WAY OT - * - nit picking

[ecb]

yes NITs not knit
anyone got a good advice for me
My youngest daughter has a friend she spends 2-3 weekends a month with
this friends head was found to be infested
did a thougrough check of my youngest and she had about 45 Nits/Eggs, and 2-3 adult lice
I had 2 adult lice and about 5 eggs
my older daughter is nit and lice free as of tonight
for my youngest, I did a triple check, and POPPED each egg, and squished the adults I found and burned the caracasses
then treated her with the poisoned shampoo
I treated myself with the shampoo, and combed myself at LENGTH, because I cannot rely on the kids to check as well as I would.
linnenes are all being washed, and bagged
getting me 2 new pillows tomorrow to hold till I get my mountain of pillows back from the space bag

Anyone have advice?
or admonishments
I am pleantly calm when its someone elses kid at Camp, but these are MY kids, and my messy unorganized home
this SUCKS

ecb

[snowbear]

throw all combs brushes etc in dishwasher

Vaccum all carpets.. everywhere

wash all bedspreads etc.

recheck in 5 days.


Daughter went through this in school.. she had very very thick hair... * nightmare.. *

Use bleach in water to wash furniture ( 1 tb per gallon) wood that is.

Vaccuum all furniture- that isn't wood.

Vaccuum the car seats where she sat.

I may sound over kill.. but not something you can be lax about.


good luck!

[aineepooh1]

aaaaAAAARGH~!! That does suck

I am sorry what a PITA~ the only thing I know for sure (besides treating everyone like you have) is wash all the linens in HOT water ( I have also heard bleach) and comb her hair religously to check for nits..
I have also heard of coating the scalp with mayonaisse ( ) to suffocate the little buggers~!!


Hope its over soon~!

[Ellen Edwards]

I'm so sorry--I had a younger friend with this problem..she was mortified. The friend whose child had the lice had a really messy home home , she said, but that doesn't mean the lice started there. Her kid could have gotten them from someone else at school The point is now they are your problem too, and you will have to use the shampoo and wash the bedclothes and towels in HOT water--bleach too if they're colorsafe!! Also her clothing and yours because these little buggers multiply like mad, apparently!! It's SUCH a PITA, I am sure. My friend HATED it and her little one had white-blonde hair so they were very easy to see--maybe that was a good thing! She had to treat her house and the kid several times over before it was all over and she had to keep her child away from the "offending house" too--which was sad because it was the home of the little one's best friend!! Too bad for everyone involved!! Messy homes aren't the cause of lice though--so don't feel so bad about your home--you'll just have to keep washing and using the shampoo though--cause it won't just go away!!

[Phretys]

My daughter picked up lice on three occasions: twice from a classmate and once from day camp. The first time I went straight to headlice.org, bought a Licemeister comb, and avoided lice shampoo at all costs. Those shampoos contain pesticide and many children will react badly to them. The comb (and daily combing for two weeks) was all I needed to do to get rid of the critters. I also vacuumed chairs and carseats, and only washed her pillowcase as a regular load.

Debi

[AmandaC]

okay - don't panic - the lice won't live on clothing or bedding - they need human blood to survive!!!!

Get hair conditioner and a nit comb ... wash hair and smother on conditioner - don't rinse the conditioner out .... spend about an hour combing through the hair - yes you will need to do EVERYONE in the house. You then need to check the hair every two days for about a week - the school my boys go to recommend to check hair once a week in anycase.

It's not the end of the world and don't spend a fortune on getting specialist medication - conditioner works just as well - it stops the lice gripping to the hair, making it easier to comb them out. You will need a proper nit comb though.

If everyone checked their children's hair once a week then the problem would be at least halved!

[TeenKnitter]

As related to the shampoo, I had lice when I was younger, REALLY bad. My mom got the high-chemical stuff, it was so strong I could taste it on my eyes, and then, IT DIDN'T WORK. So my mom got this nice all-natural shampoo that got rid of the adult lice, and we had to comb out all the eggs, etc. I'm not sure what she did with all my pillows, etc. I was too young to remember.

[debinoz]

If you're having trouble getting the nits to come loose, try a vinegar rinse. I used 3/4 v to 1/4 water, pour it on..BE SURE TO COVER THE EYES!!! let it set under a plastic shower cap for about 5 minutes. You'd be amazed at how easy they are to comb out after that. It dissolves the sticky stuff that keeps the nits adhered to the hair.

Oh, I'm sorry. That's no fun for anyone.

I was the one who brought the little critters home (I was 6). No idea where I picked them up, but I remember my mom getting called, & told that she had to keep me home from school until they were gone. She didn't use any special shampoos (not sure they existed in the mid-70's, or if they did, they might have been *really* expensive). She washed my hair in HOT water and used vinegar. And combed it a LOT with that nit comb. I cried a lot.

AmandaC, I'm filing that info away for future use. That sounds so much easier (on all parties involved). Thank you!

My mom did the school head checks for a few years, and here's what she has to say.. Lice ***ARE NOT*** a sign of an unclean home/child/life. ANYONE can get lice and pass it on to someone else. It's just more frequent with children because all their hats and coats get shoved into the same closets at school (that's also why they are more prevalent in the wintertime)

It's not your fault, and it's not your children's fault. Think of it this way: Would you blame your cleaning habits for your children getting chicken pox? Would you blame the kids when they passed it between each other? Or would you say "well, that's a common childhood illness," and pull out the calamine?