow dry.
Best of luck,
R.

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J.W.

answers from Lakeland on

DAWN DISH SOAP!! put very little water in her hair, soap her up with dawn, put a shower cap on, then let it sit for about 20 minutes. rinse it all off and then pull out all the bigs and eggs. i promise this works. my mom had such a problem with me when i was little because i don't sweat much and my hair isn't oily so it stayed very very clean. lice can't live in dirty hair so the cleaner your hair the easier it is to catch them. my mom would get rid of it and a week later i'd have it again. my friend's mom told her about this and we tried it. i swear to you, i NEVER had lice again...even when i was constantly surrounded by kids that couldn't get rid of lice.

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M.L.

answers from Lakeland on

You Poor thing! I have been there many times myself. I am native american and allowed a needy child to spend the night with me years ago and I got lice for the first time in my 45 yrs. It is a night mare. First of all, did you take a lice comb and do small locks at a time to comb out the eggs? This is a must! I had long hair and it takes hours to do this. You must check and recheck to make sure you got all the eggs which kind of look like little grains of salt stuck to the hair shaft.When 1 is found and the special comb will not get it out, use your fingernails to run down hair shaft and pull it off and dump it down sink, toilet what ever is handy that won't let it hatch, I put them on a white paper towel until I was done and then flushed them. They look like little slivers on something white after you pull them off. Then comes the lice shampoo or I have used dog flea shampoo on myself also and let it stay on much longer than the 5 minutes they reccomend for dogs. I washed everything and hung it on the line. Wrong! It takes the heat of a dryer to kill them so I got them back. UGH! Take your pillows, mattress pads and bedding and use a dryer. Blankets everything. Also use the spray on the other furniture she has come in contact with. Check yourself and all other members of the family for nits (eggs). They stick to the shaft and hair collects dust so if it comes right off it isn't an egg, if it is stuck to the hair, it is. You also must go thru this routine again in a week to 10 days as an egg or 2 might have been missed or not killed by the shampoo. Also alert the school as she may or the other child may have passed them on to other kids whose parents don't know and she may have become reinfected that way. Schools will refuse to allow an infected student back until all lice are gone. Hope this helps as I well know the night mare you are facing. My mother told me that if you wash your hair in pert or prell at least once a month, you won't get lice. I have never tried it myself but they say there is something in those two shampoos that lice don't like. Good luck!

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A.F.

answers from Naples on

I have the cure! There is a neighbor of mine that goes to my church and because they don't clean their home of the bugs they re infest themselves all the time. Lice are small parasitic insects that feed on blood. You need to shampoo with Naturals melaleuca oil shampoo and bathe in a tub of hot water with one ounce of Sol-U Mel and 1 oz of Renew bath oil, after rub scalp with t36-c5 melaleuca oil (tea tree oil)to soften and dislodge the nits. Comb the hair and wrap your head with a hot towel for 10 min. Repeat if necessary. You can add 2 oz of Sol-U-Mel to 16 oz of water and spray the entire house. And you can add 2oz of Sol-U-Mel to your laundry. If you need assistance finding these products call me###-###-####. Even RID has poison in it that should not be absorbed in to skin.
Best of luck!
Amy

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C.B.

answers from Lakeland on

My oldest daughter got a really bad infestation while I was pregnant with the youngest baby lasty year.

She has thick hair so silly old me at 5 months pregnant, standing 5 hours a day trying to extract these bugs was insane. I tried every product in the market for my oldest daughter, but the school nurse gave advise on olive oil. I used to have the instructions but I have no idea where they are but I research a little on the internet and found this. You have to battle the incubation process, but you can be successful, trust me I was going crazy but we won this battle.

The website I found is this one:

http://www.essortment.com/all/naturallicetre_rigf.htm

Hope this helps. I don't know about the Dawn soap, I never tryied it. I would use the baby shampoo instead, that what I used. Hope this helps, C.

