Lice Again... Help!

Lice like to live in clean hair.
My daughters both have really long hair that they mostly wear down. To prevent lice I always sprayed their hair with hair spray. They have never had lice even though it has been in their classrooms. Lice has a hard time crawling around in hair with hair spray and will prefer to find another "home". Good luck!

Do you have a Lice Knowing You location near you? They do a much more effective job at getting rid of lice than you can do at home. Also, they sell a lice repellent spray that is very good. Good luck.

If I had to deal with this every year and could narrow it down to the school, I would look into switching schools. Yeah, annual lice would be a big enough deal to warrant that. I am so sorry that you have to deal with that. If my friends told me that they had your experience, I would not visit them or invite them over, and I would tell them why.

First, I don't think you completely got rid of it. That happened to my GD also. She just kept getting it; finally I came to realize that we weren't completely getting rid of it.

Stop using the Rid and switch to Lice MD. When my GD had it continually for about a year, I switched up and ONE APPLICATION of Lice MD got rid of it. You should, and I did, follow-up with a second treatment in about 9 - 10 days but after the first application I never saw any more signs of her having it. The follow-up was done "just to be sure." Seriously, it's been 13 months and still no lice! Yahoo!

Like your household, no one else in the house ever got it. You say you don't bring the coats into the house, but lice can live for a bit of time without a host so I would either wash (if possible) or have those coats dry cleaned. Also, you need to put all stuffed animals and other things that can't be washed in a sealed garbage bag for at least 2 weeks. I left my GD's in the bag for a month just to be sure!

You do know that lice can't jump, hop, etc. They can only crawl. So, if she really was clear, she definitely put something on her head that was infected or she put her head close to someone else's head who was infected (close enough for the lice to walk from one head to another). She can't pick it up simply from being in a classroom with someone else who has it.

Also, blow dry her hair daily. The heat of the blow dryer and the force of the wind will knock any live lice out of her hair. The Lice MD will make her hair slick so that if there are any live boogers left in there, they can't attach the nits to her hair shaft because it's so slick so the life cycle will be broken. That's the trick - break the life cycle.

I do know how frustrating this can be, not to mention the damper it puts on your social life! But truly if you use the Lice MD, vacuum, wash, spray, blow dry, etc., you will get rid of it.

My boys had lice once and it was very easy to get rid of. We treated with R&C shampoo, changed the pillow cases, combed with the nit comb, treated again and they were gone. That was over two years ago. We haven't taken any special precautions, except for wearing the head covers under the helmets at the go-cart place. We used a metal nit comb, it worked much better than the plastic comb that came with the shampoo. Maybe it is because my boys have short hair?

I have heard tea tree oil is good for repelling lice. Put it in shampoo and conditioner and also make a spray of it and spray coats and hats, etc.

Don't want hair everyday. Clean hair is more acceptable to lice.

Also, go to school and find out how coats and hats and personal items are stored. It could be as simple as having your daughter put her coat and hat in her back pack and hang on the back of her chair versus putting her coat next to everyone elses.

I am sorry you are going thru that. We had a lice scare once (and didn't have it) but did all the stuff (wash, vaccum, hair) for two weeks and it was just a pain. Hang in there.

Make sure they are doing what they can in the school and classroom. Coats, hats, mittens, backpacks should all be in a plastic covered bin or garbage bag hanging on their hooks. If they go on a field trip, scouts, etc don't pile coats on top of eachother. Soft stuff, pillows, chairs, animals and carpeting should be gone from the classroom until this is totally cleared up. If they do have a rug they sit on for reading, etc. tell her not to put her head down. Our school even got plastic chairs for the computer room instead of fabric. They shouldn't share earphones, etc. Make sure they don't share paint smocks. If they don't take precautions it will just keep going from kid to kid. Good luck!!

Where does she put her coat, hat, and gloves when she is in class? Is it the coat rack? If so, it is field day for the jumpers. The class is probably tile floors and all hard surfaces, which doesn't give lice any breading places. Someone's parents aren't doing their share of preventative maintenance at home. Perhaps the kid comes back clean and checks out, but the eggs are in his/her jacket and backpack.

Can your daughter place her jacket in her back pack and hang it on the back of her chair?

Tea Tree Oil

You can get a bottle of Tea Tree Oil and just add some to your regular shampoo or buy Tea Tree Oil and Mint shampoo made by Organix at Walgreens or Wal-Mart.

Licekiller.com.
My dd has never had them but I am prepared if they ever show up. Watch the video- it is amazing and NO chemicals! All natural products are used.

Good luck!

I'd have her checked with a magnifing glass with the lights. And then have them treat it. Wash the sheets, bag up animals. But that ususaly does it if it comes aroudn yearly its in the school

Lice Knowing You in Beaverton. It's our salvation.
They will check after you have been treated for $15/time for a year. And they have this great detangling spray the lice hate so we spray our daughter before school daily.

I have a 7 year old who has never had lice but has been in the classrooms that have experienced several outbreaks. I do know that lice do not like dirty hair. We wash hair one to two times a week and use a spray that has Rosemary as one of the ingredients. Good luck.

You didn't say how long the in between time was for the 1st outbreak to the 2nd, so there is a very good chance that you didn't get rid of them; this is very typical.

FIRST, lice are very fast; you will NOT see them unless she is absolutely infested with them. There is a product that you spray on the hair and this weighs down the live lice. There is a MUCH BETTER comb that is called the terminator, some Ulta stores sell them.

Nothing will work to get rid of lice or nits except to get them all out by hand.

Lice lay their eggs near the scalp. They like to lay them at the base of the neck, by the ears & the crown of the head. Always check there when you do routine checks.

