I'm in a Head Lice Cycle That Seem Impossible to Get Rid of Desperately Need Hel

No L. do not shave their heads. Believe me i have been through this one to many times. I know you want to trust the medicine but that is not the trick because it don't work. You need to go to CVS or Walgreens and buy the lice comb i think it is about 5 dollars,it has a red handle and i believe it comes with two combs, it is well worth it. You need to wash their hair and comb it when it is wet.You will find anything and everything that is crawling or hanging on to a hair strand.Make sure the kids have on a white or color ful shirt you will see most of them fall on the back of their shirts.Comb all of the kids hair one after the other.Comb their hair with the kids sitting up and then have them turn their head over and comb from the back of their neck down to the bottom. I would sit with my kids and take them out as i seen possible and belive me my girls had hair down their back. They used to hate it but they will tell you know i was the best bug comber and puller they ever had. Give the kids a book or let them watch their favorite program on tv. It is not their fault please dont cut their hair...

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So here is what you do. GET SOME TEA TREE OIL. You may be able to find tea tree oil shampoo, or small bottles of the oil to drop into your child's shampoo, at stores that sell health-foods and natural medicines. although tea tree oil is natural, that doesn't automatically make it safe. It can cause skin rashes in those prone to allergies, and it can be toxic if ingested. You'll want to keep it out of your children's reach, use it in reasonable quantities, and use your judgment as to whether it will be a good choice for your child.
here read this article
http://specialchildren.about.com/od/medicalissues/qt/teat...

Ok i know you will think i am crazy when you read this as i did when i was told about it myself. But i have a 16 yo grand daughter who got this in school every year in grade school & her hair is sooo thick we had hard times with it every year. But this does work!!!!!!! Take mayonnaise & completely saturate her hair with this & leave on there for @ least 2 hours, then shampoo as usual. Ok but now it has to be the real thing, salad dressing will not do it. Has to be mayonnaise!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Might not be bad i9dea to shampoo @ least 2 times. & this may be re[peated as often as becessary.

Hey L., I know what you are going through. I had a girl that I was watching that got it from daycare when I was on "maternaty leave" so to speak. Then of course my daughter and I got it. Not fun at all. You need to make sure that you wash all pillows in the hottest temp of water you have. They can not live in temps of 135degrees or higher. All beddings, stuffed animals, couches, hats, coats etc!! Anything that they can crawl on they can get on. Make sure to replace the brushes and hair ties in the house, that or boil them in water for at least 10+ minutes. I've also heard that using campho-phenic(spelling?) works great!! No combing or anything! Just apply it to the head and keep it on for about 30 minutes then wash it out. Now you may have to wash your hair about 5+ time just to get the smell out, but to not have to sit there and comb the girls hairs out is priceless! Make sure that you do everyone head also. Not matter if they have it or not! That way you make sure to get rid of it! You can also check out this website, www.texaslicesquad.com. It's a great website to get info.. To have them do everyone's head is expensive though! I hope that this helps and best of luck!

Have you tried going to the doctor , they have a very strong prescription that usually helps after you have made several attempts and nothing works.

Hi L.,
I used to work at a camp for at risk kids and many of them came through with lice and I had long hair. I was told that if I put hair grease in my hair near the neck that it would keep me from getting lice because they couldn't hold onto it. It worked for me. The first day of each camp session right before we did head checks I would pull my hair up in a bun or tight braid and then grease up. It washes out easily but it kept me from getting them. This will help you keep your kids from getting it while you are washing sheets and spraying the carpets etc. You may need to do it more than one day but it's worth it.

I feel for you. That has to be so hard. Well I don't know how you are treating the house but make sure you are using what you need to treat the house, mattresses and carpet. Make sure you empty your vacuum bag, treat clothes and stuffed animals and then put them in the dryer on high and then place them in a trash bag tight and remove them from the house.In the garage or where ever so they don't get reinvested before you get the house completely done. For the children's hair use a jar of mayo. It sounds crazy but you put a jar of mayo on their hair cover with a shower cap and leave on for 8 hrs. It's best to do while they are sleeping. (just because they are not as irritated by it) The mayo suffocates the lice and washing and combing the hair is easy. It's like conditioner. Treat once and go back and do it again in a few days to make sure. Good luck!

Hi L.. There are several different type of prescribed and over the counter medications to combat head lice. I am not sure what you were prescribed but some of the medications are: Nix, Rid, Elimite, Ovide, and Lindane. Elimite is usually prescribed for scabies but is also indicated for head lice and works really well. You leave it on for 10-15 min on there scalp and then wash off with shampoo and water. You would also need to find out the source of the head lice. It is highly contagious and has an origin, perhaps some one at school, a cousin, or friend or the children. If you find out the source, then that person can be treated so they won't spread the nasty lice.

Ok I know this is going to sound really off the wall but I had the same problem and the shampoo's I think the lice are immune to that.LOL! Anyway I used the clear lamp oil, the kind that you buy for the little lamps in your home. Anyway I would put enough on there head and rub around the whole scalp area and I am telling you it kills the bugs instantly and then of course the knits. After I would rub it around I would take a fine tooth comb and just comb out and the bugs would come out on the comb and the knits would come out as well. But that is the whole thing you have to make sure that you get the knits out. I have acutally at one point went almost strand by strand of hair to get them out. I was so sick of lice I could scream. This whole process wouldn't not be any longer that than 5 min. It may stink a little but it is the only thing that I found that would work. (not the picking part of course). Anyway you might just try it just dont keep it on to long.