********************************************

Lice: the very word horrifies parents. Many lice myths exist and create shame for kids and parents alike. The truth is that lice actually prefer clean heads over dirty, so lice is not a sign of poor hygiene. Also, like many insects, lice seem to be building up a tolerance to some of the chemicals used to kill them. So while it seems to be easier to get lice in our crowded classroom conditions, it also seems to be tougher to get rid of them. Plus, lice killing pesticides have begun to be scrutinized by parents – how safe are they? Do you really want to be dousing your young child with pesticides, especially since most lice infestations seem to require treatment again and again?

Actually you can rid your child completely of lice without commercial lice killers – in fact, without pesticides at all. All you need is a big bottle of olive oil, a bottle of Dawn dish soap and a nit comb.


First, dress your child in old clothes as olive oil can leave oil stains. Tuck a paper towel collar around your child’s neck to catch drips. Sit your child in a high seat (perhaps using phone books or plastic covered cushions to raise seat height) over the sink. Then, slowly saturate hair with oil working on one small section at a time. The scalp must be very oily.

Then, leave the oil on the hair for about 30 minutes. The oil covers the lice and eggs, preventing them from breathing. Unlike pesticides, suffocation does not seem to be something lice can build up immunity against! If you are working with long hair, you may want to put it up in a clip during the wait time.

After 30 minutes, comb hair with a regular plastic comb. If you are working with long hair, section it and put the sections up with clips. Then, with a metal nit comb, (found in most drugstores) comb through the hair in one-inch sections. Rinse your comb often in very hot soapy water. Watch for lice trying to escape the oil by coming to the surface or hanging out around the hairline.

After combing completely with the nit comb, wash hair in Dawn dishwashing liquid to cut the grease. Rinse hair and then wash with regular shampoo and follow with conditioner. Repeat the oiling every other day for two weeks. You will not need to use the nit comb during these subsequent oilings.

At the end of two weeks, repeat the first olive oil process, complete with the nit comb. If no live lice are found during this comb out, you can consider your problem cured. You will need to eliminate any possible infestation of pillows, bedding or soft toys also. Lice cannot live away from a host for more than 48 hours, so toys can be treated by placing in a large plastic bag and secured tightly for two days. Also, lice can be killed in pillows or bedding by washing in hot water and drying in a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes.

Check children weekly for possible re-infestation from contact in school. Early detection makes lice killing much easier. Teach you child not to share hairbrushes, combs and hair decorations or hats…but if lice do happen, don’t panic, just get oily.

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C.E.

answers from Tampa on

i read this post and it brought back some memories of 20 years ago. my daughter got lice so much yet her littke brother rarely got it. and my son in all his wisdom said to me 1 day "mom i donm't get lice becasue i use mousse" well i started thinking about it and by gosh i think he was right. so once i got the lice under control i started to use hair products with alcohol and it kept it under control. it is time consuming expensive and just plain old big pain in the butt. so once u get it under control again try to usde hairspray , mousse, gel and see if it works for u good luck!

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S.D.

answers from Sarasota on

K.,

First of all, don't just panic and use the products in the drugstore. They are very toxic and,
therefore, more harmful in the long run than the bugs. Here is a natural remedy you can try:

Wash child's hair with a simple shampoo, but add two teaspoons of coconut oil to it. Lather
thoroughly, rinse and repeat. Wrap the child's head in t towel and leave it on for half an hour.
Remove the towel and comb the hair with a nit comb ( a special comb for getting the bugs and their eggs out--think they are available in drugstores). Finally, wash the hair and rinse again. It might also help to use a shampoo on a regular basis that contains coconut oil. I would suggest just using Dr. Bronner's liquid soap which contains coconut oil. Hope it works! S. Danu

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K.J.

answers from Tampa on

This will help keep the lice away,I know it works b/c my boys have not gotten lice in over a year b/c of this.I use coconut shampoo when I wash their hair everytime they get showers.
You can also use Tree Tea oil in the shampoo.
Lice don't like coconut scented stuff.
Good Luck.

