Lice and My 5 Month Old! HELP!!

I had a similar situation and what I did was to brush aout her hair with a lice comb. The RID is a poison so do not put it on her hair. but you can use vaseline if you want it takes a bit to get it all out but it is safe.

I'd just get his little head shaved. (Actually, I would have done that on the way home.) He's only five months old - it'll grow back. If he has no hair, he has no lice and no nits. You don't have to worry about finding a medicated shampoo safe for infants. You don't have to worry about using a comb to remove the nits. Couldn't be easier!

(Actually, this is what I did with my oldest for the first year of his life - it was cheaper and easier than getting his hair trimmed all of the time and he looked so cute with his little bald head!)

Then, just wash your linens in hot water.

Unless you actually see lice on him, DON'T WORRY! My daughter had a bad case of lice that stuck around for about 2 weeks and her 2 brothers never got it. If he does get it, go to the American Society of Pedriatrics website http://generalpediatrics.com/AZSearchLay.html
they have great information that is easy to read.
Congrats on being able to stay at home. I have been a stay at home mom for 19 years and love it!
B.

I would contact his doctor and see what is safe to use on babies that young...maybe even take him in to get checked out. Chances are that he MAY not have even picked them up (unless you know for certain because you have seen them). I would get that done soon as you can since with a 5 month old you have to hold him so much whether or not you are nursing him and the possibility of you getting it from him. Lice can be nasty buggers to get rid of. The sooner you act, the better.

First of all, you say he was exposed, not that he has it. Don't take any measures unless you actually see evidence of lice.

Lice are not quite as "contagious" as most people think. They like the warmth of their host's bodies, and usually won't leave a nice warm host unless another one is in direct contact. When kids are playing very close, when they literally have their "heads together" over some game or project, is when the lice make the jump if they are going to. So it's easy to be exposed but not acquire any lice. Some experts even say you don't have to take extreme laundry/housekeeping measures either, that lice aren't going to hang around in a cold bed waiting for someone to come by.

So I would react lightly initially, then go to more laborious measures if the light-footprint ones don't work. If there are lice present, don't use a pesticide. See if you can get rid of them with one of the practical home remedies listed, and don't bother with the emergency spring cleaning unless the other measures don't eliminate them. I know lice sounds icky but they are really just external parasites like fleas, not something really scary like tapeworms. Exhale and get your mayo mojo working!

You have alot of great advice here. My sister in law used mayonaise and plastic wrap on her kids heads (and her own for good messure) for 8 hours. But I don't know if you'll be able to keep the babys head wrapped or even use plastic wrap with a baby. Good luck to you.
Mandy

Mayo - smothers the little critters. Do a little research online for other ideas that may work for you as well. Good luck!

I was just checking all the other response were if it is just eggs the mayonaise would dow just comb his hair at least twice a day with a fine comb you won't be able to see it unless you have dark or white piece of paper to catch both nits the white is for the one that is feeding on dead skin or blood but I don't think it is that advanced. Yeah it is easier for a five month old baby cause they have fine hair and not the thick hair as an older child, So good luck it happens to everyone especially school age kids.

boil a good amount of sage and rosemary in water and add it to his shampoo. Wash his hair and let it sit for 5 minutes. then rinse and comb. Blacklight shows live larvae and eggs so you can see if he actually has it.
good luck! :)

Well if you dont want to shave his hair off then I would suggest going to the store and buying the electric comb that kills lice and eggs. you may have to use it more than once to get rid of them all. its a non chemical way to get rid of lice. You can also use tea tree oil in his shampoo put about a teaspoon of oil in a bottle of shampoo and shake it up. the oil will cause the shampoo to get a bit wattery but it still works good and the tea tree oil will help get rid of existing lice and also prevent future infestations if you use it on a regular basis.

It will be easy with a 5 month old. Do not put any chemicals
on his head PLEASE! I just went through this for the past
9weeks with my 7 year old. It is only an inconvience, not
any kind of health hazzard. Given what I have been through to check every day through every strand of hair for egg sacks and nits, I would probably cut his hair, if you find any. In this whole process, I only saw one live lice. It was mainly egg sacks. You can find lots of info on line. I did change sheets every day and vacumn. The best thing you can do, is
go through each strand of hair and pull out the egg sacks, if you have them. Tea Tree Shampoe is suppose to help adults from getting it. I never had a problem. Wear your hair up.
With his age and less hair and not going to school, the whole
thing can be over in 2 weeks. Hope that helps.

Hi A.,
My 13 year old daughter had it, but none of the four boys younger than her ever got it, and they live with her. If he has dark hair look for white specks near the base of the hair shaft that you can't scrape off with your finger nail no matter how hard you try. That would be the difference between cradle cap and lice nits.

