My Six Year Old Daughter Can't Stop Scratching Her Head!

This seems like a medical situation maybe you need to take her into the doctor an get their opion, the outbreak may have affected her mentally.

Dear K.,
Why don't you just try plain water - rinsing her hair, then letting her dry her own hair with a hand towel. Then try not to notice when she scratches. Trim her fingernails, but not too short. I worked in a day care where there was lice, and itched my own head for months, and I had no lice or nits. Just a reaction. I don't know, I just think that you should try not to talk about it much. C. N.

Often times Rid does NOT get rid of lice. You need to treat it mroe effectively. Go online to Hair Fairies and buy their products. If you live near a Hair Fairies Salon I suggest you take your daughter and have them check her head.

Common lice shampoos and treatments on the market do not work as lice have become resilient to them. Because the Hair Fairies products are non-toxic there is no harm in using them on your child.

I do not work for Hair Fairies but am a very satisfied mom.

It's possible she has them again. My daughter had lice when she was in preschool. Despite everything we did (and we did it all) she kept getting it. Check her again and make sure you get yourself checked by someone else too. She could be giving them to you and you back to her.

One trick I learned from a doctor is that lice love clean hair. He told me to make sure to use gel or hair spray in my daughters hair and braid it everyday. The little buggers can't survive the gel and hairspray and it is more difficult for them to get to the scalp if the hair is braided. I did all of that and she never got it again.

Good morning: My suggestion to you is that you visit NAET.com, order and read the book "Say Good-Bye to Children's Allergies." I go to Dr. David Karaba in Fullerton and absolutely love him. His phone number is ###-###-####. One of the wonderful things about NAET is that for children or the infirm, they can be treated through a surrogate, i.e., you. Here is the description paragraph from the book information.

"Say Good-bye to Children’s Allergies
By - Devi S. Nambudripad, D.C., L.Ac., R.N., Ph.D.
Paperback-1st Edition 2000
350 pages, 8.5’ X 5.5’ X .75’
ISBN: ISBN: 0-###-###-####-8-4
In Say Good-bye to Children’s Allergies, Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad, the developer of NAET®, will help you understand your child’s illness and will assist you in finding the right help to achieve better health for your child. This book will show you how certain commonly used products in your foods and environment can cause health problems in your child; how you can test your child in your privacy of your own home using the Nambudripad’s Testing Techniques described in the book. This book will educate you how your child’s health problems can relate to allergy, a traditionally under-diagnosed or misdiagnosed condition; and, how allergies can manifest into myriad symptoms that might seem unrelated. The author also provides remedies for mild conditions of common childhood ailments arising from allergies and how to find help in assisting your child find the right help for serious problems such as, asthma, hay-fever, common colds, sinus problems, milk allergy, peanut allergy, sugar allergy, hives, gastritis, vomiting, colic for newborns, ear infections, irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, bronchitis, drug reactions, and many other conditions. Dr. Nambudripad explains how allergies are often the underlying causes to pediatric problems and how NAET® testing procedures and NAET® treatments can offer relief from these allergies. The book is supported by NAET® practitioners’ testimonials and patients’ success stories."

It sounds like she either still has head lice (you won't see the lice, only the nits) or she is reacting to the harsh chemical of the treatment. I would avoid Rid and other over-the-counter remedies at all costs. They are pesticides and are not only very dangerous to a child (do an online search), they can irritate the scalp long afterwards.

Try a natural alternative. I've used this for years and it works every time...

Using a base of about 2-4oz of mild shampoo (Dr. Bronner's castille soap works for us), mix in 2-4 drops of the following essential oils: neem seed oil (most important), tea tree oil (also important), eucalyptus essential oil, lavender essential oil. Make sure they are essential oils, not fragrance oils, or they won't work. Wash hair with the mixture, leave in for about 10 minutes, then wash out well. Apply plenty of conditioner, then use a nit comb to comb through hair (may take a couple of hours, especially if her hair is long). Repeat combing daily until you see no more nits (small whitish eggs that are glued to single strands of hair). You will most likely not see any lice themselves because they are fast, dark, tiny, and are excellent at hiding. If you see nits, trust there are lice.

It is also important to wash all bedding and clothing. Spray all furniture, carpets, large pillows, stuffed animals, and car seats with the same solution above (except use water or alcohol as a base instead of shampoo). When dry, vacuum well.

Also, in the future, try using a milder shampoo (Jason brand, found at health food stores, is a safer and economical alternative) to help avoid chemical sensitivities. It may be that she is just having a chemical reaction but, if she's scratching in her sleep too, I'd assume it is head lice.