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E.W.

answers from Tampa on

try nix it is made just for head lice and works great. a friends daughter had very long hair and she wanted to cut her hair off but went to the grug store and spoke to the hair off but went to the grug store and spoke to the hair off but went to the grug store and spoke to the pharmacist and was told to use that. saved her beautiful long hair and lice free

I would buy an extra bottle or two one to have on hand and one to give the parent of the child that is spreading it around... maybe that way te parent will get the hint!

by the way if it were so TOXIC it wouldn't be allowed to be sold. this works and is made just for this... not some home remedy from an unqualfied person that believes she is a specialist.... even the pharmacist said this is 100% safe and well he is trained and my friend asked the childs doctor prior to use and the doctor agreed... so there are the facts do as you will...

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M.K.

answers from Punta Gorda on

If you don't comb all of the nits out, they will hatch again in 2 or 3 days and you'll end up with lice all over again. Since her hair is dark, you should be able to see the nits if you go out and sit in the sun... it will take forever, but just comb every strand with the little comb that comes with the lice removal stuff.

Thankfully I have not had to deal with this yet as a mom, but I remember my brother and I having lice when I was little. So sorry you have to go through this, yuck!

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G.D.

answers from Fort Myers on

did you spray your car? and car set? They also need to be sprayed. now you need to start over. Sorry, G.

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T.F.

answers from Tampa on

My daughter had lice when she was younger too it just seems to be a right of passage ugh. Make sure you wash all her bedding very good & take any stuffed animals shse has & put them in a trash bag closed tightly for at least 24 hours. Once the bugs are all gone color her hair , lice hate color treated hair. Not sure what to do about the babies hair since hes so young. Good luck.

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A.S.

answers from Lakeland on

wow !i see you tried a lot of treatments but i hope you didnt over look one very important detail of getting rid of lice...make sure all the eggs are gone! that means you need to pick them out one by one! make sure you put the stuffed animals into large garbage bags w spray and let them sit for awhile! also you mentioned you are black hispanic and alot of people have the misconception that black people cant get lice...UNTRUE...so you might want to have yourself checked! good luck!

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R.W.

answers from Tampa on

For starters find out where she is getting the lice from. Also make sure it is head lice. Sometimes children can get fleas from dogs and they are mistaken for head lice. Then go to Walgreens and talk to someone at the pharmacy. They will give you a pamplet explaining head lice and everything you need to do to get rid of it and keep it gone. Good Luck!

PS: When head lice was going around school when my girls were little they were lucky not to get it. But I was told by others to quit washing their hair so much as lice actually like clean hair better than dirty hair. That really surprised me to hear this.

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L.S.

answers from Sarasota on

Hi K.,I had a similar thing happen, only the child came to our house days before we moved out of state...lo and behold, when we got to our new home...LICE! I have 3 kids, one being severely disabled with Autism...I literally spent EVERY night for weeks with a flashlight, flea comb and some packaging tape, picking the little buggers out of their hair by hand and sticking them on the tape... AND LOTS of laundering the bedding along with their clothes in VERY HOT water and soap every day...eventually I got rid of them. What happens is that you can get rid of the adults, but then the EGGS HATCH and there you go again...Best advice is to really make sure you stay on top of it. I had head checks every day before and after school for my kids. for many weeks.
Good luck! L.

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A.C.

answers from Sarasota on

Over the counter RID should work. Use the shampoo and the comb that they sell. Wash everything in hot water. If that doesn't work, see your doctor. There are prescription strength products you can try.

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N.G.

answers from Tampa on

Tara seems to have all the instructions down pat, and I feel I should stress a few things.

COMB more than you think you should, then comb again! Make sure you treat all your furniture, pillows, blankets, bag up those stuffed animals and anything that is fuzzy or cloth that you can for at least two weeks. It's frustraiting I know, fortunatly I have a boy so I could shave him, but my sister was plagued with lice for an entire school year. They found she was hiding her favorite cloth doll and sleeping with it every night-guess where the lice were hiding??!!

