HEAD LICE

W

Wendy Marie

Cathlete
Yuk. All three of my girls got head lice. Never thought we'd get it. I'm a clean freak and have been a stay at home mom till this year. Apparently, "all kids get it". Well, that's not acceptable for me. There are so many things a school and parents can do. Number one, set a good example for kids. Teach them and the parents. (by the way headlice.org is a great website) Don't have shared headphones in computer labs, don't lend out jackets, hats, mittens, don't share head peices or scarfs for musicals, don't have kindergarten rest time on towels, don't share lockers! Above all, if you get it, tell the school nurse and the friends so they're watching for it. I worry about the parents who feel like they need to keep it a secret and continue to treat with the poison. Can't be good for our children!
 
So sorry your kids got that! I know that is a pain. I've been lucky so far, but I know a lot of kids catch it. But I think it is pretty easy to catch - after all your girls easily passed it to each other. Good luck!
 
We went through this at our house. My DD brought it home from daycare. We told the daycare as soon as we realized she had it. They said probably another kid had it, but the parents didn't let anyone know. What a pain to get rid of.
 
Having head lice was one of the worst experiences of my life. It was so hard to get rid of.

If it makes you feel any better, one nurse told me that the lice love clean hair because it was easier to grip on to. I tell you during that time I was tempted to have my children become "greasers".

Cheryl
 
A friend of mine got lice years ago and thinks she got it from a movie theater seat. She ended up cutting off most of her hair.

Erica
 
I feel for you Wendy Marie...when they went through my household (my eldest daughter brought them home from Brownie camp) not only did my 3 girls get them but I got them too:( x( . It was a horrible, crazy making experience for all of us. I used the pesticide treatment and they lousey little creatures still persisted. I couldn't bring myself to use it again so it was 21 days of nit picking and using the ShopVac on the Girl's hair to get the hatched ones. That was 8 years ago and my middle daughter still has a sensitive spot on the back of her neck where the treatment was on her skin too long. I shudder to think of that time...you'll get through it....My fair haired daughter didn't have many but they loved my darkest haired daughter the most, don't know if that's typical but it was curious. My fair haired Elizabeth was the only one that didn't end up with a pixie cut.
I hear you about the annoying parents who won't just own the fact and save some of us the grievous experience. When one of my daughter's was in Grade 1, one boy's 'show and tell' was that he had lice:eek: x( He was out of that class pretty quick and the Mom was 'persona non grata' for a while...
Good luck to you!:)

Take Care
Laurie:)
 
I'm a school nurse and we never deny we have a problem. As soon as we know about it a letter goes home with each and every child.

The above poster was right!!! The little critters LOVE clean hair!!! I suggest to parents to wear hair pulled way back and load up the hair spray and/or gel. LOAD IT!!! The lice then have nothing to grab on to.

I also tell parents that if they do nothing for the next few days but work to get rid of them they still won't be done. It takes that long!! I have parents/kids come back in the next day saying they're all done and I KNOW they're not and I'm usually right!! It's a nightmare! I always thank God I never had it in my house.

I think people keep it quiet because they feel that there's a stigma attached to having "bugs" in your hair/house. It's unfortunate to all those that catch it then because of this stigma.

I hope you have an easy time of it.

Nancy

P.S. Don't forget to vacuum your car really well. A lot of people forget this.
 
These little buggers are so hard to get rid of and unfortunately some people do not take the time and put forth the effort to completely get rid of them. The kids are sent back to school and think that they are nit-free, when they still have lice...then they spread to someone new, of course!

I know of someone who recently put regular oil with a shower cap on her child's head for 24 hours and then pulled out all the nits. This killed them all and the nits pulled out very easily.

Now...did this person also clean the bedding, stuffed animals, vacuum the car, the floor, clothing, etc., etc........?????????

I feel for anyone who has to deal with head lice...no fun!
 
There was just a news story in our local town about "Super" lice. It's a new breed that is near impossible to kill. My daughter caught it from a school play one year. The entire class had it due to having to share the costumes. Oh, and our school nurse told us they prefer light colored hair over dark. I've never been so wigged out before in my life. I put every piece of clothing/blankets/pillows in the dryer everynight, I was so paranoid of getting re-infected. Yuck!
 
Well, my youngest daughter had been clear since last Tues am and today I found 2 more nits, day 13. I am completely thourough at home, have been working non stop to get everything cleaned. The school has cleared some headphones but still has some children sharing them, kindergarten rest time on towels (we were not allowed to send mats), hasn't done random screening and the administration is not being honest about how many kids are affected. They haven't taken responsibility for the mistake made with sharing hankerchiefs (for a muscical) amonst the hundred or so second graders. They are saying it's the same as any other year.

Any suggestions?
 
I used to work in a phone nurse bank where we'd get TONS of head lice phone calls. I learned a trick from a nurse from Australia...she suggested that you coat the child's head/scalp/hair with regular mayonnaise and leave it on for about 20 minutes. I know this sound gross, but the fat in the mayo suffocates the lice as well as greasing up the hair so they don't have anything to hold on to. It also conditions the child's hair and you can use it on any age child because the shampoo is too strong for the young ones. You can do this every night for up to a week or so, combing out the nits every night after rinsing and washing.

I had a horrible case of head lice when I was about 9. Mom and I had gone through 3 rounds of the shampoo and because my hair is so thick, the combs were too fine. Anyway, mom ended up washing my hair in kerosene (NOT recommended) and that finally killed them all!
 
Thanks so much for these replies. I feel like I'm not alone. We did the mayo treatment for three hours the day after using the chemical shampoo. I would go that way in the future. My Granny used kerosene in her days too!!!
 
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