Head Lice Treatments

If you live close to a beauty supply store like 'sallys' buy a metal comb. I heard they are great at getting the nits and everything out of the hair. Also buy coconut shampoo and conditioner. There is something about the coconut oil i guess.I have a friend that lives by that. She is in school to become a beautician and was told that it works wonders. Good luck... I have 3 kids and understand how tough it can be to keep them free of everything.

We found that the chemical treatments do nothing, especially in this area. The lice are resistant. The only way we were able to completely get rid of them was to comb, comb, comb. Every night for about 2 weeks I would wash their hair, and condition it REALLY well. Then I would sit and comb through it with the lice comb. Usually while they watched TV. It's a time consuming process, but the only effective one I've seen.

Let me tell ya. Your better off going to the doctor and getting a perscription. Me and my daughter battled lice for 6 months. I tried everything from mayo to all the toxic stuff. She did end up with toxic posioning in her head, her hair started falling out, her scalp pealed off....It was horrible!!! We haven't had it in 5 years. Until the summer past. I tried to get rid of it twice. Picked and picked...Took her to the doctor got a script...Gone first time....You still have to pick the eggs. But, it was a whole lot easier and better for her....Hope this helped.

I have dealt with my daughter having it two times this year!!! Once with her dad in MI over the summer and for me in SC right when school started up in August!! And both times they were hard to get rid of. Her dad ended up using rubbing alchol on her scalp per a Ped up there. I even treated her head with Rid as soon as she walked through my door from her summer visit and took all the rest of the precautions. Then she got it again at the start of the school year. Well, we had just moved so I had no clue as to where she got it from and none of the other kids in her class had it either! But that time we battled lice of almost 3 months! Heck, she still has stuffed animals living in trash bags in our shead from it! I tried everything, Rid, Nix, Licefree (it's non-toxic) and vinigar. What finially did it was Ovide. It is a prescription product. Used it once and haven't had a problem since. It is expensive though if you don't have insurance ($200 some bucks at walmart without insurance!) I didn't want to use all the chemical stuff in her hair either and I sure as heck didn't want to have to use something as strong as I did, but now that the battle has been won, I'm glad I did. And it only took the one treatment too with plenty left in the bottle for 2 more if need be. Oh, and use a metal lice comb, it works so much better than those plastic ones!!!!!

Good luck, I know how frustrated you probably are over this!!

S.
www.shariegraf.scent-team.com

We so know what you are feeling. I bought an electronic lice comb. It kills the live bugs without chemicals. I comber her hair twice a day for 2 weeks and this is the only thing that worked. Let me know if it works for you. We have gone through Lice so many times.

hello, don't waste your money on the OTC stuff any more just use regular vegetable oil. its not as hard on the scalp or hair and then at walmart by all the lice stuff they have these lice combs with metal teeth those are great!! they will get all of the eggs out. now you might have to use a little dawn dishsoap to get the oil out of her hair but its better than wasting you money on the other stuff that don't work.!!!! good luck.

I feel your pain! My daughter had lice for 8 weeks a few years back. We had picked out nits for weeks and we still kept finding them. We tried mayonnaise, campho-phenique...you name it we tried it. The thing that finally got rid of them was a drug called Ovid. A friend of mine had gotten it from her pediatrician. My daughter and I were desperate. She was sick and tired of me constantly picking at her hair and having hair pulled out. I was a little concerned but we went ahead and tried it. They were gone and we were relieved. She had no side effects or long term damage. I wish you luck!

I heard a report that there is a new strain of lice going around. Medications for this lice has to be through the Dr. I don't know for sure, but I would suggest calling the Dr. and asking the nurse.

Not sure if you have found a solution yet. I worked at an afterschool care program when in High School. I had lice and it wouldn't go away. Here's what worked for me...

I bought V05 hot oil treatments and did one a day for three days in a row. Each day I also combed out my hair with a lice comb. I washed my bedding each day too. Seemed to work.