My deepest sympathies; I went through this last year with my three daughters. What we found finally worked once and for all was the mayonnaise treatment. Apply mayonnaise to entire head at bedtime, cover with shower cap and let it soak in overnight. You'll have to wash their hair first thing in the morning, and the smell can be daunting, but it worked for us. Good luck!!

Have you checked yourself? At school, we often find that children with recurring lice have mothers/parents who are working VERY diligently to get rid of the bugs, but leave themselves out of the cycle. Get checked--and make sure it's by someone who REALLY knows what they are looking for.
Good luck!!

Let me say this will sound odd when I tell what has worked for me. I was in the same situatuion as you. My grandmother told me to take mayonaise and you coat the head put on a shower cap and allow it to stay on either all day or overnight whatever is more convienent for you. the mayo kills the live lice a smothers the eggs. I used DAWN dish soap to wash it out because it cuts through the oil and normally only takes one wash. The Mayo is also good for the hair and scalp also very easy on the wallet versus the medicine for lice which always gave my kids a headache. I would repeat this every Sunday as a precaution for about a month. It has worked for me and have not had trouble since. I hope this helps I know hoe frustrating it can be.
Good luck

I can sugust finding out wear there coming from first and taking action there.. if you go to the pharmacist and ask which treatment kills for two weeks that is a good one my daughter had lice in kindergarden over christmas I got that brand sorry i forgot the name. i called the school to let them know she only went to school and home so someone there had to have it . they checked and a little girl behind her had a sever case. they took care of that with her parents my dughter now almost 19 never had it again as every year when it was in the school or the kids mentioned someone had it i bought that treatment and used it as a prevenitive. the pharmasist said he had never thought to do that and it was a good idea it kills for two weeks so if they do get on them they die before they spread. summer is soon treat them and then maybe check the school or friends if it keeps comming back someone has it and are not treating it. Good Luck

You have to treat the house once a week for at least a month with that many kids. You Must wash all bedding in HOT water. Make sure you move beds and get under them also, the couch and all fabric furniture. After treating heads with meds there is a trick I learned. Get a Big container of White vinegar Get your towels and as hot a water as each child can stand Without burning them use a spray bottle or comb the vinegar into the hair wrap with warm water soaked and wrung out towel and let sit for about 20 minutes. It will neutralize the hair and make any remaining nits release as it dissolves their glue. Don't kepp the hair super clean for a couple weks as the cleaner the hair the easier for the bugs to get a hold again. I am not saying don't clean the hair for 2 weeks just don't clean as often ie washing every night. All these things usually help but it will take perseverance and make sure they aren't getting it from school.

I put together this 'manual' at the request of my friends. I hope it helps you. I did all this and got rid of head lice in a week.

Dear all,

So many of you asked me what I did to get rid of head lice, so here it is!!! File it away, and I pray you NEVER have to use it as a reference!!

First of all, take a deep breath and accept that for the next couple of days you will be busy, but all the work will pay off by not spreading it and having to continue this process for months. Unless you can shave everyone's head and leave your house for 2 full weeks, you will have to do the following:

1. Getting rid of head lice from the head:

In order to get rid of all head lice you must comb your child's hair with a special lice comb. The one endorsed by HeadLice.org is call Licemeister and after trying others, I have to agree that it is the best one out. There is one pharmacy in the Austin region that carries this product, QUICK Pharmacy on 79 (Round, Rock). You can also buy it online at: http://www.headlice.org/.

I sprayed a solution of 2 cups of water with 25 drops of tea tree oil before each combing. I did this 2 times a day. If you want to go all natural with this process, you must spray the tea tree oil solution and comb 3 times a day for at least 7 days. If you want to use a shampoo, NIX is the safest one, recommended by Pediatricians. Even when using the shampoo, you need to comb twice a day for at least 7 days.

To comb, place a towel under your child before every combing. Then start combing with small sections and comb many times each section. After each pass, dip the comb in a container with water (this will allow you to see if there are any lice). Lice doesn’t die easy, you need to drawn them or squeeze the sucker in your fingernails (until it pops) – gross but satisfying.

Check this video to see how to do this: http://www.headlice.org/special/allcombout.htm

Once you are done, wash the towel and clothes you and your child were using. Dispose of the water you used in the toilet. Then, disinfect the comb by adding boiling water into a container. Don’t make the same mistake I made of putting the comb directly in the pan of boiling water… I forgot to turn it off and the water evaporated and melted the comb and almost ruined my good Calphalon pot.

2. Preventing from getting more lice

Every linen, rug, pillow, throw in your house needs to be washed with hot water, (to which I added tea tree oil cleaner for an extra boost). Then dry everything in high for at least 20 minutes. Anything that cannot be washed in hot water or dried in high, I washed and dried and set inside a plastic bag. Quarantine all these for at least 10 days, 14 would be better.

After being treated, I placed all the bedding, decorative pillows, rugs, throws, even sofa cushions in the dining room and quarantined for 2 weeks. Your house will not look pretty, but you will have less work everyday and besides, who will be coming to visit if you have head lice??????

