My Step-daughter Got Lice

Fairytale non-toxic products, and treat, then treat again, then treat again. Get them gone in their different stages of life. Do not use the toxic products you can find at target/walmart.

Wash bedding....but don't go overboard. The sooner you get started the better.

No big deal, it happens.

After a summer of camp, I feel like the lice expert! I learned that the lice are attracted to the smell of sweat. So try to be sure she keeps her hair clean moving forward. If she plays sports or it is still hot outside, she should shampoo.

They need the warmth of our scalp to lay their eggs. So they like to stay inside the hair near the scalp, but will transfer to another head if there is hair near by to transfer to.

He needs to go to the drugstore and buy some lice shampoo. He should follow the instructions on the package. It is very expensive, so the store brand will work just fine.

While she shampoos, he should change the bed sheets and vacuum, starting with her bedroom. I liked to put double pillow cases on my pillows. So the opening to pillow case number one is inserted into pillow case number two.

If she can handle the heat of the hair dryer, they cannot take that heat and will die. It is pretty warm though.

He should vacuum the whole house including the couch. He can store her comforter and stuffed animals in plastic bags for 7 - 10 days. Ten to be safe.

While the shampoo is in her hair, she should use the little knit comb provided. Also, shampoo the brushes and combs. I would wash them all and use one brush and place the rest in a plastic bag for 10 days.

Since there is probably a situation in the classroom, she should wear her hair braided or tied up to keep them from transferring back to her.

Remind her as she hugs her friends to make it quick and keep their hair from touching each other.

Last weekend we went to a birthday party at the facility she went to camp at. I swear she kept getting head lice from the rock climbing helmets. After my big fit over the summer, she took her own bicycle helmet to the party. They climbed the wall and she was the only one with her own helmet. My husband was a little uncomfortable, so he kept taking the helmet back to the car...while I could care less because I was not picking lice out of her head one more time. Her best friend asked if she could borrow her helmet because there weren't anymore and I said, no I am sorry we don't share head gear. Just then, she took both hands and scratched her head and I thought...that is why.

Edit: In response, the heated hair dryer does work, as I have done it, with out chemicals or any other treatment. They were dead. If it was a hunch, I would say it may work, but I have done it. Maybe it didn't work for that other mom, which is too bad. As well, lice like hair, clean hair, dirty hair, oily hair, any type of hair, however, they are attracted to the smell of sweat. Something has to attract them so they know there is a new place for them. They don't fly, they crawl. They like to stay close to the scalp, so when there is a new scent, I am certain they move away from the scalp of their current home and move to the next. I asked my pest control man and that is what he said. It seems to make sense, as if you read about them, they move from head to head and more common in children, yet not prejudice by any means. So moving forward, it is a good idea to keep the hair/scalp clean after playing or activities that make you perspire. I live in the desert, so we are sweaty all summer long. As well, my daughter is in sports, so again, she is always drenched in sweat. At this point, she is not in camp where they ran around all day long, played outside, and sat closely in multipurpose type settings on the floor. She has been clear since the start of school. I believe that is due to the preventative measures, as well, she has to come in contact with them and hasn't.

Everyone has their own theory or method on what works. You will find all sorts of suggestions. What I have shared with you has worked for my daughter. In any event, it is not a fun situation.

Wish your X luck.

PLEASE don't listen to old wives tales and do all sorts of crazy stuff. Go to headlice.org and read their instructions. They give good advice and it works.

This is the safest and best way to take care of head lice.

Go to an hobby place like Hobby Lobby. Get a head gear that has a band that fits around your head and has a good magnifier on it that flips down.

Wash her hair normally, put good conditioner on it and comb out the tangles, rinse well. Leave it wet, don't towel dry it.

Get a glass of water, a fine tooth comb, some tweezers, and perhaps a pair of small scissors.

Have her lay her head on a towel on your lap or a table that allows you both to be comfortable. Start on one section of her hair and part it off. Take a small section of her hair and examine it all the way from the roots to the end. Perhaps a square about 1/4" to 1/2". If you see live bugs you pull them off and drop them in the water, they breathe air so they'll drown. If you're squeamish use the tweezers but expect it to pull the hair out until you learn to do it without getting the hair shaft.

If you see eggs that have a dark center pluck them off, they'll slide off if you try hard enough with your fingertips or fingernails. Drop them into the water too. The white ones are of no consequence, you can easily remove them, they are already deteriorating.

As you go through her hair keep it wet. The bugs don't like water and it makes them cold, it stuns them, they are easy pickings when the hair is wet.

Go through her entire head. If her hair is long it will take a good half hour or more the first time you do this. As you get experienced at this you'll be able to do it very quickly. I take maybe 15 minutes to go through our girls hair and she can nearly sit on it.