Good luck though and don't forget to comb those nits!!!-Also I am letting everyone know that I am giving out childsafe ID kits to the local moms on this website.They are cards that hold a current picture, info and fingerprints of your daughter and son. That way you have the important stuff ready in case, god forbid, something were to happen. If you are interested in getting some for your two, email me here or at ____@____.com.

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T.S.

answers from Tampa on

Unfortunately that's something that can happen in school aged children. My kids got it twice in their lives. They're not 20 and 21. My daughter had long beautiful hair and the first time, I did cut her hair just in case she caught it again so it would be easier to go through her hair to find and pick out the lice. You buy the over-the-counter lice treatment and than after applying it have to tediously go through the hair to make sure to comb out the eggs. Otherwise, they'll hatch later on and it would appear your child was reinfested. If you don't want to cut her hair, that's the way to go. Just make sure to go through it again and again to make sure it's gone. Than afterwards; after washing everything in hot water, spraying, whatever other means you plan on doing, keep an eye on her hair to make sure they're all gone. Check it daily and if in doubt, do the treatment again. Worst comes to worse, cut her hair shorter but don't chop it all off. That'll make it a little easier to go through. Good luck.

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B.D.

answers from Tampa on

Sorry, I don't have any lice advice, but I think I'd call that other mom and let her know what you are going through. That is just terrible!!

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H.D.

answers from Tampa on

my daughter just had it to, and I about died. Shes only 14 months old!! Luckily we caught it early. I was able to with a lice comb remove the bugs myself, and then went strand by strand through her hair and found all the eggs. Luckily there were no open eggs on her hair, and we *knock on wood* nipped it in the bud. There are a lot of people online who swear by Listerine followed with vinegar, I guess the Listerine kills the bugs and a vinegar soak loosens the glue on the eggs

Good luck, lice sucks!

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L.N.

answers from Lakeland on

Hello K.,

I am a hispanic mother of 5 and never dealt with lice either, until a couple of months ago, when a little girl in my daughters class was sent to school with it. I went to Walgreens drug store and bought a RID package, which has spray for the bed and carpets and shampoo. I used it on my daughters hair, washed sheets and all in one day got rid of the lice. I have not had it back since. I know the feeling I did not want to cut her hair as it is down her back. I hope this works for you, the nurse at school was amazed that my daughter was back in school the next day and without a trace of lice. I washed it 2 to 3 times that night. Good Luck!!!

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M.B.

answers from Tampa on

Make sure that you are treat this 14 days after application. This is when the eggs they laid hatch. Then they should go away after house is treated again as well.
Good luck as this is very frustrating.

M. B

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C.A.

answers from Tampa on

You need to take her to the MD to get a prescription for Ovide or Lindane. I am a pharmacist and recommend Ovide because it is less toxic than Lindane. In fact I would only use Lindane as a last resort. Often times the over the counter stuff does not work. You need to get a prescription from the doctor! If your MD is booked consider going to a walk in clinic or pediatric after hours. The quicker you take care of this the better. Lice multiply fast!

Also sheets, stuffed animals and all alike must be washed in hot water- quarentine. You probably will need to treat the entire family.

Good luck!

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A.T.

answers from Lakeland on

Hey try Blue Magic in the black hair care section at Walmart or any store. Cover your kids hair in it, wait 5 minutes and wash, wash, wash. Grease is the reason african americans don't get lice. The bug can't breathe in it. Good luck.
A.