In regards to toys (or anything else that cannot be washed), I placed everything plush into a plastic bag, attached the vacuum hose in it and sucked all the air away. Then tied a knot and quarantined for 2 weeks.

Clothes – any clothes the kids have used must be washed (hot water/dryer).

3. Everyday routine

For at least 7 days, every morning I changed the linens, towels, pjs and clothes that we were all using/wearing. Maybe I went overboard, but I’m glad to report that after 4 or 5 days of doing this, I found less and less lice eggs and death lice in my kid’s heads.

Now, breathe again and be happy lice is gone and make sure to check your child’s hair at least once a month! Or every day if a report of head lice is posted in your school.

4. Suggestions

If your son has the head lice, consider giving him a buzz cut. Lice don’t have where to hide and short hair is not a good place for them to place their eggs. (Sara and John didn’t get any lice)

Also, consider hiring a cleaning service as soon as possible to come help you dust, vacuum, and clean your entire house! It’s money worth spending.

For more info on head lice go to http://www.headlice.org/faq/index.htm.

Good luck and call me if you need any help!

Love to all,

A. – survivor of head lice!

all great advice the mayo worked great for us and make sure everythangs washed but also somethang people dont thank about it can be on any animals that are in the house or around the kids and can live on them so you need 2 treat them as well.Well great luck!!!

ANgela

I recently had the same problem with my daughter. Unfortunatly, I had to cut off about 4 inches of hair and I then took her to the doctor for a prescription. I, like you, had tried everything - even using Listerine in her hair. Nothing seemed to work. After I've used the prescription medicine she has been clean. I check her hair everyday and use the lice comb everytime I bathe her just in case. Good luck, I know how you feel.

Hi I recommend the Robi comb you cnapurchase at walgreens for about 35.00, seems pricey but I have heard it really helps. YOu use the robi for 2 weeks everyday in childrens hair yes time comsouming , but better then shavign the hair off. this comb has an electical current that zaps lice and kills them. that is why you use it so long to make sure all the nits are gone as well.

We too, had this nasty cycle, through our school and girl scout troop!! You HAVE to treat the house, everything, from pillows to stuffed animals. Put them in large bags (closed tightly) and do not remove the items for at least 2 weeks!! Anything that can go in the dryer, dry it on HOT...and absolutely buy the lice comb....it takes hours, but it is like magic! You'd be surprised how those critters just hang on!! To check your own child, take them in a dark room and look with a black light (my daughter has light hair so we couldn't see them unless we did this)! Good luck with the lice and kuddos to you for all those blessings in your home!!!

It sounds like you are doing everything correctly. You may need to check out their friends or classmates. They may be bringing them back into the house from an outside source. Good luck!

Hey L., I have to agree with Lizzi P and suggest you use the tea tree oil. I have used tea tree oil before on myself and friends. The anti-lice potion is created mixing 1/2 of a 2 fl. oz. bottle of tea tree oil(can be purchased at a drug store, Wal-mart and sometimes your local food store) and a spray bottle (about 16 oz.)full of water. Mix the oil with the water, spray the hair saturating the head and let sit for about 5 minutes. Rinse well and DO NOT GET IN THE EYES. I like using the sink with a spray nozzle for rinsing. I then mix 1 tsp of the tea tree oil with a cheap bottle of shampoo to be used from then on to keep the critters away. Trust me...it works. But do follow Lizzi's warnings and test it on a small area of skin, first before proceeding. AND VACUUM! IF you have large bedspreads that are dry clean only, you can put them in a plastic bag and tie it closed for at least a couple of days. I understand that the eggs cannot live once they hatch if they do not have a host to feed from. I wish you well. You have enough in your life to deal with to have to go thru this anymore.

I have a very informative email I could send you that is helping lot's of people with this concern, if you'll email me at ____@____.com with the subject of "mamasource lice help" i'll remember what you're emailing me about. lol.
J.

Not only should you treat your kids, home and vehicles but you should also have everyone that you or your kids have come in contact with or visited, since the first outbreak, check themselves for lice. It may be that it keeps getting passed back and fourth. Hopefully it's not coming from school. If that's the case, this summer you should be able to nip it in the bud.
My step-kids had it for years when they lived with their mother. I even went to their mother's house and treated it because she wouldn't. That didn't help because their mother would send them to her cousin's house and they had it too, so it would just keep getting passed back and fourth. This went on for years before the kids came to live with us. I know it is frustrating. I am praying for you!

I had the same problem with my daughter... I cut her hair several times & thought I'd never get rid of it. I bought a small bottle of Peppermint oil from GNC. I mixed less than half the bottle of peppermint oil in a spray bottle filled the rest of the way with water. I got the special lice comb found online from www.texaslicesquad.com ($19.95/I borrowed mine from a friend). When I sprayed the peppermint spray on her hair the lice scattered. It was horrible!!
We tried for a year to get it out of her hair before I tried this treatment. So far she has not gotten again (knock on wood). I swear by this. Please let me know if it helps you out.

Go Google information about treating head lice with OLIVE OIL. It is supposed to smother them. The medicines/pesticides can make them resistant to that chemical, so it won't work on them if they come back or survive.

