Head Lice - EEEWWWWWW!

My sister became an "expert" when her daughter got it twice in one school year. Ugh! She bought all the OTC stuff, finally with frustration and no luck she called in the people from http://www.licehappens.com/

When my daughter got it last school year, my sister pointed me to the Nit Free Terminator comb!! It is amazing and the only thing you need! This special comb has teeth that trap the nits so they don't get brushed back through. We just combed her hair twice a day for a week and they were gone!

The people from LiceHappens had one that cost double. I found it on Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com/Terminator-Professional-Stainless-T...

Good Luck!

Ok listen carefully because I am a little tickled right now. As an R.N. , my children's elem school used to ask me to do head checks. Now I know everyone freaks out and feels a little itchy when discussing this. Several thongs to remember... Lice prefer clean hair. If you blow dry your hair lice can't survive. So a weekly blowout will protect you. Also it is silly to throw away your bedding. Simply wash them and place them in the dryer on high. Guaranteed dead. And remember children are very good at picking up how we feel. I refused to continue to check heads because they did not keep the privacy. And these little children were embarrassed. If your child or another child gets lice. Please downplay it. And don't act disgusted because it hurts their feelings.

Please go to headlice.org. They have a no nonsense approach and it is the site I always sent my parents to at my child care center.

Much of what you are doing is over the top. Washing and drying things and vacuuming is enough most of the time. I have never used the shampoo and the 2 times we have had it we only had to go through a couple of times to be clear of it.

By the way, head lice only like clean hair. They can't hold on to oily hair or stick their eggs to it. You can buy some tea tree oil at the local pharmacy or buy a shampoo that has it in it. They don't like tea tree oil. If you do buy the oil to add to your shampoo only add 2-3 DROPS in the shampoo bottle. It is very potent.

My girls are 18, 17 and almost 13. I have seen it several times during these school years. Girls have many friends and sleep overs. We bought a Robi Comb. First we use the Robi comb, treat with mayonnaise and blow dry hair every other day for 5 days. We use tea tree oil in coconut shampoo for at least 2 weeks. We spray our mattresses, furniture and vehicle seats that are cloth on day 1, 3 and 5. We wash our bedding on hot and dry high heat the days we treat. It may be overboard, but we don't get it back for a long while. I also, of course, did not let my girls go to any friends for about 2 weeks.

I'm in the same boat... but it's ringworm. Lice and ringworm are common in that you have to wash/throw out everything. I've done maybe 8 loads of laundry today, plus quarantined our cat and will have to treat her and our dog as well as the whole family.

I wouldn't worry about treating you, hubs or the baby. Do a check on each others hair for nits and have a backup treatment just in case. If you are really scared, you can shave the 10 month old's hair down as a precaution, but it's likely not necessary. I'm a hairstylist and have seen a few heads of lice, always makes my skin crawl.

I've never heard of using vaseline. When my daughter had them, I used the OTC shampoo and spent HOURS picking out the nits. It took 2 rounds, but that was it. I bagged her stuffed animals and pillows, washed her sheets in the hottest water possible, and we went to a hotel for 2 nights. According to the CDC, and several other websites, an adult louse only lives 24-48 hours off of a human. Any nits that fall off attached to hair die because they need to be at a constant temperature. I also boiled her brushes, combs and barrettes. I used some sort of spray on her mattress, and her usual spot on the couch just to be safe. No one else in the house got them.

My daughter had it 2 summers ago and it is awful! I wouldn't treat you or your husband or baby unless you see the nits. We tried the RIT, but in all honesty, the Lice MD worked better. I was paranoid and "picked" through my daughter's hair 2x per day at 2 hours at a time. It was torture for both of us, but the whole thing was resolved in about 4 days. Also we kept conditioner or vaseline like you, on her hair most all day as that is supposed to suffocate the adults. No adults = no nits. I picked until I had blisters on my fingers. Good luck. It sucks.

You have to wash all bedding including pillows and stuffed animals in hot water and put in dryer. Anything that cannot be washed can be frozen or wrapped in a plastic bag for about a month. Vacuum all carpets and upholstery, including your car. An adult louse can live in your carpets for a month without needing to feed, then it will attach itself to the closest person and you are again re-infested. I always vacuumed the curtains too just to be safe.

I dealt with lice a few times when my kids were in school--it's disgusting and I agree with the ewww.

The other answers are all things you should do....you can also make a natural remedy that works excellently as well. You mix together olive oil, tea tree oil, lavender oil and eucalyptus oil. Work it well through the hair and scalp and take your nit comb and comb through it. I did this every day for a week (I used the lice treatment from the store also) and it was very effective. Good luck!