You may also want to throw out her pillows and buy her new ones.

I have three girls and they were always getting Lice which was weird for me because I never got it as a kid (I had thick, curly, oily, frizzy hair growing-up.).

Remember Lice are not like fleas; Lice can only crawl, they can't jump, and adult lice cannot live for more that 48 hours with out fresh blood. However, Lice eggs (or nits) do hatch every 7 to 10-days so repeat the below steps every 5-days or so until gone. The problem is getting the nits out before they hatch. Nits need human warmth to incubate but they can hatch off the head. Therefore, effective screening and combing is the ultimate accompaniment to whatever course of actions you do. There is no way around the combs.

Save ALL your physical and emotional energies for screening and thorough lice and nit removal. Vacuuming is a sufficient safeguard for any questionable areas or items that may be in contact with those who are infested. You can also put bed linens, stuffed animals, and other items in a dryer for at least 30 minutes. One more thing, if combs dont work, tweezers will.

This is what has worked for us and so far this year we have had not had a breakout (knock on wood, lol):

Use a blow-dryer everyday on everyone's head, especially on the neck and behind ears. Keep the blow-dyer on high heat for at least 15 minutes. Vacuum everyday everywhere even on hardfloors and tilefloors. Vacuuming is the safest and best way to remove lice and fallen hairs with attached nits from upholstered furniture, rugs, stuffed animals, and cars. DO NOT BUY SPRAYS—THEY DO NOT WORK and they are dangerous (this was told to us by both our pediatrician and our family doctor).

Nevertheless, do vacuum those areas with your vacuum cleaner everyday and even use a carpet cleaner every 5-days. Turn your mattress over daily. Use only one pillow per person; throw into the dryer on hottest setting for 30-50 minutes every morning and place clean pillowcase on it every night. Put all plush toys in a plastic bag until outbreak is over. If your child has a favorite toy that cannot part with then place in the dryer with pillow every morning. Wash all clothes in hot water and place in dryer on hottest setting for at least 30 minutes everyday. Do not leave clean clothes out in the open. Wash everyone's hair with RID like shampoos or dog shampoo (it is cheaper and has the same ingredients with added moisturizers) every 5-days (there is no way of skipping this however you only need to do this step every 5-days). Be sure during those days inbetween that you wash hair with some kind of shampoo. After blow-drying the hair, place some kind of hair product in it.

Lice hate hair that is oily. Therefore, this year I have been using hair mousse in the girls' hair after we use the blow-dyer and it seems to be working. A mother at their summer camp said that lots and lots of hairspray will always do the trick but when the hairspray dries it can look like eggs (nits) if you are not careful.

For more information: http://www.headlice.org/

PS: When at the movies or other places that has cloth seating with lots of kids; take a clean towel or blanket to sit behind head and a plastic bag to place the towel in after using it. I think this step is also helping keep the breakouts low.

GOOD LUCK!!!!!!