Friends of mine have dealt with head lice. It's terrible when you find them. What works better than anything is Melaleuca Oil, which you can get from Melaleuca.com. You need to be a preferred customer to get the customer prices, but all the products are wonderful.

I would use the Melaleuca Oil Shampoo and then wash everything with the Laundry Detergent and spray the house with the Melaleuca Oil cleaner. These products do not use any harmful chemicals, such as pesticides, that the traditional "lice treatments" do, so you can use it all the time.

If you want more info:

J.
____@____.com
###-###-####
www.livetotalwellness.com/janislanz

I live in Albuquerque but am moving to Round Rock the middle of June!

Good luck!

my sister in law just went through this, and it almost ruined her life! (of course it didn't, but when she was caught up in the middle, it sure felt like it)
she did not use this remedy, but a friend of mine's son got lice while my friend was pregnant with her second, and she could not use the chemicals that are in rid and all of that stuff. a little lady in the drug store told her to buy that green rubbing alcohol, and pour it over the boy's head. it worked! then, of course, you have to wash sheets after every night, wash towels after every use, and vacuum every day. all stuffed animals go in sealed bags for thre weeks... what a mess. good luck, they will go away!

I'd say shave the hair then throw everything out & replace it. It may be the only way. If they're boys they'll probably get over it compared to girls which may not but have to explain to them that's what happens when you share hair things or be around others w/lice. Perhaps they'll be more cautious not to share hats, helmets, combs, brushes, or pillow cases, etc. I know it sounds harsh but sometimes you hafta do these things for the better. Just like trying to get rid of a fea infestation, if you have carpet, you may have to try & shampoo first then replace if you have to or get rid of all together. Good luck!!!

I feel so sorry for you... I have been there with two girls and we all have hair to our rear ends... It is a visious cycle, I KNOW!~

Have you tried putting mayonaise in their hair with plastic heb bags tied around the hair for a few hours.... the bag keeps them from jumping out and the mayo is supposed to suffocate them. But you have to do it every 5-6 days to beat the cycle.

Also, a better method, but more messy is to put a 50/50 of Vinegar and Mineral Oil, again soak the hair to scalp and cover with HEB plastic bags. Suffocate the bugs and they can't jump out. Put the kiddos in trash clothes, cause the oil will stain, but will leave a residue on the hair that they can't hang on and will fall out.

Boil brushes, wash all sheets in HOT HOT water, MAKE SURE you are getting the flea/tick powder for the carpets and leave on for hours while this is in the hair.... so the few that escape will be killed while the hair is being treated and the clothes and sheets washed...

THIS WAS THE ONLY WAY I WAS ABLE TO FINALLY CONQUER THE PROBLEM. I spent years fighting itm with the kids back and forth to other parents houses, it just went back and forth...

This is the only method that works. I spent several hours with doctors for treatments and thousands of dollars on medicines, that they just become immune to. TRUST ME!!!

Just do it thoroughly and repeat ever 6 days, before they hatch again and within two three times, you will be rid of them. Thank goodness for you summer is here and this gives you time to leave the oil in their hear. The bugs can't reattach with the residue in the hair for days... LOVE IT!!! GOOD LUCK!!

I understand this is very frustrating. When my daughter went through this I was told by a older woman to put mayonaise in the hair and cover with a shower cap or plastic bag(tied to stay put) over night and to spray(with RID) all bedding and furniture then place in garbage bags for 24hrs. Then you can wash linen. Very hot water.
This worked very quickly and my daughter was so glad to get back to school. It is very safe.
good luck. I know how frustating it can be.

L. H.

OMG!! Finally--someone else!!! You are NOT alone in this....I have been fighting w/ the little "cooties" too!!! I think I've found something that works. It's called the Robi Comb. It's an electronic comb that is like a tiny bug zapper (it takes one AA battery). I found it at Walgreen's and it was about $30. The advantage to this comb is there are no chemicals and you can use it over and over. Call me weird, but I get some sort of pleasure out of seeing the little "cooties" spark when they get zapped! :)

I've used it once a week for a month and I think they're gone. Now, I still did the nit-picking by hand and that's a pain, but I think that has really helped too though because before I only relied on the nit comb that came with the shampoo kits and that's just not enough. You need to also go through the hair and remove them by hand. My daughter has a lot of really thick hair (just like me & thank goodness I didn't get lice) so it takes some time to pick those little nits out, but it's really made a difference this time around.

Another thing you can try is Cetaphil cleanser. A friend of mine used that on her two daughters (one is in my kiddos class) and that worked for her. You use about 8 oz. (a bit more for thicker hair) of the cleanser and coat the hair at the scalp mostly. Blow dry it COMPLETELY DRY. The Cetaphil acts as shrink wrap on the lice and the nits. Leave that on over night and wash it out in the morning. I read about this on line and my friend said it actually worked on her two girls. Do this once a week for about 3 weeks.