When you treat lice you are killing the lice and scraping off the nits, because if any nits hatch then you have to kill the lice again before they lay eggs. Chances are if your sister had success in getting rid of the lice then you will too, only certain strains are resistant to the shampoos. I wouldn't suggest taking your baby to work with you without telling the people you work with what is going on, to be fair to them.

Good-luck,
L.

First of all, relax! Lice and their eggs would be very easy to see on a 5-month-old baby (because I assume he doesn't have much hair). So you can watch for any signs of them, and if you do see any, you can simply remove them. Unless he has a lot of hair, it's unlikely they would find a home on him anyway. If it does become necessary to treat him with something, there are several nontoxic preparations available, herbal or one that is basically salt. You should wash his clothes too. Lice are really not that big a deal, they come around a lot, but the poisons are not good for people, so it's good that there are other options. And, like any kind of "pests," they tend to infect people who are less healthy, so keeping your son wellnourished etc, with a good immune system, should help.

First, don't put chemicals on a baby's head. I am a mother of 5 children, and 9 grandchildren, and at some point in each of their lives, they got lice. Usually from someone at school. Here is the safest method. Slather his head with Mayonaise, put a plastic cap on him (like possibly a shower cap) and let him sleep in it overnight. The mayonaise smothers, and therefore kills the lice. The next thing you do is wash all bedding, blankets as well as sheets in HOT water, and dry in the dryer. Vacuum the mattress and carpet. The last thing, is to use the vacuum nozzle on any stuffed animals, once that's done bag them up in a lawn and leaf bag and tie securely and put in a freezer if you have one. The low temps also kill lice.
Lastly, it's my understanding that Lice are extremely difficult for babies to contract because of their fine hair. The lice and nits need "older" hair to attach to. As children age there hair get's thicker and more coarse. So, I doubt your little guy is at risk very much. Hope all of this helps.

Oh, don't freak out! It's okay. Don't do drugs. It's easy to get rid of. I got lice working with some kids about 5 years back. Two of my sisters got it too and we had so much fun getting rid of it! I was told of the easiest way to get rid of it. First buy some mayonaisse. You can mix tea tree oil (1-2 drops if you want) or lavender essential oil in with a handful of mayo. Coat the hair completely. Cover with plastic wrap or shower cap overnight. Wash out completely. Meanwhile, wash and vacuum EVERYTHING in your beds, floors, etc. The lice can live up to 5 days I believe away from a food source. Repeat the next night or two if you feel paranoid. You can also search the base of the hair for eggs and ticks. Never fear! You'll get rid of it! ;P

I would call your dr. and see if there is something safe you can wash his hair in.
Then I would wash all his bedding and clothes that were exposed. Take any stuffed animals he has and put them in sealed trash bags for a week, then wash if you can.

Good luck!

Don't wash his hair!! Contrary to popular belief, lice like CLEAN hair. Load his hair up with hair gel and don't wash it for about a week. Check it every day for the eggs and nits. Keep in mind that exposure doesn't always mean that your child is going to get lice. Good luck and try to stay calm (although I know it's hard, the thought of bugs crawling in your hair is nasty!!)

Since your son has headlice Don't take him to the workplace.You need to stay home and treat his hair. Headlice is very catchy can spread from one person to another,this you already know cause your son got it from his cousins and if you take your son w/ you to the workplace you'll spread it around there as well. I have dealt with headlice 3 times already and it wasn't any fun either. The medicated shampoos don't work despite what the health officials say. I treated my kids's hair w/ real mayonnaise and wrapped their hair in a towel and a plastic bag and left it in the hair for about 3 hrs. and then combed the hair w/ mayo still in it and then had the kids take showers to wash the mayo out.. then combed the hair again w/ a different comb and then the next day got their hair w/ vinegar to remove the remaining bugs and nits.
Good luck

Obviously ask your pediatrician if RID is okay to use on an infant. But I know there are some homeopathic ways such as using mayonaisse, it kills the lice since they can't breathe, then pick out the bugs and eggs. Or there is always the old fashion way of shaving his head... Good luck

It is summer. Shave his head. It will grow back thicker.

Don't panic. They go away. You are obviously very concerned about this. I would be too. This has happened to me once with 3 kids. Just wash all his bedding and everything on his bed like stuffed animals. You can get a lice spray to put on the couches and anything else you might think may have come into contact. I just used RID. I worked just fine. Make sure it's okay for your baby first. My kids use Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Special shampoo. It has been said that the lice do not like the tea tree. I would use this shampoo for precaution. Make sure that your doc says its okay. The shampoo is strong in scent and has a tingly sensation when you use it. Hope this helps.