Hey M.! Im sure you have already had a zillion responses (I am new to this site so I havent had time to check it all out just yet) but here are my suggestions....
First, I am a Children's Salon Owner (SweetAndSassy.Com for a little plug there!! lol!!). Just fyi...little background...
First I have mom's ALL THE TIME that are soo embarrassed about lice. THIS IS NOT A DIRTY PROBLEM!!! ACTUALLY, primarily, kids with CLEAN hair are the one's who get lice as the bugs can attach easier to clean hair RATHER than to oily hair. I dont know about other states but in the State of TN as soon as we "know" or "suspect" rather that lice on one of the children we have to ask them to leave the facility, obviously because we do not want it to spread to other children. For anyone who is reading, please do not ever take offense to this as, again, it is something that a lot of children will experience and again, its something that happens to the absolute cleanest of clean homes. Here are some suggestions which I have been given from actual moms whose kids have had lice:
(additionally, here is a link to Walgreens Pharmacy Info. I use their site for just about everything health related: http://www.walgreens.com/library/contents.html?docid=0008... )
Obviously identify first, sometimes they are not as conspicuous...ive seen it literally crawling without having to do much digging around, they were sooo big, as well as not seeing anything other than their "nits" (the easiest way to describe these so that you know what your looking for is they almost feel like salt grains on the hair...sometimes as large as a piece of uncooked rice).
The over the counter kits (RID is what we use in the store)are really good these days, some of them even working within 24 hours! Read the instructions but make sure not to forget areas such as arm hair (yes lice can be attracted to arm hair...in fact I had a Salon Mgr. who's arms were so hairy she ended up shaving them in fear of getting it!), spray and cleanse accord. to instructions even things like your headrest of your car seats, couches, etc.. items that maybe are not things you would necessarily think about. Moms have told me that after treatment they put vaseline on their childs hair (not sure about that one but she swore by it), in extreme circumstances throw out toys (stuffed animals and such), bedding, etc.. and THE MOST IMPORTANT THING that sooo many people do not do is PREVENTION FOR THE REST OF THE FAMILY SO THAT IT'S NOT CONTINUALLY PASSED BACK AND FORTH. Additionally, notify the teacher, pre-school, sunday school classes, gym classes, etc.. ASAP when you find out. A SALON CAN NOT legally "diagnose" anyone with louse however a salon can give you their "professional opinion"...if you are un-sure and want a CONFIRMED diagnosis I would consult with a physician. As far as PREVENTION goes Sweet and Sassy in Memphis, Tn makes sure to carry a product made specifically for kids by Circle of Friends. The product is a lice prevenative shampoo and conditioner. Typically when school starts back (NOW (Aug.) thru Nov.) we see an dramatic increase in louse. Typically if there is one outbreak in a classroom we know it because the entire supply of preventative shampoo and conditioner is gone within a day or two. Sorry that this is so long but the more info. the better I guess?? I hope that it gets better for you!

CRISCO! I learned it from my kids' pediatrician. You slather it on her hair, and put a shower cap on her head, and leave it overnight. Then in the morning, you use one of the lice combs, and it gets everything out! The crisco suffocates the lice - and it's totally healthy!

It's a little hard to wash out, but what i did with my daughter was washed it once, and kept her hair in 2 french braids, and nobody noticed that her hair was a little greasy. It will wash out after 2 or three washes, but the grease will keep the bugs from getting back in her hair if she is near an infested child.

And of course, wash everything. bedding, clothes, vaccuum the sofas and carpets a few times. They have sprays for furniture, carpets, etc that you might want to use Just in case. And be sure to check your own hair. When my kids kept having reoccurences one summer, we couldn't figure out why, and it turned out that I had gotten lice and didn't know it.

Good luck!

hi M. i live by the coconut shampoo and conditioner by suave my kids had lice when i was pg with my youngest at 6 months i couldnt use any of the otc.dr told me about the shampoo i used it and it worked wonderfull.we have used it every since as a regu;ar shampoo and had no problems with lice its been 3 school seasons later still no lice yaa.what you do is get the childs hair wet then lather the shampoo cover her head for 2 hours if the child has long hair get some detangler brush her hair first so wont hurt as much when ya take the comb to it.comb through the childs hair while the shampoo is still in it.comb comb comb use a flea comb the teeth are smaller gets the nits.rinse her hair in hottest water the child can take then do the conditioner as u normaly would.i have heard from hospitals ect the spray is dangerous so we dont use it but on the couches bed ect i use a clothes iron set on high,also after you vaccum throw empty the container right after.everything you clean use hot hot water bag up all her stuff not washable in a garbage bag for 2 weeks.

First thing- let the child's teacher know (I teach, we don't get grossed out by it believe me- but it gives us a chance to get the WHOLE class checked and for us to make sure that its not passed round and round the room). I worked at a school once where it was rampant- parents would get the kids head's cleaned, but didn't remember the stuffed animals, bedding, carpets and so on. I even got it from the kids that year-- I do suggest keeping your childs hair in braids or pony tails and spraying it with hairspray in the a.m.