When you are doing a head check; section the hair in 4 sections, clip the sections. Get a WHITE bowl (not clear, just white). Pull small strands out from the one section, use the terminator in 4 strokes (up, down, side, side, like a 4 way stop sign) with each stroke, swish the comb in the water to rinse.

Please STOP using the chemicals. The chemicals are pesticides that can cause neurological damage; you will not notice it now, but down the road it may have an effect on your DD. It also isn't necessary if you follow the instructions I gave you.

Also I do highly suggest going to a place that picks them out. This will save you time & money & you won't be sooooo exhausted from this devastating ordeal.

Good luck, I feel sorry for anyone dealing with this.

Conditioner, gel, braids, lice spray (on clothes, backpacks and coats, too)! Good luck.

I just wanted to ditto the couple people who mentioned tea tree oil. The pesticide treatments aren't working anymore because with all these infestations, the lice are becoming resistant. Tea tree oil works differently, and when added to shampoo and left on hair for a time (don't know the recommendation, but we put a shower cap over it and waited 30 min) it really does work. And since the lice don't like the smell, using it as your everyday shampoo will help repel them. We also add some to a spray bottle with water for the mornings we don't bathe, and spray hair and coats. We've never had another outbreak!

There are proffesional nit picker called lice to know you. Google them they guarantee their work. They check your whole family and it is all natural. Also go to ulta beauty they have a kids line of hair products that help keep lice away. These are the same products the nit pickets use. Can't remember the brand white bottle with Faries on them.
L

I would go to your child's school to see how they hang coats and store hats and such. My son was getting lice at his new school nearly every month. Yes, it drove me insane. But the parents made suggestions about changes to the coat rack and pile of hats that always seemed to get mingled with each other. When the coats and hats were sorted so each child had a place to put their things, the lice outbreaks stopped. It was so simple, but worked. He attended that school for another 2 years and never had another case of lice.

If the kids are playing dress up they are putting on play clothes and hats, sharing their critters. If they have nap time or rest time they often lay too close and their hair touches. IF they whisper to each other they are nearly touching their heads.

Also, checking the hair dry is incorrect. The bugs move very fast in dry hair and you won't see them very often. I suggest you wash her hair in regular shampoo then condition it. Comb out all the tangles. Do not towel dry it. Wrap a towel around her then sit her down on a little chair under a lamp. Use a magnifying head gear, you can get them in the craft section of Hobby Lobby. I saw them near the paint and miniature house items the other day. They also have a couple of pairs in the embroidery section.

This will allow your hands to be free and you can check even better. The hair needs to be almost dripping so keep a spray bottle handy to re-wet it.

I think since you have been checking it dry you have been missing bugs. That is a common misconception. They breath air just like us and when they are surrounded by water they can't grab the hair and they are basically swimming to be able to breath.

Do not use any chemicals on anyone's head or in the air the breath. They do not work, they harm you and your family. Don't waste your money.

If this problem still stays around then you need to go to the classroom and observe the kids during the day to see where the contact might be happening. Bugs do not live off of the head for more than a few minutes. They have to have the warmth and the blood from the roots to live. They have a super short lifespan so even a few minutes off the body is a long time to them. So it is unlikely she is getting the bugs off something that someone else sat on or by. The bugs do NOT jump or crawl extremely fast. She is actually touching the person with the infestation for a few moments for the bug to transfer off them on to her.

I also suggest you try to make sure that you have not missed vacuuming an area or washing your brushes and combs in a long hot soapy bath. I have an old mixing bowl that is Tupperware that is steep sides and pretty deep. I leave them in there almost over night. I seldom do anything more to them than this soaking then a good washing and I remove all the hair that I can get off.

I know this can be very frustrating. You are going so far overboard and it still is not working so something has to give. You need to back off and take a more objective look at the whole situation. Treat your house as if you just walked in. Try to look at it with fresh eyes so you can see if there is anything you have neglected to vacuum or wash down.

Go to headlice.org to see if they have any advice for you that you might have not heard before or tried.

Make sure it is checked by the Pedi and have them confirm the diagnosis. My daughter was told she had lice 3x's and I was so over it - I called the Pedi and foundout it was NOT Lice it was a type of Dandruff - she is VERY Sensitive to any chemical and it just looked like it. After calls back and forth between the school nurse/the Pedi & the School District medical office - it was determined that it was NOT lice and she was put on a special Anti-Dandruff shampoo. Well that was 3years ago and not another call about it as it has been solved

What a nasty problem! My grandson's school has had a couple of outbreaks this year, and he got the little critters a few months ago. His mom took the family to Lice Knowing You, and it cost a couple of hundred bucks but they were clear after the first treatment. It turned out that her son had a really raging outbreak. The only indication to that point was his occasional head-scratching.

This made me nervous, because he had just spent 2 overnights with us, and we had enjoyed lots of play, snuggling at bedtime, and he'd had the run of our house with plenty of contact with our furniture and pillows. But neither me nor grandpa have had a problem in the months since. I did no more than washing all our bedding, and very thoroughly vacuuming the house.

His mom learned that, while they are hard to get rid of, lice don't necessarily spread quickly or easily. My grandson carried least a month's population, and the technician at Lice Knowing You found only one on her, and his daddy had none. They do a very careful inspection, non-toxic oil treatment, and a follow-up a week or so later, with follow-up treatment if needed. My daughter considered it worth every penny. She also brought home a metal lice comb so she could do regular checks herself.

I wonder how your daughter's school handles these outbreaks. My daughter talked to the nurse at her school, who became unfortunately very defensive and non-communicative about the checks they do, which seemed to be less than thorough. But I think most school nurses would handle questions more professionally.

What a drag, L.. I hope you'll look into non-toxic alternatives before resorting to poisons (most OTC treatments contain a proven neurotoxin, and hair sprays are loaded with chemicals that people, especially small ones, should never inhale).