Lice!

It has been one thing after the next with my kids this summer!

I took the girls for haircuts yesterday. We were going to have a whole girls day out. So I brought them to a little super cuts type of place. Amelia went first, and while she was getting her cut another chair opened up for Lily. Well the lady starts cutting Lilys hair and then calls me over mid-cut saying she sees nits and has to stop the cut. I was pretty annoyed because she had already cut some of her hair! But I could see some tiny dandruff looking stuff and the lady said she was positive it was lice. I've never seen lice before. So instead of girls day we bought some Nix and spent the afternoon treating all 3 kids and myself.

Ironically, after the treatments the only person I saw any actual lice (what i think was lice, they were white and looked sort of like dandruff) on was Amelia, the one who got her complete hair cut.

I washed everyone's bedding and towels, and I plan on treating everyone again mid week since its not too difficult and I want to make sure it's gone. My questions are - is there anything else I need to do to make sure they're gone? Should I notify their daycare tomorrow? I'm sure that's where they picked it up. After treating the lice are you clear to return to school/daycare immediately? I've never dealt with this before. We've had so much hassle and sickness this summer that after feeling embarrassed in the salon and disappointed that our girls day was ruined I just cried.

 

It depends on your daycare. The girls have had it once and jazz herself twice. We are still trying to get rid of it. The nits look like tiny seeds. Ours were brown but I don't know if they come in another color. The actual lice look like little bugs and crawl. I'm not sure what you are finding is lice. I wouldn't go back to the salon for sure

 

What color hair do your girls have? Mine have brown so maybe that's why they look white? I have no idea. Maybe I should take them to the pedi about it?

 

I'd take them to the pediatrician to confirm if you are unsure. Our school nurse always says the nits look like dandruff but they don't brush off easily like dandruff, you have to pull them off. And the bugs look like tiny bugs. Our school policy is that nits are ok, but live bugs are not. I don't know why it changed, it used to be no nits or live bugs. Our school nurse has to check any students when they return after having lice to clear them to return to school.

We've not had to deal with it yet (fingers crossed!), but the nurse does a lot and she recommends bagging all stuffed animals/pillow pets/cloth type toys in an airtight bag and leaving them in there for 7-14 days. All bedding washed in hot water. All jackets washed, backpacks bagged, pillows tossed and buy new once you know it is gone, etc.

She also recommends tea tree oil shampoo as a preventative measure, she says the bugs don't like the scent of that shampoo. It's kinda minty. I had Lennon use it when the school was going through a lice outbreak.

Good luck! :hug:

And you aren't the first one I've heard of whose kid was mid hair cut...it is their policy, I think. I've had a few coworkers and students' parents say that they were mid haircut when it was found and they had to take their kid home with half his/her hair still uncut.

 

I use Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel shampoo during the school year - religiously...my kids haven't had any issues...

Fairy Tales also makes a lice removal system that is organic and chemical free (I believe)...

 

Ooh, I'll have to look for the Fairy Tales shampoo...thanks for sharing, Amy!

 

if you have an Ulta store near you they sell it or if you go to their website they have a list of stores or you can order right online

 

Thanks! Going to look it up!

 

My girls have golden brown hair. We put all their stuffed animals in the freezer for 7-14 days and wash their bedding every day. The fair tales lice stuff did not get rid of them. We ended up using both nix and rid and I think we finally have jazz cleared up. Jess never got it this time. We have been using straight tea tree oil on their hair since jazzs out break and I think it's helped keep Jess from getting it. The pedi might be able to tell you if you do in fact have a case of lice if you have never experienced it

 

And I third the tea tree oil, or shampoo. I use it on Alice about once every two weeks. Knock on wood, it works. (Plus Alice gets additional tea tree oil on her scalp occasionally since she still has basically cradle cap.)

 

:hug: Aimee! I agree, if you are not sure, make an appointment with the pedi.
A few months ago, I was talking to my hairdresser about lice and she related a story to me about having a client in the salon (a teenage girl, I think) and discovering lice and having to stop the haircut. She said the girl's mom was mad at her for stopping the haircut, but she had to.

 

Ok I ordered that fairy tales stuff. I will do the Nix again this weekend - their hair is totally clear today, I checked it a few times over the weekend and I think we got all traces of nits.

But this morning when I dropped Cooper off at daycare the director wasn't there. I'd like to let her know the girls picked it up so they can make sure their sleep cots and that are sanitized. Is this unreasonable?

I hate to think that I'm sending the kids right back to catch it again.