My daughter experienced the same thing last year. With all of the scalp treatments her skin had dried out. Our doctor prescribed a hydrocortisone lotion for her to apply, this helped out quite a bit.

I have crazy thick hair too. I caught lice in fourth grade. For over a year my mom couldn't get rid of it. Finally, she cut my hair short and started washing it EVERY day - this was in addition to the chemical shampoo, combing out the nits, and washing everything we owned. She also changed me to a new school since the old school kept having outbreaks. This finally worked! When my hair grew back out it was lice free. Hopefully you won't have to resort to such extreme measures. Good luck!

I dont know much about what you can do during the day, short of going to the pharmacy and asking what the best anti itch shampoo is available over the counter. At night I would have her wear gloves, to stop her from scratching her scalp open.

Sorry to say she may still have lice. RID didn't work for us and we found out the hard way. Our pediatrician prescribed some shampoo and cream and it took weeks of treatment to rid it completely. She shampoo then cream and slept with cream on under a shower cap. Go get her checked out at the doctor. If she does have them replace her pillow. Go to the pharmacy and get the spray and spray her mattress, clean and spray her bedding and all over your couches etc. Replace your brushes and then boil after each use. Get a better nit comb from the pharmacy the one with RID doesn't get most of them. I hope it isn't lice but we had the exact situation. I was vigilant with her treatment and combing it took a few weeks. There also is a place you can take her and they pick the nits out for you. Your doctor probably has the name. It is expensive but I know people who have preferred that. Also we did the oil in hair, gel thing too but it didn't help and it was because it had gone untreated for so long. Picking out each and every nit is the only way to insure success. We used a magnifying glass outside. It is tramatic. My daughter was 10 and got it from babysitting. The family never told us the kids had lice and we never thought of lice (at 10) when she started itching. Good luck.

I would do the RID thing again. Chances are, someone at school didn't get RID (of 'em) and passed them around again. Don't forget to change all the bed clothes and pillows and hairbrushes, (teddybear) everything.

i agree with most of the post it sounds like you might have missed some nits/lice. Did you wash her pillows and brushes and head band and rubber bands an d spray your couches and other furniture and rugs with the lice spray.. My niece had it and kept getting it from her book bag . they are survivor bugs. but if you are sure that you didn't miss anything and it's not lice then i'd take her and get an allergy test done on her to see what is triggering her reaction .. Hope it works out.

That's what happened to me, and it was because I still had them. My M. couldn't see them, because of my hair color, and it only takes one or two to cause such chaos. She tried different creams and shampoos, and then had a friend check me and sure enough, I still had them. Take her in the backyard and have your husband or bestfriend really check her over, like every strand. My M. kept telling me to "stop it! your fine!" and the back of my neck was all scratched open and bleeding. If you still don't find anything, take her in and see if their is an anti-itch cream for scalps the Dr. recommends. Good Luck.

Hi K.,

I am a single mom working from home full time too!

Have you ever heard of using tea tree oil to help with the lice/nits? It is very very powerful and soothing. There are shampoos on the market that have some as an additive.

I agree try brushing her hair to evenly distribute her scalp oils and to stimulate her hair follicles . Condition for washings vs using shampoo each time. And do check for a re-infestation.

Try to avoid harsh chemicals like RID...especially on little ones.

Best wishes to you.

I agree with other posts about making sure she doesn't have it again, and with the tips about using products and braiding hair etc.
I want to add that lice can be very traumatic for a kid! When I had it as a child my head "itched" long after they were gone. It's a tough thing for a kid to process that there were bugs in her hair. She could still be dealing with that, and imagining that her head itches. If this is the case, I can't think of much you can do except really continuing to talk it through with her and assure her they are gone, and engage her in the steps to keep them from coming back (braids and products and laundry).

How often is her hair being washed? Hair does not need to be washed more than a couple of times a week, (in spite of what tv ads seem to suggest), unless it is extremely oily. If her hair is normal to dry try cutting back on washing it and gently brushing her hair 50 strokes every night or when it feels itchy. This is something she can do herself. Brushing it will distribute natural oil all over her scalp and stimulate the blood flow in her scalp. Also wash her bedding in HOT water for about 15 minutes, do your laundry in as warm water as you can without shrinking the clothes, vacuum the entire house, including the furniture (couches)if they are fabric, and if you have a bagged vacuum, throw the bag out after vacumming. If it is bagless empty the container into a grocery bag, clean off the filter over the bag, and throw the bag away, then wash out the container with warm soapy water and rinse throughly.
A Little About Me: I am the mother of 2 grown children and a grandmother of 3; ages 14, 12, and 9

Hi. I think you should have your child looked at by a lice specialist. If you live in the San Fernando Valley or Los Angeles there are some names I could give you....