GOOD LUCK!!!! :)

Been there, done that! What worked for us was Lice Ice, a homeopathic gel that you put on the hair and leave on overnight; it stiffens as it dries and kills any live lice and smothers any eggs. Then you wash their hair the next morning. You can also use olive oil, but cover with plastic because it's a gooey mess. Thenl try to remove any nits you see (I got a magnifying glass). Wash all bedding, etc. Now, the trick I've found for keeping up with it so they don't reinfest is a RobiComb, a small battery-powered lice comb. You can get it at Walgreen's. It makes a humming sound when you turn it on, and if it catches any lice it zaps and kills them. We combed with it daily for a couple of weeks after using the lice ice, in case any nits I'd missed on their hair hatched, or in case they picked up any more lice at school. Now we do it once a week as a preventive measure. It's been a year and a half now since my boys had them, and I know they're still exposed to them at school. Hope this helps! H.

I've been through this many times with my daughter. What we've learned is that lice like clean hosts. They don't like hair products, such as hair spray, hair gel and/or mousse, etc. Of course putting this on your childrens' hair daily can cause an whole new set of problems. Lice also don't like tea tree oil, once rid of the lice, wash your childrens' hair with tea tree oil shampoo daily. This has kept the lice at bay for us. Just buy a big bottle of any tea tree shampoo at any beauty supply store.

My daughter had recurring lice at the beginning of this year.(5th grade) All of the advice you have rec'd so far is great, but don't forget you have to repeat the treatment every 10 days. Mineral oil works the best. COMB COMB COMB. My daughter has long black hair, we combed for hours. I drove her crazy always checking her hair. I put all the stuffed animals out in the garage and put a plastic trash bag on the pillow and changed pillow cases daily. Good Luck and God Bless!!

I sympathize with what you are going through! It is awful! My daughter had head lice 2 yrs ago and we tried all of the over the counter stuff.. went on for months! combing, cleaning... everything. Finally I paid for one of the online "secret" solutions! It worked. Soak your childs head in olive oil -- then put a shower cap or a bandana tightly tied around their head overnight. Wash in the morning. You will need a clarifying shampoo to get it all out. If you can keep it in longer -- like over the weekend... put it in in the morning and clean the next day. Trust me this works!! I did it twice on me and my daughter and we were FINALLY done. after this treatment.. you will still need to clean the eggs out of their hair but you can use a regular comb and the eggs should slide right off. The olive oil smothers any live lice and kilss the eggs!! Another friend used mayonaise -- and got the same effect. She tried the over the counter... went on for months.. cut her girls her... braided it every day, sprayed it... etc, but it wasn't until she did the mayo that she finally got rid of it. I try to tell everyone I can because I know how humiliating it is for the kids and how traumatizing this can be for the mom! GOOD LUCK!! (BTW -- I also did alot of research on the chemicals. They are horrible for your child -- they can actually seep into the skin not to mention what it does to their hair. I would STRONGLY recommend against using any more chemicals on your daughters head.) I talked to hairdressers, doctors, dermatologists.. they all recommended the olive oil or mayo after I had found out about it!!!)

L.,
I am a nurse and a mom so I'm hoping I will be able to help you out some. You have to make sure that you are doing the head rinses just as prescribed and combing out the hair...small pieces at a time. If you have a girl with long hair and you are getting done with the combing before an hour...you probably aren't doing it as thoroughly as you need to. Second, if they are school age...you need to check your schools policy about nits. If they do not have a "no-nit" policy, then you need to ask them to check all students in that class room, especially the ones that sit next to your child and make sure they are not just passing them back and forth. Unfortunately, if you have a severe enough case of them you will have to take more drastic measures in your home. All curtains need to be taken down and washed with HOT water...the same goes for all bedding. You probably need new matresses for the kids...I know this is not good news, but they will get into your matresses and stay for lengthy periods. All stuffed animals need to be placed in plastic bags for a month or so...or just throw them out. It probably would not hurt to set off balms when you are not home to help with anything that might be in your carpets (the same stuff you would get for flees.) Last, ALL brushes, combs, etc need to be thrown away and replaced. Don't try to boil them...just get rid of them. Be sure and spray all of your furniture thoroughly. I hope this will help you. Lice are a very expensive and very troublesome problem, but I assure you that shaving the kids heads will draw very negative attention and it will not get rid of the problem. One more thing...be sure to have you and your husband's hair checked to make sure that the two of you aren't contributing to the problem.
Best of luck to you,
L. B.

First of all, PLEASE don't use the dangerous chemicals on your childs' head. They've been linked to some dangerous stuff. DO make sure that you spray your car......the top of the seats where your childs' heads rest.......a lot of people forget about that, and the kids pick up the lice again when they get into the car. SECONDLY, here is something I read about when researching safe options.......instead of using the chemicals (over-the-counter OR prescription....actually the prescription is even WORSE than the over-the-counter stuff) completely douse your childs hair and scalp with mineral oil/baby oil, then wrap their head in plastic wrap. Leave it on for a couple hours, long enough to drown the lice in the oil. Then wash it out and get to "nit picking" with a nit comb.......it's tedious, but does give you time with your child to talk, AND it's completely safe for your child and you! Don't forget to wash all the linens in HOT water, and run the pillows through a hot cycle in the dryer. This DID work for my kids when they picked up lice. GOOD LUCK!! = )

Dear L., try covering their hair with olive oil or mayonaise and then cover with a plactic cap or bag like when you give a hot oil treatment. Let it sit for 30 minutes. Then comb thru with the fine tooth comb especially around the ears and the back of the head. then shampoo. SharletB

Hi L.,

I was absolutely horrified the first time I received a call from daycare that my daughter had lice . . . in beautiful very long blonde hair. I had never had them as a child and none of my friends had them. I thought lice was something that only happened to "dirty people". I did a little research and found that just wasn't true.