 

Totally reasonable! I think they'd appreciate knowing. They can keep their eyes on other kids too in case there are other kids there with it, it usually isn't one or two isolated cases.

Good luck! Sounds like you really took care of it this weekend!

 

I just checked yesterday for a lice thread!

We have been through the lice hell this month! The Tues after memorial day, I was putting pigtails in katherines hair. I saw two bugs crawling. I went and bought lice be gone (didnt want to use RID) and then called the boys school to have the nurse check them and sure enough they had it so I picked them up. I did the treatment on all of us. THe next day they went to school as the rule is they can come back after they have been treated. The nurse then checks them. She said the boys were good and that the nits would take forever to get out. She suggested I do a section on each kid a day to get rid of the nits.

After hearing that, I decided to go to Hair Fairies which is in the city to get rid of the nits. We should NOT have been allowed back to school. Each of the kids had over 100 nits and also live bugs. N was in the chair for 3 hours and the rest of us in the chair for 2 hours.

My lesson I learned is that the nurse doesnt know and kids are let back when they should not be. Also, you can kill the live bugs with those treatments but it doesnt kill the eggs and they still can hatch days later. They can be so darn small.

I went to the park with two families that were in S's class. I decided to share with them what had been going on with us so that they know what to look for. THey both freaked out saying, "omg, we had it this month too." My sisters kids came over last week and sure enough, I saw it in both of her daughters hair (her kids are in musical theater with my kids and other kids from the neighborhood. I didn't see it in her sone hair. She picked them up and took them to hair fairies. Her son did have nits and a few live bugs but that goes to prove that you cant always see it. The people at those places comb the hair in a variety of directions.

Also interesting, my boys never were really itching their hair! The people are hair fairies said N probably had it for 2 months based on all the activity her had in his head! I wash their hair every single night and never saw it!!! I did though have itchiness towards my neck for some time and didnt know what it was! Now I do!


I will now check my kids hair on a daily basis. Such a nightmare!

 

Oh my gosh, Nicole! What a nightmare! How awesome you have a professional place to help get rid of it!

 

I know! I think there are like 6 in the country. The lady who started it opened her first on in California.

 

Lice usually cause dry scalp so the white flakes are scalp not nits nor lice. Adult lice are brownish or black but I have found albino lice! the nits are also brownish but shine in the light, they are not exactly on the scalp and they don't brush off, you have to slide them all the way down the hair shaft with your fingernails to get them off. They also make a kind of poping sound if you squash them between your thumb nails, where as dandruff or dry-scalp flake do not.

I would not use Ridd or a commerical product for two reasons, one it's the kind of chemical that your body stores away, so a little is harmless, but if your kids get lice every year for the next several years, and then as a adults are applying it to their own kids, those tiny amounts add up. And TWO most importantly lice are becoming resistant so these products don't work as well anymore.

There is a time consuming but very effective way to get rid of lice.
Step one, wash child's hair.
Step two, rinse with a solution of 25% apple cider vinegar 75% water.
Apply leave in conditioner.
Sit down with child and lice comb under a bright light.
Go through child's hair section by section. Adult lice will get trapped in the comb. My kids like to put them in there little acrylic magnifying bug boxes but they are wierd like that. Otherwise put lice on thumb nail and smash by rolling your other thumb nail over the top. Nits will not comb out, this is where the bright light come in, they are shiny and reflect the light allowing you to see them. If you light brush at them with your finger tip they will not brush off, if it moves it's lint, dust, dandruff or something else but not a nit.
Pinch nit between thumb and index finger nail and slide it all the way down and off the hair shaft.
Once you have completely gone over child's head this way, slather one either more leave in condition, or coconut or olive oil or even mayo works. What ever you are using put on a lot, as much as you can.
If child has long hair braid.
Cover child's head with a shower cap and send them to bed. Do not wash out until 8 hours has passed. Or longer if you are using oil and the hair is braided, I leave them like that for 24 hours.
Then bathe and repeat.
When you don't find live lice or nits it's no longer necessary to repeat the conditioner-shower cap. But I usually check one or two more days after not seeing anything. Just one you miss and the whole thing starts over again.

 

Wow, that is awesome, Nicole, that places like that exist!