I truly believe if you run the vacuum over the furniture, over her pillow, the car seats, floors and all, then wash the sheets and blankets normally you will have this under control.

Head lice can be hard to take care of if people don't understand these little creatures are pretty fragile and can be defeated.

You can do this without putting her at risk by using pesticides.

In the Seattle area there are places who specialize in combing through for the nits. It might be a little pricey, but may be worth it. They guarantee their results. Combing through for nits is the most effective way to control this. Treatments, including chemicals and olive oil, are not nearly as effective.

Although they are not in your area, look up "Lice Knowing You." It's based in the Seattle area. They have a lot of good tips. (Example, the heated air dryers don't work.) You might also be able to communicate with them.

Good luck!

ETA: Momwithcamera. It's been my understanding that the nits stick better to clean hair than to dirty hair. Easier to grab hold of the hair shaft. That said, I was doing some reading on this and it appears that for the "attraction" element, clean or dirty doesn't matter.

tea tree oil in shampoo I have heard can prevent I am not sure about treating.
If you were waiting to get hair cut, now would be a good time, make it fun style daughter time.
When I was little I found out by going to get my hair cut it was embarrasing as they wouldn't continue so call to make sure they will cut hair or wait and do later or even at home.

We dealt with it once. Got prescription lice shampoo from pediatrician, treated the whole family (to be safe), used a nit comb, washed bedding in hot water, vacuum thoroughly, bag stuffed animals for 2 weeks. It was a busy day, but we got 'em. Retreat hair 2 weeks later. Also we do a daily spray in our daughter's hair that is made of essential oils that repel lice.

Tell your ex fling to go to the American Academy of Pediatrics web site for the best advice in helping his daughter.

The over the counter RID does not really work anymore. I'd call one of those places that will pick each strand out and use the natural creams to remove the lice

This is one of those subjects where every person alive will answer with whatever random old-wives' remedy their great-grandmother swore worked. But when dealing with lice, I find it best to defer to actual science. With that said, here's the advice from the American Academy of Pediatrics. They recommend 1% Permethrin, which must be applied TWICE (on day 1 and somewhere in between days 7-10). There is a link to the clinical study on this page as well, if you would like further information.

http://www.aap.org/en-us/about-the-aap/aap-press-room/pag...

Tea tree oil works great...put a few drops on her scalp, a few drops in her shampoo and do that every time you wash her hair for a couple of weeks. No matter what you use, you still have to go through her hair, almost strand by strand to get rid of the nits to stop any more from hatching and starting the process all over again. Vacuum the car, furniture, and carpets...although live lice will only live for a couple of days away from the warmth of the scalp.

Go to the store and get Lice MD and the spray for furniture. It's very effective and contains no harmful chemicals.

Once you've treated her hair, you need to wash all of her bedding, put all stuff animals in a plastic garbage bag and put it in the garage for about 3 weeks. All lice will die off in that length of time.

Replace all hair brushes.

Spray all of your cloth funiture and her mattress with the spray. Also, if you have cloth seats in your car, spray them as well.

Do a follow-up on her hair in about 10 days.

If you do all of this, you should get rid of the lice. The follow-up treatment is very important. Within that 10 days, any nits (eggs) that you didn't get out with the first treatment will have hatched. BUT the baby lice will not be old enough to lay new eggs so getting rid of whatever is alive should do the trick.

Good luck. I know this is yuky, but it's pretty common and can be gotten rid of if you do as I have suggested.

I just dealt with it and only had to do it once. I used nix to treat (following the instructions) Then I did the Cetaphil method. http://nuvoforheadlice.com/method_explained.htm

You use centaphil gentle cleansing soap and it essentially saran wraps the hair, suffocating the lice. My friend (who gave them to me) had used nix, rid, etc and it wasn't until the cetaphil treatment that she got rid of them. As an added benefit, no toxic chemicals.

In addition to treating, you need to wash everything - blankets, pillows, car seats, etc. Stuffed toys need to be bagged up for two weeks. Couches need to be vacuumed, disinfected. Vacuum all of the floors. I did all this when we first found them. At each week mark of the cetaphil treatment, I just washed bedding. Good luck.

I am a teacher and got lice a year ago. I tried everything from prescription RX's to Nix and nothing worked. I have a lot of hair and no one to pick nits out. What finallly worked was sleeping each night with my hair soaked in listerine (original flavor) and a shower cap. Alot safer and cheaper than all that stuff I bought and all that poison.
I also washed my sheets and pillow cases every day in hot water and a hot dryer until it was over. Sterilize all combs and brushes etc.
It was awful!