Try www.nitmix.com - They have some very interesting information and advice. The process of removing the lice and nits is very tedious, but I found it worth it. It worked for us. I hope it will work for you. She has gotten lice again, but it was during a time that we were not using nitmix. We don't use it all the time - before sleepovers and when we've been notified of lice at school.

Also, I see a lot of responses recommending mayonaise, olive oil, baby oil etc. Instead try sunflower oil, accomplishes the same thing, but much eaiser to wash out. You'll find this information and more on the website.

Best of luck to you!

Hi L.. I read some great advice for you!
Don't forget to bag up the stuffed animals. I was told Lice cannot live 2 weeks without the human hair contact. So bag up the animals in plastic bags (I actually save them from comforters & sheets now that we've had lice).
I hate to say it, but if you can...bag everything up, spray the house, and leave for a week- like go on vacation. When you come back everything that is on the couch, pillows, etc. will be dead,from lack of human contact, and everything in the child's head should be dead if you are using the prescription stuff. Forget the mayonaise and go straight for the prescription, as it kills lice AND eggs (nits).
We had it over and over again last Christmas and it drove me crazy. Especially when I got it !! So boil, wash, dry, etc. AND definitely bag up the stuffed animals.
Hang in there.... it will eventually go away !
L.

JOIN THE CLUB SISTER! I think the only answer is to EMBRACE YOUR BUGS! I'm completely convinced unless I want to shave my daughter's long flowing locks off we're stuck with it for life - so we keep it to a bare minumum by de-bugging 3 times a week and just get a sense of humor about it - name them, buy them cute and start to recognise them as part of the family! THERE IS NO CURE.

My husband and I went through this same cycle for almost 2 years, we spent all kinds of money trying different treatments,even the prescription that someone else mentionned, but nothing worked for more than 2 or 3 weeks. A friend of mine suggested a shampoo from Burt's Bees that contains grapefruit extract and some other all natural ingredients. We did one last chemical treatment, then had her start washing her hair with that shampoo & conditioner, we haven't seen a bug since. There's something about the ctrus oils in the shampoo that repels them or something. I'm not a chemist or anything but the results have been outstanding.

Been there done that! Oil-coat their hair with oil and put a cap on it. It drowns those crazy lice! I got the advice from a friend and it worked so much better than the treatments. ALl stuffed toys must go in a garbage bag for a month. Wash everything you can in hot and dry on hot. Good Luck!

Also, have someone check your hair and check your spouse and other children in the house. They are so easy to catch; I did get it from my daughter and never thought about checking myself. But I needed to be treated too!

Looks like you got great advice. If thats not working I would consider changing Day Care. Lots of kids pass it on from dirty naping mats and toys. Not sure if your little ones are in day care but if so you might consider it. If there getting lice from there who knows what else they could get!

I just went through it the las month. I did the hair treatment two weeks in a row.(one time a week). I also washed everything and sprayed. The key to it is get rid of the brushes use combs. My daughter has long hair. No more brushes in the house. Then everyday and I know it will be a pain. But, I checked her hair everyday. Some days there was nothing other days I would find a egg. I would take out the eggs. I t was a long process but we finally got rid of them. Don't forget to wash all hair things and put headbans or stuff that can not be washed in a ziploc sealed for two weeks. WAsh hats. and imform your children about not using other people hats,brushes,etc. GOOD LUCK

ok...wow, you have your hands full....7 kids! i'm just amazed! :)

you probably already do this, but do you clean the vehicles too? good luck! i feel for you!

If they go to school you need to check their guide line for lice and their eggs. My neice all year long got sent home twice a month and just last week we found out that their guide lines are they can have eggs but after they hatch its unacceptable....my sister flew off the handle..lol and went straight up the chain of command. It was really pointless for us to be fighting so hard to keep her head clean if the other kids were allowed to stay there with eggs hatching 24/7. The next day when my neice went to school they had a long line of kids getting their head checked and already 40 kids being sent home to get rid of the eggs and lice. I hope this sheads some light on why you maybe having troubles as well. If its at day care you may try the same thing.

Go to Betsy's Health Food on 1905 West and get the Tea Tree Shampoo. Tea Tree Shampoo has something in it that makes lice unable to stick to the hair. Then ask Betsy on what to do to get rid of them elswhere. Also, I found that Arm & Hammer baking soda rug deoderizer kills fleas and lice in the carpet because they eat it and then dehydrate! Sprinkle it, leave it a day, then vacuum. No need to go crazy, just a dusting of the stuff will do. Do this once a week.
It's tough ~ been there ~ good luck!