I actually had to do a presentation during medical rounds on a pediatric unit of a hospital while I was in pharmacy school on head lice treatments. I covered all the products out there... so I thought. At the end of the presentation the attending asked what was the most effective product that could be used. I got it wrong. The answer was mayonaise. So, if you're still having trouble, it might be worth trying. I don't remember all the details on how to use it, but I'm sure you could find it on the internet. Good Luck!

I saw that someone put something about Lindane Shampoo (prescription). I also heard that it works well with lice but also I heard that they stopped prescribing it because it can cause siezures. Which I had to be careful of because of myself having Epilepsy already and I didnt want to take the chance of the same issue coming up with my kids.
My mom heard about a Paul Mitchell shampoo made from Tea Tree Oil and Lavender. You can also get the conditioner as well. They have worked great for myself and my kids. (they do smell strong and may hurt eyes so be careful)

When my daughter was in kindergarten, she kept getting lice. I kept contacting the school, but no notices were being sent home for the other students. My poor daughter had to endure countless treatments, and it ended up getting passed to my son and me. No matter what we did, it kept coming back. It turned out that the nap mats were being stored against each other in her class, and that the lice was going back and forth between them.

One of my friends used to work in a community center. They were taught a few things that seemed to help prevent lice. After my daughter's fourth case, she finally remembered one of the tips that really seemed to work. She suggested washing her hair with T-Gel shampoo. It's made to help with dandruff and dry scalp, and the key ingredient is a low dose of tar. The generic version is much cheaper, and still contains the same amount of tar. I bought that, and we all used it. The lice didn't come back. Now, whenever lice seems to be a big problem at the school (which we only manage to find out from friends and never from the school!), we buy the T-Gel shampoo and wash with it. We haven't had it in our home since.

M.~ I know this may sound really crazy however, I have been there with this issue before with my daughter. I tried all the products out there and I did have a concern on using too much etc.. but I wanted it gone!!! I did a search on the internet and it suggested smothering her hair with Mayo~ Yes, Mayo!!! I did this and wrapped her head with a head scarf(doo-rags they call them) I then put a shower cap on her for her to sleep. The Mayo Smothers them. I did this everyday/Night for about 4 or 5 days just to make sure. I also bought the spray for the bedding etc.... It is alot of work but it did get rid of them!!!!! Reading this makes me glad again that my kids are homeschooled now. Being from Michigan and Moving here to Memphis Tn 2 yrs ago was a challenge in itself but the schools and headlice was not something I had anticipated here. Good Luck to you and I hope this helps~

have de liced all bedding couches vacumed everywhere? vinegar will work also dry her hair lice can't stand heat and you'll have to go through every strand of hair with a lice comb it is not good to use the otc agents more than two weeks oh put pillows big blankets (after washing )in bags and seal sounds crazy but it works.also get the spray and spray carpet(beyond what they say I have heard of lice getting in carpet) and vacume spray down the mattress' too. long hair takes longer to get rid of. you really need to go strand to strand with the comb. hope this helps my daughter got it from my ex's house and again at daycare. she had long hair it was embarassing for her and i didn't feel so hot either. hang in there. K.