Here is what I have learned after years of school with the older kids... 1. The shampoos with the insecticide usually will kill the live bugs. Not so much the nits, which is why you need to do the next treatment at around a week after the first. By then all nits should have hatched but not be mature enough to lay more eggs, therefore ending the cycle. If you are lucky. Lice are becoming more & more resistant to the insecticides unfortunately. 2. The only sure way to get rid of them is to keep removing nits every single day until they are gone. It is a long, painstaking process, but it works. 3. One of the best things in preventing them is, for girls anyway, to keep their hair up while at school. Tight ponytails, braids, buns, etc. so that their hair is less likely to brush up against other kids. Lila has never once worn her hair down at school and probably never will until she is much older. 4. Tea tree oil is also helpful in preventing them. 5. Hairspray will also sometimes help. Contrary to popular belief, lice like clean hair. Hairspray & other hair products are not attractive to them.

Good luck, Aimee, sounds like you are on the right track! Hopefully they will be gone & won't come back!

 

Nicole, I wish we had a place like that here!

I called the daycare lady and she acted like it was no big deal. I'm going to check them again tonight. It's such a PITA.

 

Had a couple of years ago here used Lice squad, mind you cost over $500. What they suggested to check every so often wet hair and cover in white conditioner. then used knit comb, and wipe it on white paper towel, you will see if any still in their head.

 

that would be 'nit'comb

 

Aimee

My heart goes out to you. We dealt with lice last year and I also felt so overwhelmed. We were lucky enough to have a professional lice removal service in our area. They were definately awesome and took some of the stress off of us. IT was not cheap but well worth it to me. Their policy is they will continue to do any treatments until we are all lice free. They sold their own natural product for lice removal as well as a spray for furniture, etc. We bought extra of both for home. We checked hair every night and even did treatments in between our week follow up.
The key is to check check check. Those bugs and nits can be so tiny and so easy to miss. Any missed ones can start the cycle all over again.
We also bought a special comb which worked awesome and I would highly recommend. It works much better than the combs that come with the over the counter products. We bought it at the lice store but they also sell it on Amazon. Here is a link
Lice Comb

We were religious about cleaning for weeks straight. Here is what we did in addition to the treatments.

Washed all bedding and clothes in hot water daily.
Changed bedding daily until we were sure lice was gone.
Threw away bed pillows and bought new ones.
Bagged all toys that were made of any cloth like material or had hair (stuffed animals, dolls, barbies, doll clothes, etc)
Bagged backpacks, hats, etc
Threw away elastics, or any hair ties used. Threw away hair brushes and bought new ones. One for after removal and then another when we were lice free.
Vacuumed Mattresses the first day and then every day we vacuumed Carpets and sofas.
Sprayed inside of car..carseats.

It was all ALOT of work and maybe we went overboard with cleaning, but I was freaked out when we got lice and I wanted to make sure that we didn't leave anything behind.
Live bugs won't live more than a couple of days off of a human, but if they crawl back on the head in that time then it starts all over.

Our school and daycare policy was they had to be Nit and bug free to return, which makes sense to me.

Take a deep breath and do what you have to do. You will get through it!!!

 

I'd like to mention the Robi Comb which is very fine toothed like other lice combs and runs on a battery. When the louse touches the comb's teeth it gets electrocuted or at least stunned for a while so you can squash it before it runs away. It makes a continuous sound which stops when it 'catches' something.

 

Our school has had a few lice outbreaks.

We treated out girls with Fairy Tales Repel and so far neither has gotten it. One has long hair as well....

A few classes with multiple outbreaks even tied up backpacks in garbage bags for a a few weeks when they were at school, teachers pulled up their circletime rugs, note after note came home....it was that bad!!


I am itchy just reading this thread!!!

 

I know I am late to the Lice party.... The girls got lice from a mom that knew her daughter had it and brought her to a girl scout meeting :aggressive:

It took us over a month to get rid of it.

You know what finally did it for us. Foam shaving cream. Rubbed it on their heads put a showercap over their head for 20 minutes and washed their hair. Voila, no more lice


Then we went to a New Years Eve party and guess what another person brought their kid which again had lice and they knew it. They told nobody just let her roll around trading hats with kids. Thankfully everyone but the girls got lice.

 

One more thing... Wash all bedding and pillows daily, any stuffed animals, vaccum daily. I was a freak too but you cannot be too careful. I also urge people not to have playdates and if you feel the need to inform other parents/daycares. I think it is just not nice to let kids play with it and not caution other people that may come in contact. It is such a blah thing to have to deal with.

 

We finally are rid of ours. The girls were so glad to get their babies back after the freezer and a run thru dryer

 

Yes! It's really disgusting to me to knowingly infect other people and not let them decide whether they want to risk it or not.