We had that same problem. I started washing the head every 2 to 3 days with Rid. Not the 10 days they suggested. Lice cannot live without human blood. I put most stuffed animals in black trash bags for abt 4 days. I put the bedding (bedspreads, pillows) in the dryer. Heat also kills. (They never got onto my husbands head as he always blew dryed his hair.) Something abt me...I'm 48. I have 5 kids. 3 biologically & 2 adopted.

my sister went through the same thing she put vaseline with a shower cap over night then washed it out with shampoo and then an intensive conditioning treatment to get all the vaseline out that finally got rid of it

This is giong to sound crazy but it works. I was at my wits end when my daughter (now 20) was in elementary. Nothing, including a very expensive prescription shampoo, worked but this did and we've not had a problem since.
Thoroughly saturate the hair and scalp with mayonaise and put on a shower cap before bed. Shampoo as usual in the morning. Repeat once a week until all signs of the little buggers are gone. You will also need to put all stuffed animals into a plastic trash bag with all the air squished out for a month. When treating the beds, etc don't forget the living room furniture or the carpet if they like to lay in the floor to watch tv.
The cap covered mayonaise smothers the adults, prevents the nits from attaching and does a totally wonderful job of conditioning the hair with no chemicals involved!

L.,
with so many kids i'm sure they get them at school but i had such a case with 1 of my sons .i finally called an pest controller to come in and spray ,while kids where at school ,i washed all bed linens, washed hair as soon as he got home and that took care of it .talk to the scool nurse see which child has the most break outs in there grade and teller about your problem also
L.

Hi L.. I've been through this before too, and it is very frustrating. Get some herbal shampoo that has tea tree oil in it. There are several brands that make it. Start washing the kids' hair with the tea tree oil shampoo. It does smell a little astringent, but it is completely safe and natural. I had my daughter use this shampoo every-other day, and finally, after a while, I realized we were completely done with head lice!

Don't forget that when they get head lice, you will need to get all the nits out in order to keep the lice from coming back. That takes some time. I got it all out of my daughter's hair by using the lice combs and plenty of conditioner in the shower. After I worked through her hair very thoroughly, I had her start using the tea tree oil shampoo.

It works great! I hope this will help you! Good luck!
-M. C.

Hi L.,
I work for a wellness company from home with my little guy. Our products would get rid of your problem. I would love to get you some so give me a call or visit my web site so I can contact you with the information. You will save money with our products and they are safe for your home.

B.
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treat everyone's head, the carpet, furniture, everything at one time. wash all sheets, pillows, blankets, bedspread, (in hot water if it won't ruin them), then wash the sheets everyday. i would let everyone use 1 pillow in a pillow protector (easier to wash than the whole pillow), and just put sheets on the bed. it's warm enough to not need blankets and comforters/bedspreads. unless you don't mind washing all the blankets and coveres every day. wash the sheets everyday for at least a week. any stuffed animals need to be sealed in air tight plastic bags for at least 2 weeks (you can wash and dry the machine washable ones). i know it's time consuming, but you have to stay on top of it or they will be everywhere. also make sure clothes are washed daily, don't let them pile up during this process. good luck

You have to clean EVERYTHING in the house that their heads may have been in contact with, or where the critters may have fallen off. That means stuffed clean all the toys, blankets, mattresses, couches, carpet, hats, clothes... everything all at once. Get new bed pillows. We tore our house apart to clean it all- kind of looked like we were moving. You have to pick every last nit out of their hair too. Can't leave anything. Also, if they have been to friend's houses for a sleep over... maybe those places need to be cleaned too...you get the idea. Don't let anyone share combs, etc. Good luck!
S.

I almost tried this but just didn't have the money at the time...next time my daughter gets it, I am absolutely trying it first!

http://www.licekiller.com/?ucroi_kw=lice&ucroi_adid=3...

Good Luck!!!

Hey L.,

I just wanted to throw out a different option for you. Have you ever tried coconut oil? I am in to using natural rememdies and have heard a lot about this from my friends whom are moms. You can rub a small quartersize amount in to the hair and/or ingest about a tablespoon a day. I put it in my daugheter's oatmeal in the morning and have used it on her diaper rashes. It blends in well and really does not have any flavor.
I hope this helps.http://www.coconutresearchcenter.org/

Best of luck.

L.--I went thru this every time my bonus daughters came for the summer when they were little. The key to gettin rid of them for good is time and patience--you have to make sure you comb thru everyone's head and get all the nits and egg sacks, (hence the term "nit picking"). Items in the house that cannot be laundered or put in a hot dryer, bag in trash bags that can be completely sealed--stuffed animals, throw pillows, bed pillows, etc. Lice have to have a blood meal so eliminating their source is number one priority--do you have any pets? They need to be treated as well. When you do treat, you MUST re-treat no later than 7 days to break the egg cycle of any nits or egg sacks you may missed. Nix seemed to be the best one at the time, but our doctor told us that the little critters were getting resistant to it. We bought a product called "School Time" at our local pharmacy in Whitesboro, it was a natural product and worked, but again the key is sitting down and coming thru thoroughly. My heart goes out to you, I spent many, many hours doing this.
M.

Shampoo everyday they have a Shampoo called Rid. Get a professional exterminator for the house and yard. The swimming pool in our town had them in the water and all the children in town had them. What a mess. Birds carry them if they play under trees with nests or play in sand piles. Good luck.

I am a school nurse and have never dealt with lice in my own children, but my very good friend has. After recurrent lice infestations, she heard about rinsing the hair in vinegar. She rinses the hair in vinegar every time she washes it. Contrary to what everyone believes, lice love clean hair. The vinegar seems to keep them away.

