Effective Head Lice Prevention & Treatments

Updated on April 26, 2012
F.B. asks from Kew Gardens, NY
12 answers

Mamas & Papas -

My father has a bee in his bonnet about head lice. Now that DS is about to start daycare, he is really concerned that DS might catch some, or be accussed of introducing it. He made a point of separately telling me and my hubs that my poor brother had headlice as a preschooler, and Dad was forced to shave his head, and found the whole thing rather mortifying.

With this by way of background. Are there any effective head lice prevention techniques? Treatments?

We have no reason to believe that there are any currently making rounds at the school, but hey, kids will be kids and these things to happen.

Thanks in advance,
F. B.

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Featured Answers

S.A.

answers from Chicago on

There have been a few cases at my kids school recently. I've heard that tea tree oil will help prevent them. Several moms were making a run to buy some, and apparently it's in short supply. Good luck!

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More Answers

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

It's interesting your brother got his head shaved and yet your father was traumatized by it.
It's your Dad's issue.
You don't have to take it on as your own.
Sometimes lice happens, and then you deal with it.
My son has never had a problem, but then we've kept his hair in a buzz cut since he was 3 years old.
It's always looked good on him and since we have so much military in the area, most of the other boys have buzz cuts, too.
He fits right in and it looks good on him.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

http://www.fairytaleshaircare.com/

http://shop.fairylicemothers.com/Fairy-LiceMothers-MagicM...

These are all natural products that my friend has used.
There were head lice cases at her daughter's school.

Now, your Dad should worry about Bedbugs. Do you know, that it is even occurring in offices? http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/17594626/bedbugs-can-i...

Your Dad, is remembering his own childhood bad experiences with it. So he is sort of "phobic" about it now.

1 mom found this helpful

C.C.

answers from San Francisco on

I have 6 and 9 year old girls who both have tons of hair. Out of the collective 15 years of my children's lives, we have experienced head lice exactly once. I went to the AAP (American Academy of Pediatrics) website, where there is an excellent article about head lice - including studies about head lice treatments (what is scientifically proven to be effective, and what is not). Bottom line, even if your child DOES have head lice, you apply Rid (which is made from Chrysanthemums, believe it or not), wait 9 days, apply it again, and move on with your life. Problem solved. There is a LOT of misinformation and old wives' tales about head lice prevention, treatment, having to steam clean your whole house, and other insanity, but please, if this is something that concerns you, check out the article so you are armed with actual, scientific facts. Head lice is not as scary as you would think.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/2/392.full

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J.B.

answers from Atlanta on

I have no idea if this truly works or not, but I hope so! My youngest is in a preschool class and they've just had their second lice outbreak in a month. They're very proactive, but I'm flipping out -especially since both he and I have the fine, straight hair that lice evidently love! I've always heard they like clean hair as opposed to dirty, so I haven't washed his hair this week -just his body -and they have an all natural spray that has some other extracts and a bunch of peppermint oil that they're asking us to spray on the kid's hair and behind their ears/napes of necks when we drop them off in the morning. I'm dousing him with it -so you could look for it to buy if you want.

One thing you may want to let your father know -I'm not sure why, but it seems to me that head lice are REALLY prevalent these days. I'm in my early 40s, and when I was growing up, we never had an outbreak at my preschools or at my school. Now it seems both of my boys' schools, preschools and friends' schools have them all the time. I really hope we never get it, but it's not something that's going to surprise me.

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J.V.

answers from Lansing on

Mayonnaise in the hair...sleep in shower cap...in the morning rub warm water through hair and nit comb. Wash with dawn dish washing soap and follow with conditioner. As a mom with 4 kids and a couple of rounds of lice this Works! Get the Rid spray and spray mattress's and car seats if cloth. All stuffed animals go in garbage bag in garage for 6 weeks.

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J.R.

answers from Miami on

my pharmacist says to wash hair with cetaphil. apparently research shows it kills the eggs and prevents...

it is non chemical and can be used every day...

Galderma is hte maker.

As an aside, I have not connection to Galderma :)

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L.L.

answers from Portland on

http://www.amazon.com/Terminator-Professional-Stainless-T... Nit Free Terminator comb!!

This is a small investment to make for a lice free school career :) If you just do a good comb through with a good comb every few weeks you will stay in the clear, and you will never have to deal with all the other mumbo jumbo! Mayo and Cetafil are very creative ideas, that unfortunately, do not work. I use this comb on my daughter once a week after her hair is all washed, conditioned, brushed out but still wet. I comb 2 x's a week when I hear it is going around in her school or classroom. This way, if a lil bugger tries to get on board we will get it out before it makes babies, and those babies make babies....eek! If you truly want to prevent lice this is the best 5 minutes a week you can spend to assure that you wont end up with a full on infestation. I promise! I need to start a campaign to get these awesome combs on the kindergarten school supply list!! :)

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K.W.

answers from Seattle on

Your dad needs to grow up.

That said, dirty hair seems to repel rather than attract lice, so don't wash your kiddos hair every day.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

Okay, here's the thing - if they get it they get it. Lice actually like CLEAN hair. I had lice in middle school. My SD had lice in late elementary school. We never did figure out where I got it but my SD got it from a FAMILY MEMBER, not the school.

You periodically peer through your child's hair. You wash hats and coats regularly. You can try shampoo with tea tree oil in it. And when it happens, you treat it, you wash everything on hot and you go on. Your father may be thinking about how mortified he was, but honestly it wasn't that bad. We even had to call the parents of one of SD's friends after a sleepover and they just appreciated the head's up (so to speak). We haven't had any problems with lice in...years. I didn't get it and neither did DH (and SS only got it once).

OH, just remembered - there was an older child with lice at DD's daycare and they told everyone that there was a case (just not who), sent everyone's blankets and clothes home to wash and everything was fine. DD never got them.

Tell your dad you appreciate his concern, but don't borrow trouble.

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G.B.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Go to headlice.org. They give common sense education. Do not follow old wives tales or anything else. All kids get lice at sometime or another. They are everywhere.

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B.E.

answers from New York on

We didn't get it from school, but from my son playing with friends. These kids attend some of the swankiest private schools in NY and their mom is a clean freak, so lice knows no class nor cleanliness.

All I can really say is you just have to deal with it once/if you get it. With a son it is MUCH easier. I just buzzed my son's head and that was pretty much it for him. Since then I've kept his hair pretty short, just as a preventative, but he could get it again even with short hair.

I do periodically check his scalp with a flashlight. If he gets it again, I want to catch it early - hopefully before it gets to me this time!

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