Lice and My 5 Month Old! HELP!!

I'd just get his little head shaved. (Actually, I would have done that on the way home.) He's only five months old - it'll grow back. If he has no hair, he has no lice and no nits. You don't have to worry about finding a medicated shampoo safe for infants. You don't have to worry about using a comb to remove the nits. Couldn't be easier!

(Actually, this is what I did with my oldest for the first year of his life - it was cheaper and easier than getting his hair trimmed all of the time and he looked so cute with his little bald head!)

Then, just wash your linens in hot water.

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I would contact his doctor and see what is safe to use on babies that young...maybe even take him in to get checked out. Chances are that he MAY not have even picked them up (unless you know for certain because you have seen them). I would get that done soon as you can since with a 5 month old you have to hold him so much whether or not you are nursing him and the possibility of you getting it from him. Lice can be nasty buggers to get rid of. The sooner you act, the better.

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First of all, you say he was exposed, not that he has it. Don't take any measures unless you actually see evidence of lice.

Lice are not quite as "contagious" as most people think. They like the warmth of their host's bodies, and usually won't leave a nice warm host unless another one is in direct contact. When kids are playing very close, when they literally have their "heads together" over some game or project, is when the lice make the jump if they are going to. So it's easy to be exposed but not acquire any lice. Some experts even say you don't have to take extreme laundry/housekeeping measures either, that lice aren't going to hang around in a cold bed waiting for someone to come by.

So I would react lightly initially, then go to more laborious measures if the light-footprint ones don't work. If there are lice present, don't use a pesticide. See if you can get rid of them with one of the practical home remedies listed, and don't bother with the emergency spring cleaning unless the other measures don't eliminate them. I know lice sounds icky but they are really just external parasites like fleas, not something really scary like tapeworms. Exhale and get your mayo mojo working!

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First of all, relax! Lice and their eggs would be very easy to see on a 5-month-old baby (because I assume he doesn't have much hair). So you can watch for any signs of them, and if you do see any, you can simply remove them. Unless he has a lot of hair, it's unlikely they would find a home on him anyway. If it does become necessary to treat him with something, there are several nontoxic preparations available, herbal or one that is basically salt. You should wash his clothes too. Lice are really not that big a deal, they come around a lot, but the poisons are not good for people, so it's good that there are other options. And, like any kind of "pests," they tend to infect people who are less healthy, so keeping your son wellnourished etc, with a good immune system, should help.

Since your son has headlice Don't take him to the workplace.You need to stay home and treat his hair. Headlice is very catchy can spread from one person to another,this you already know cause your son got it from his cousins and if you take your son w/ you to the workplace you'll spread it around there as well. I have dealt with headlice 3 times already and it wasn't any fun either. The medicated shampoos don't work despite what the health officials say. I treated my kids's hair w/ real mayonnaise and wrapped their hair in a towel and a plastic bag and left it in the hair for about 3 hrs. and then combed the hair w/ mayo still in it and then had the kids take showers to wash the mayo out.. then combed the hair again w/ a different comb and then the next day got their hair w/ vinegar to remove the remaining bugs and nits.
Good luck

First, don't put chemicals on a baby's head. I am a mother of 5 children, and 9 grandchildren, and at some point in each of their lives, they got lice. Usually from someone at school. Here is the safest method. Slather his head with Mayonaise, put a plastic cap on him (like possibly a shower cap) and let him sleep in it overnight. The mayonaise smothers, and therefore kills the lice. The next thing you do is wash all bedding, blankets as well as sheets in HOT water, and dry in the dryer. Vacuum the mattress and carpet. The last thing, is to use the vacuum nozzle on any stuffed animals, once that's done bag them up in a lawn and leaf bag and tie securely and put in a freezer if you have one. The low temps also kill lice.
Lastly, it's my understanding that Lice are extremely difficult for babies to contract because of their fine hair. The lice and nits need "older" hair to attach to. As children age there hair get's thicker and more coarse. So, I doubt your little guy is at risk very much. Hope all of this helps.

I have been told that putting Tea Tree Oil in their shampoo will prevent any outbreaks. Lice don't like the stuff. But for you option now. I would consult your son's pediatrician due to how young he is. When you are looking at his hair for the lice - they usually have their eggs about an inch away from the skull and like to hang out nape of the neck and behind the ears. Let us know what happens. I'm curious.

I had a similar situation and what I did was to brush aout her hair with a lice comb. The RID is a poison so do not put it on her hair. but you can use vaseline if you want it takes a bit to get it all out but it is safe.

Hi A.,
My 13 year old daughter had it, but none of the four boys younger than her ever got it, and they live with her. If he has dark hair look for white specks near the base of the hair shaft that you can't scrape off with your finger nail no matter how hard you try. That would be the difference between cradle cap and lice nits.

When you treat lice you are killing the lice and scraping off the nits, because if any nits hatch then you have to kill the lice again before they lay eggs. Chances are if your sister had success in getting rid of the lice then you will too, only certain strains are resistant to the shampoos. I wouldn't suggest taking your baby to work with you without telling the people you work with what is going on, to be fair to them.

Good-luck,
L.

Well if you dont want to shave his hair off then I would suggest going to the store and buying the electric comb that kills lice and eggs. you may have to use it more than once to get rid of them all. its a non chemical way to get rid of lice. You can also use tea tree oil in his shampoo put about a teaspoon of oil in a bottle of shampoo and shake it up. the oil will cause the shampoo to get a bit wattery but it still works good and the tea tree oil will help get rid of existing lice and also prevent future infestations if you use it on a regular basis.

I would call your dr. and see if there is something safe you can wash his hair in.
Then I would wash all his bedding and clothes that were exposed. Take any stuffed animals he has and put them in sealed trash bags for a week, then wash if you can.

Good luck!

I was dealing with constant exposure to lice when my youngest son was 6-8 months old.
This is what my children's doctor told me:
It is VERY difficult for babies to "get" lice. That doesn't mean that there might not be a few actual bugs in their hair that you can't pick out (and drown them in a gob of hair gel or vasoline) but nits can't attach to the hair normally. Now if he has extremely thick hair it is possible that the nits could attach and you can just go through, pick them out one at a time and drown them (easy way to kill them) and be very thorough with this it should be enough, wash all bedding and exposed clothing and you should be finished with it.
Just for your information, my baby did actual get a few nits when he was 8 months old, literally like 4. I picked them out , shaved my other 2 boys' head and we never saw it again because the originating location was finally able to get rid of it at the same time. Don't forget to vacuum EVERYTHING! Floor, mattresses, furniture, CAR UPHOLSTERY (a lot of people don't think of this), Car seats... Literally Everything!
Good Luck and don't worry too much!
The vasoline or hair gel trick I learned from Head Start as a all natural way to treat lice without medication: It suffocates the bugs and nits and makes it so they can't hatch. I gob thick, thick (the kind in the big tub you can buy for like $5) all over their heads overnight with a shower cap on and wash it out in the morning, then make sure to pick out all the bugs and nits. It works every time for me! (Honestly we've only really had to do it a few times but that is enough!)
Oh and nits have a really hard time attaching to oily/greasy/unwashed hair so if you don't have any bugs/nits on you, you might consider not washing your hair for a few days to help decrease the risk of you getting it.

I knew someone who went through a similar situation. The only thing that worked was to buzz his hair as short as possible because he was so young, the chemicals could cause problems... good luck!