You are in the same boat of many others. Every spring there is an outbreak of lice in the schools. I am assuming that you have talked with the school nurse, your physician and the druggist. If not, do so, because often times the home remedies work better than what is on the market. I've never tried it, but I've been told that putting a good layer of mayo on the head and covering with plastic wrap (or shower cap)overnight then a good shampoo followed by a rinse of Listerine(yes, the mouth wash) will get rid of them. Listerine kills a lot of stuff. GOOD LUCK

Hi My daughter and son got headlice from school and yes its very frustrating.My daughter has long curly hair down to her bottom when she caught it from her class along with four others.Do not cut their hair.It takes patience and time.After doing her hair for two hours she was very good with me and they were all gone.I made sure of it.I use the treatment from over the counter it worked for me.I did the cleaning blankets.I also reminded them NOT to share anything that goes in the hair or pillows.My dauhgter has not had it ever since.My son got it five months after she did.He was in fifth grade.Right away I started treatment and they never came back.You have to just be carefull during school thiers so many things kids get from eachother.Teachers should be aware of the lice so they can disenfect the class.Some people do take the easy way out by cutting thier kids hair.Before doing that try cleaning again.I hope it works.

Seven kids?! WOW! I'm impressed! We had the same problem about a year ago with my TWO daughters and I thought it would NEVER end! What finally helped was TEA TREE OIL. The smell is strong, but what else are you going to do? I'd sit with one and as I searched a tiny area, I'd rub the oil on the scalp. By the time you got from one side to other, you'd start finding more and more as they are trying to get away from the odor. But you have to pick the nits...no matter what - you have to get those nits out! Also, Sun Harvest sells a leave in lice spray. I can't think of the name of it, but it's in a white bottle with pink printing. You can spray that stuff in their hair on their way to school and it helps. It's all natural, so no need to worry about chemicals. I also bought tea tree shampoo to keep their hair just really slathered in the stuff. The smell is a little strong...not a bad smell, it's real pungent, like eucalyptus oil (which works too).
Don't cut their hair...I wanted to shave my girls too. Ugh! I thought it would NEVER end. But it did...you just have to stay consistent. Like I said, I thought it would NEVER end and it's already been a year.
Good luck!

L., if you want to keep out the lice, simply put use hair grease on the scalf cause lices only form in the hair on dry scalf....I have a friend and she kids always had lice and she asked my why do black people not have that problem and I told her it's because we grease our scalf, ahe tried doing it and she have had a lot less lice problem with her kids.

they may be getting it back again from their friends! also did you treat (spray) the couches and carpets where they sit, play, lay around? did you treat yourself and hubby even if you did not think that either of you had it? It can take several rounds of treatment before it goes away completely. Are you letting other children into your home, like their friends? If you are try telling them that you want to play with their hair, while you are pretending to Braid it or something actually be checking for lice to be sure that you are not bringing it back in . also make sure that you remove your kids eggs from the hair, or they can hatch. I had teenage foster girls , 3 at a time for 4 years, we had to deal with lice a couple of times!

When my kids were going from my house to their bio-dads every other weekend they came back with it. His step daughter couldn't get rid of it, obviously it was pretty severe. Because the School sent directions home, and he told me I tried it and it had worked.
In a cup run hot water add 1 tbsp of salt
Stir until dissolved
put it on the hair leave for 15 minutes and rinse
make up a solution of half water and half vinegar,
using a lice comb through the hair, dipping the comb in the vinegar solution and wiping it on a white wash cloth with every pass.
It's time consuming, but worth it. They also sell the color changing stuff that helps zone in on the critters.
As a added precaution we wash our hair atleast 2 times a week with a dandruff shampoo.
You already have good advice for the home care.
Good Luck

L.--
I feel your pain. We have been there with our 3 blonde haired daughters. It seemed like for 2 years we were constantly fighting this battle. I even took them to a dermatoligist to seen if there anything the doctor could do. We were literally at our wits end. Here is what we did..........1.)Do the whole regimen--bedding,spray everything down, bag up all the stuffed animals, wash hair and comb thru very carefully. 2.)Put 3 drops of Tea Tree Oil (availble @ health food stores-Lice hate it!!)in every bottle of shampoo. 3.) Every night wash hair with regular shampoo (that has Tea Tree Oil added), put conditioner on, and comb thru with lice comb. **this is very important** 4.) Use Lice Shampoo once a week for approx. 3 months. 5.) Contiunue to use shampoo (with Tea Tree Oil added)for 6 months. Be very diligent about sharing brushes, pillows, etc. I bought every person in our house there own hair brush and they were not allowed to use anybody elses or let anyone use theirs.
Also---from my experience there is no difference between OTC Lice shampoo or prescription.

GOOD LUCK!!

Hello L.,

You have had such great responce to your problem. Well I'll make mine short. I had to use washing detergent on my children when they bathed. You will have them falling out of their hair. Once you have washed each one individually brush their hair thouroughly rite after. You will be real surprised with the outcome... I hope this method works for you. Godd Luck!!

Dear L.,
I am sorry that you are having to deal with this i fought it for almost 10 months... finally I got tea tree oil... and put 2 tablesppon in my shampoo and 2 in the conditioner.... we have not had lice since... i add the tea tree to each new bottle we get...