M.,
When I lived in Florida my nieces and my daughter got lice. We got a lot of different advice from neighbors and Dr.'s and what worked best was this: Wash hair, rinse, pour alcohol and smooth into scalp and all the way to ends. Place a plastic cap over hair and leave on for an hour or two. While she's waiting, spray her bedding, and anything she's had her head up against that cant be put in a very hot wash, with alcohol. Don't worry the smell will go away after a few hours. Gather up anything not washable that she's been around and place in a tightly sealed plastic bag for a few weeks. After washing cycle put items in dryer on hottest setting fabrics can take.Any furniture you've sprayed, vaccuum. Make sure you throw away the vacuum bag or empty canister outside the home.
When your ready to finish hair, rewash regular with real warm water. Place conditioner in hair and leave in. Brush hair out and section off. starting with top layers go through with a nit comb( a dog's flea comb works better) Use a cup or bowl of alcohol diluted with water to rinse the comb every so many comb-thrus. make sure you are in good lighting cause the light can highlight the nits(eggs). You may even have to use your nails to slide some off the hair folicles. It's a very tedious process. Your daughter if gonna hate having to sit still for so long. My daughter has very thick and very very curly hair so it took twice as long as it usually does. And if she has real fine hair it will be hard to see some of them. Make sure you soak brushes, combs, hairties,etc. in really hot water. You can add alcohol to it if you wish. All in all, alcohol will dry her hair out somewhat at first but you can get a hotoil conditioner. Also the spanish girls always keep their hair gelled or moused to keep from getting recurrences. BabyOil works but gives it a real greasy look.Hope this helps.

Hello M., during the summer I fought head lice like every other week, and also right after school started. My mother-in-law told me to use alcohol. Yes it sounds horrible but I promise it will get rid of the lice and the eggs. What you need to do it lay the child on her back either in the tub or somewhere that she can hold her head backwards, pour the alcohol right at the hair line on her dry hair and massage it in until all the hair is soaked. Put a shower cap on for about 10 or 15 minutes, and b4 rinsing it out do the nit comb thing. then rinse the alcohol out. I got the 91% alcohol the last time I had to do it but the 50% will work too. Just the stronger the better. Now about you husband, I work for a Wellness company that has wonderful product for cleaning and other things, and they are not harmful to you or the environment. Yall please check out my website: http://www.stayinhomeandlovinit.com/cgi-bin/team.cgi?id=S...

You have to go through her hair with one of those combs to get all the eggs out. And I mean a tiny strand of hair at a time. It is very time consuming but it is about the only way you can get them all out. Also you need to wash all the bed covers for everybody, including pillows. There is also some spray you can buy to put on your furniture since you cant put it in the washing machine.If you leave even one egg in her head they can hatch and then you have more lice. If she has long hair I would cut it kind of short, not boy short but shorter to make
the process of combing out the eggs easier. A.

M.,
I have been through the same thing with my daughter. I finally had to go to the doctor and get a prescription for Lindane Shampoo and Gel Egg Remover. That finally cured our problem. Good Luck.
G.

Ok this may sound really crazy but it workes and does not cost as much! Put mayonaise in you childs hair and wrap it in a plastic bag and let her sleep with that over night.THe mayonaise will suffercate them and give you daughter shiney hair. I know it sounds crazy but i have done it. Lice enjoy clean hair. SO it may kill her and your husband but tell her not to wash her hair as often and it will help prevent her from getting it as much.

I havent tried the alcohol but instead of using conditioner use hand lotion its thicker and let the hair dry massage it in the scalp use a fine tooth comb through it and let dry then wash out with shampoo nothing else this will get them all smuther anything in there hair and make it very soft and beautiful and i did my hair as well

Alot of other people have already said this but the bedding needs to be replaced. I had lice when I was a kid (all the time). We had to take the pillows, bedding, and stuffed animals (anything that you can't wash) and we put them in plastic bags (trash bags) to make sure all the lice on the bedding died and any eggs that might possibly be there were deprived of air then we washed the bedding. Make sure you wash all the bedding in hot water. Here is a website with some helpful information.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/lice/factsht_head...

You need to make sure your are washing EVERYTHING she comes in contact with , that includes , stuffed animals, furnature, bedding , vaccuming ( this is a big one) make sure if you cant wash it you spray it down with lice bedding spray, and treat the whole family. make sure you are goign through her hair with a lice comb or a pet flea comb ( I've noticed those work too!) make sure your getting EVERY strand of hair and you have to do it one little piece at a time.Also she has to be getting it from somewhere make sure her school knows she has it so they can find the kid shes getting it from.

We had this problem recently. I was using the generic brand of shampoo. I changed to RID and it seems to have worked. Good luck.