Rid is way too toxic to use on such a small child. If his hair is short -- keep an eye on him to see if he actually has picked up any lice. They make some pretty mild tea tree oil shampoos that would be all right to use on the little guy even if you want to do it to head off the problem before it is one. My daughter ran a headstart program for three years, and tea tree oil (and shampoo) was her best friend! ;)

I was dealing with constant exposure to lice when my youngest son was 6-8 months old.
This is what my children's doctor told me:
It is VERY difficult for babies to "get" lice. That doesn't mean that there might not be a few actual bugs in their hair that you can't pick out (and drown them in a gob of hair gel or vasoline) but nits can't attach to the hair normally. Now if he has extremely thick hair it is possible that the nits could attach and you can just go through, pick them out one at a time and drown them (easy way to kill them) and be very thorough with this it should be enough, wash all bedding and exposed clothing and you should be finished with it.
Just for your information, my baby did actual get a few nits when he was 8 months old, literally like 4. I picked them out , shaved my other 2 boys' head and we never saw it again because the originating location was finally able to get rid of it at the same time. Don't forget to vacuum EVERYTHING! Floor, mattresses, furniture, CAR UPHOLSTERY (a lot of people don't think of this), Car seats... Literally Everything!
Good Luck and don't worry too much!
The vasoline or hair gel trick I learned from Head Start as a all natural way to treat lice without medication: It suffocates the bugs and nits and makes it so they can't hatch. I gob thick, thick (the kind in the big tub you can buy for like $5) all over their heads overnight with a shower cap on and wash it out in the morning, then make sure to pick out all the bugs and nits. It works every time for me! (Honestly we've only really had to do it a few times but that is enough!)
Oh and nits have a really hard time attaching to oily/greasy/unwashed hair so if you don't have any bugs/nits on you, you might consider not washing your hair for a few days to help decrease the risk of you getting it.

I'm sure you will get a lot of responses to this one! I don't know for sure, but I think you can use RID shampoo on your baby. You might just want to call his physician and ask. I do know though that you need to bag up or wash in hot water all of his bedding ,stuffed animals, anything he has been around. Lice are tuff suckers, and they like to stay around. They can't live without living on a living being for long though. So if you bag up his stuff and leave it for a couple weeks they will die. Good luck!!!!!

To get rid of the lice, you have to wash his hair with the lice shampoo, regularly,then comb through and look for the lice and pull them out. Then you have to wash everything in the house he has sat/laid on. It is quite laborious, if he has a full head of hair, but since he is a boy, I would suggest shaving his head for the summer...that way, you know you got them all! I am sorry! It is such a pain!! Good luck.

I knew someone who went through a similar situation. The only thing that worked was to buzz his hair as short as possible because he was so young, the chemicals could cause problems... good luck!

Hi A.,
I highly suggest putting your son to bed with lots of mayonaise in his hair and a shower cap over it all, the lice can't do any connecting to his hair and the eggs that were connected lose it very easily with one of those lice combs, and since there are so many oils in the mayo it will really moisturize his hair and take out the tangles easily. I remember getting lice when I was in 7th grade and my parents went through 3 kids of that special lice shampoo and it damaged my hair so very badly, and at one point the stuff burned my scalp, and when the 3rd one didn't work and my parents didn't have the extra money for the stuff my mom got some advice from someone about the cheap remedy, and it worked, plus it basically did a deep conditioning treatment as well. So yeah, just use mayo, it worked wonders for me, my Mom may even suggest this if she responds to you, she is Karen R. Goodluck!
Oh, Looking at your title problem and seeing that your son is only 5 months old, you have nothing to worry about, he's got baby hair, it's way too fine for lice to latch onto.

Hello, Been there, done that. By the way, RID, unless combined with daily nit picking etc is ineffective (lice have built up a resistance). Check your child's head daily (in sunlight is best, the eggs glisten in sun)...firmly attatched at base of hair..Apply pesticide-free shampoo (I recommend Koo-dies, by Pacific Holistics, available at some health/natural stores, or online at www.PacificHolistics.com)...follow their directions...change pillow cases/bedding etc. If you are pro-active, it's only a minor inconvenience. Do Not Apply Pesticides to your child's head. The brain is right there, and everything we put on our body goes IN our bodies. I would not have my child return to the house until the other family is entirely nit free (ie, you have checked them yourself)...or you will just be caught in the vicious re-occuring lice life cycle...And adults lay a lot of eggs fast (google them). Good luck!

For all who say a 5 month old can't get it, false! Our 5 month old has a lot of hair, he for it from our 6 year old who brought it home from school! We are working on it, we will not shave his hair, and would never use toxic rid on it! We have just been combing it every day 2 times a day and our 6 year old did apple cider vinegar and a spray bottle of tea tree oil and peppermint oil and it took it away but have to do every week for 3 weeks to be sure gone. And washed stuff once a week and in between sprayed with the peppermint and tea tree oil.

I have been told that putting Tea Tree Oil in their shampoo will prevent any outbreaks. Lice don't like the stuff. But for you option now. I would consult your son's pediatrician due to how young he is. When you are looking at his hair for the lice - they usually have their eggs about an inch away from the skull and like to hang out nape of the neck and behind the ears. Let us know what happens. I'm curious.