I thought my daughter had dandruff and I did some research this morning after she went to school and thought it might be lice. I called the school nurse and she confirmed it for me on BOTH my daughters-OMG! I feel like such an idiot. I had no idea what lice looked like. So I have bought my Rid kit and done one child (it's taken 2 hours to comb her out) and now I am going to the next one.
I've stripped all the beds in the house bagged up the stuffed animals. I am washing everthing in HOT water with a couple of caps of bleach each load.
Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated. I think the worst of all of this is that we were all over this weekend with lots of kids and birthday parties and are having to call everyone-I'm kind of embarrassed. UGH sometimes motherhood wears you out!
Thanks for all the advice. Most parents that I talked to were thankful that I let them know. I only had one parent that was extremely mad-actually yelled and hung up on me. The kids were back in school the next day. We were very meticulas on getting rid of what was in their hair. The school nursed checked them out and cleared them for school. She told me she had some parents bring their kids in for her to check too! Now I am up to my neck in Laundry. I am washing and changing sheets daily and pretty much rewashing EVERYHING, yes everything we own!
You're doing great...and I don't take it personally...we've all been there, it doesn't mean your a bad mom or have dirty kids or house - it's something that happens. Just keep an eye out that it doesn't come back. You can also use tea tree oil (melaleuca oil) it works great!!
Good luck!
T.
I also say use some tea tree oil. It repells/kills bugs and is good for itchy irritated skin. There are several shampoos out there with tea tree in them - at health food stores/Sprouts/Whole Foods. But you can buy a little bottle of it and add it to what you already use.
I'd rather know about the lice too - good for you to call everybody and not let your embarassment get the best of you. NO NEED TO BE EMBARRASED!!! :) Happens all the time ~
L.
It sounds like you're off to a good start. Don't forget to treat the car seats, too, and all furniture, curtains, any cloth that lice might stick to. Go through their hair EVERY DAY!!! Sunlight is the best light to check. Look for every tiny nit, and comb out with the lice comb. Do this often, because they are so hard to miss. Also, I heard that putting a little tea tree oil in your shampoo bottle will help prevent the nits from sticking to the hair. I used to work at a daycare, and did this, and never got lice the rare ocassion we had an outbreak. Don't be embarrassed, because lice is so easy to get, and it does not mean that you are unclean.
S.,
You are doing a great job and you probably killed all the lice. I know it's a little embarrassing, but most likely, with all the running you've done, someone gave it to your children, and if that parent doesn't know, then it's great that they can catch it too.
You sure are right that motherhood wears you out...
I have no idea how to deal with lice, but if I were the parent being called about an exposure to lice, I'd be a lot more likely to feel gratitude that i'm being informed about it than upset at my child getting it, so don't worry. You're doing the best you can with a suprise situation.
I would much rather hear from a parent of a possible lice exposure than to find out the hard way...which happened to us last year..long story there.
However, during that time, I found a home remedy that does not use chemicals at all. It is a bit messy but it worked the first time 100%!
* Drench hair in olive hair and cover with a shower cap.
* Sleep overnight in it or leave on for 2-3 hours using a blow dryer to heat the oil up a bit. It will run so have a towel handy.
* Wash hair with Dawn or other grease-cutting dish soap.
* After washing, use a white vinegar rinse, let that soak in hair for 5 minutes.
* Wash hair as usual.
* Comb out using lice comb.
The oil clogs the breathing function of the lice and the white vinegar destroys the clue that holds the nits onto the hair.
I used this on myself when I got the lice..shoulder length hair. It worked and I was disgusted as I combed out my hair. I did repeat it in two weeks just in case all of my cleaning did not work :0) I will use this method from now on as my son hated the chemical treatment..burned his scalp.
J. S.
I used to tell my kids in school that you actually have to have clean hair for the lice to stick so they wouldn't get embarrassed. If you had greasy uncleaned hair its harder for them to stick. So make sure your daughter knows it's not about being unclean.
And I agree, good for you for calling! I would be so appreciative if a mom called me so that I could start getting rid of it sooner.