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D.H.

answers from Lakeland on

Hello,
I know just how you feel. When my son was 7 or 8 we had the same problem over and over and I kept treating with the Nix and then started checking the kids who he played with regular. I found 1 boy continued to have them so I did not allow him over anymore or for my son to play with him and that worked. many of us Mothers have had that problem so you are not alone!! It does not mean that you are not taking care of your children at all, my daughter did catch from her brother also. They are now in 20's and 30's. Check the friends....
You do have to make sure all the nits are combed out! That can be hard to do depending on the color of the hair.
Good Luck. Deborah

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J.M.

answers from Tampa on

I just sent a post about lice. This is the third time my girls got it! We treated it with Rid, then Nix, then Ceptal hand lotion with a hair dryer. Then I ordred Fairy Tales Lice shampoo on their website. I spray daily, wash sheets, blankets, carseat covers, etc. I hear tea tree oil is good by adding it to your shampoo. I feel your pain as I had to tell the school and they sent out flyers back in Dec. The last two times my daughters got it I didn't tell the school as I treated her on the breaks. It's very frustrating and I'm still searching for a "cure". Oh yeah, I vacuum daily and replaced brushes twice! Put stuffed animals in a garage/trash bag for 2 weeks or longer. If i think of other things I've tried I will post them. Good luck, I feel your pain. I never had lice in all my 33 years. It's really hard to deal with.

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C.S.

answers from Tampa on

This should make you feel better: Lice is attracted to Clean hair not dirty! So at least you are clean........Sorry about your lice prob, un fotunately its a part od a kids life, I had it back in the day, man it was a pain.....mom had to comb through my thick long curly hair all day!

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T.H.

answers from Tampa on

this sounds like a really bad case see your pediatrician maybe you need medication that is not over the counter

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K.P.

answers from Tampa on

Hello K., couldnt imagine what your going through. My older sister's boys ended up getting lice, it sounds like your doing the right thing. You have to clean the sheets with HOT water everytime they use them. along with there clothes. Its every night using the comb and shampoo. After time it will go away. Its crazy how often you have to do that and it gets overwhelming but the key is repition. I hope youcan get rid of them!! Good luck!!

K. P

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K.F.

answers from Tampa on

I saturated her hair with Avon skin so soft oil wrapped it in a towel and left in on overnight ( 10 - 12 ) hours. Then wash it out with Dawn dishwashing detergent. Then just keep going through her hair until you can't find anymore nits. After they are gone have her use suave coconut shampoo and conditioner on hair. They are not supposed to like coconut oil!! So far this has worked for us! Good Luck

K.H.

answers from Fort Myers on

you have to make sure ALL bedding, stuffed animals etc are treated as well. Either wash in hot water, or put unwashable stuffed animals/toys in a trash bag, put a few teaspoons of ammonia and seal shut for a few days. Everything will die.

You have to basically treat EVERYTHING in your home, your bed, their beds, couches, etc. And retreat their hair every 7 days.Also, try 1/2alcohol and 1/2vinegar sollution, pour on hair and cover with a shower cap for a few minutes. NOT FOR THE BABY. bigger kids only.
And....by the way....
Usually clean kids with dry scalps get the lice before the dirty hair. They hate grease, oil, hairspray, gel. They like to live in clean, dry scalps. No matter your race.
Good luck.

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K.L.

answers from Naples on

Not fun but what can you do. I know there are other types of lice shampoo ( for humans) out there. If you do that again and then get a tight fitting shower cap and have her wear it as much as possible for a few days. I guess it's supposed to sufficate the eggs. I don't know if it will work but worth a try. Good luck!

Kris L.

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T.A.

answers from Fort Myers on

I would avoid using carpet cleaners and dog flea shampoo. My daughter once had it (I am black and because people of my race are less likely to get head lice) and I wasn't prepared when I got a call from her daycare. I didn't even know what these "egss" looked like.

However, I treated her (waist-long hair)with a product I bought from a health food store. Worked wonders! After removing the nits, I cleaned all linens, pillows, CAR SEAT padding, etc. Didn't have to do another treatment since...Thank Goodness!!!

Today, I use hair gel/mousse on both my daughters' hairs to help prevent bugs (I have heard that they like really clean hair). My daughters do not wash their hair daily. I plan on getting some "TEA TREE OIL" from the natural food store to help prevent an infestation because it's definitely that time of year. I am really trying to prevent rather than deal with another episode.

Good luck with your battle!!!

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