Help!! Daughter Was Exposed to Lice!!

Updated on July 06, 2011
C.H. asks from Spring, TX
11 answers

I've searched all over the internet and can't find answers I need. My Daughter had a sleep over last night and the little girl who stayed over may have lice. Her Dad just found out she was exposed last week. How long will it take to know if my daugher has it or not? Should I go ahead and treat her head? I have never had any experience with this and am freaking out!! They slept on an air mattress in my living room so I've vacuumed twice and put the mattress away. Thanks for your help!

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So What Happened?

Thank you to everyone! I feel so relieved. Had no idea head lice was so common! I've been going crazy today washing and vacuuming but after reading all your posts feel I can relax a little! Again, thanks for such great feedback and I love the fact that you can ask a question on here and get instant feedback!! Blessings to all!! :)

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Go to headlice.org.

Head lice is NO BIG DEAL. It is at an epedemic level in the USA. Nearly everyone has it or will have it at some point.

2 moms found this helpful

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R.N.

answers from Houston on

All 3 of my daughters and I had lice 4 years ago. My youngest was in preschool and there was a child in her class who had lice--and then my middle daughter had a sleepover with a child who ended up having it. So we had more than one potential source and couldn't identify it definititively. I used Rid 3 times and we still had live bugs after 2 weeks. I finally covered our heads in mayonnaise and put shower caps on and we stayed like that for 6 hours. Then I washed our hair really well and combed out with the nit combs. I found 1 live bug on my youngest child's hair and that was it. We were lice free from then on. I never ever found any nits on any of our heads so I think if you get to that stage you have a pretty good infestation going. They are hard to get rid of because they have become resistant to the drugs. The good news is that I think you live close to Houston and they do have salons that specialize in this. They are expensive but if you find out your child has lice the are so worth it for the peace of mind! They are experts and ALWAYS get rid of all the bugs within 2 weeks. Texas Lice Squad is one I know of--I think there is another but I can't remember the name. Just google it. Good luck--there is a good chance she doesn't have it--just keep an eye out for intense itching and scratching. My middle daughter came downstairs one morning with hair that was twice the size of her head and I knew something was up--she had scratched so much during the night that she 'teased' her hair to that size! I can laugh now but it was NOT funny then. All the best!

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C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

Here's the deal:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/reprint/peds.20...

Head lice is REALLY not a big deal. Read the article above carefully - it's long, but contains factual, well-researched information from the American Academy of Pediatrics about head lice. Bottom line: shampoo today with Rid or similar. Shampoo 9 days from now with Rid or similar. DONE. Nothing else you need to do. You don't need to pick nits or wash everything in the house or anything like that. Most kids actually have head lice for more than a month before anyone knows about it - so this won't be the first time your daughter is exposed to it, and it won't be the last. ;)

1 mom found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

No biggie. It won't be the last time she's exposed to lice. Lice actually prefer clean hair, and people from socioeconomic backgrounds get them. Lice are become resistant to traditional chemical treatments, and one of the best treatments nowdays is teatree lice treatment. It's also good if you can cover the head with conditioner, and the using a lice comb, comb through all the hair and wipe off onto a tissue. Repeat everything in about a week. Wash all brushes, combs, bedding. Also keep a check on yourself and anyone who may bE exposed.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.W.

answers from Youngstown on

I was told recently that one way to avoid getting them full blown is to cover your daughter's hair in conditioner. Saturate it and keep it that way for several hours. Wrap it in plastic wrap to keep it moist. The adults will all die and not be able to lay eggs.

1 mom found this helpful
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N.H.

answers from Austin on

Welll the BEST thing to do is really shave the hair off but if you're not willing to do that then yes, definitly treat right away. It's better to treat it & be safe than to do nothing. You need to wash EVERYTHING (like bed linens, all clothing, including yours, the parents, b/c I'm sure you've hugged or been close since it happened) in HOTTTT water. Just vacuuming may not always help, you may need to steam clean any carpets. Hope this helps, good luck!!

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R.D.

answers from Nashville on

I got a Robicomb (about $25 at Walmart). It does not damage the hair like the metal combs. It uses a battery and emits an electric charge which kills nits and bugs while combing thru the hair. I have had it for about 10 yrs and it still works. I just remove the battery when not dealing with the situation!!
Put all stuffed animals/decorative pillows in a trash bag in the closet and take them out in a month. You can also do this with other items that can't be washed.
Schools have to deal with this constantly. It is not a bad thing but many students are repeat offenders due to the family not having the means to cleanup-it can get expensive!!
The only thing is, kids and parents can be mean. You don't want to send her to school with lice because when they do a "headcheck", it is quite embarassing because they send the child home and all the kids know why they were sent home on "headcheck" day. We also went to Girl Scout camp every summer and they did a "headcheck" when checking in!
My girls only got them once each and many threats but I became so paronoid in early years, I would check about 3X a year!!

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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

I got one of the metal combs for getting the nits out. We've never had them but was exposed so I combed just in case.

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A.D.

answers from Dallas on

We just dealt with this last month. I did thoroughly clean the house and wash all the bedding but I found that the chemical treatments weren't very effective. After 2 weeks we still had lice. Then I used lemon juice to soak the kids' heads and left it on for a day, then I washed their hair with tea tree castile soap for 10 days and used a eucalyptus spray if I saw any lice. That treatment got rid of them. Good luck!

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P.B.

answers from Austin on

I went through this for the first time when my daughter was a sophomore. She had shared headphones with a girl who constantly scratched her head. We used Rid (or the store brand of it) -- I must've put too much in one spot because now my daughter has a permanent gray strand in her hair. It was a nightmare because my brother looked down on us (we were caring for my mom who has dementia) and while I understand why he banned HER from mom's, it didn't make sense to ban ME. I also read online that the white eggs are dead already, so I ignored those and just got rid of the dark ones. That seemed to work. Ugh -- I don't envy anyone with this but don't look down on them because you just never know. I think if I had to do this again, I might've gone the mayo or olive oil route....

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R.L.

answers from Houston on

I've been through this. You want to wash everything in hot water. If she was infected, you will see the nits by parting the hair and examining her scalp. When I went through this we treated with the lice shampoo anyway, the whole family and washed all exposed linens and clothes in hot water. It was a success because none of us were infected!

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