Lousy Lice

As a school teacher and a mom of a 2 1/2 year old, I have some suggestions. Did you treat the car and her car seat? A lot of people forget about those places. Also, bag up all stuffed animals for at least 3 weeks. Seal them in a large garbage bag. After 3 weeks, wash them in the washing machine. If it can't be washed, throw it out. Continue to wash all bedding daily. Throw out hair brushes, combs, and wash all hair baretts. Remember, if it can't be washed TROW IT OUT!!

Mix some vinegar and water, then comnb out the nits! Its the only thing that helped me when my daughter had it for 2 weeks! Kathy

have you tried one of those house bombs? they may help bc i thinnk they actually make one for that purpose.

Oh my! We went through this when my oldest daughter was in 1st grade (now 15 yrs old). WHAT A NIGHTMARE! There was a girl in her class who kept "sharing" lice with the other girls. It only takes one child to pass it on to an entire class over & over again. We would get rid of them only to have them again in a month! We used ALL the remedies. All I can tell you is to check their heads DAILY for nits & lice. Put on a movie for your kids & let them sit in front of the TV while you look through their hair & scalp. Use the tea tree oil shampoo because that is supposed to HELP repel the lice. But the only sure fire method is to check their heads daily. I became QUITE familiar with both my babies scalps during that year. Good luck!

Hey B.,

Oh do I feel for you. We went through something similar with our daughter. I think you are right to keep her from your children until she is rid of the lice. It is our experience that if she is stll having problems with it then it was never really gotten rid of to begin with.

I would treat everything in your house again and make sure your children and you and your husband dont have it. Then you have to check her throughly before you let her back in the house. I know you love hr and this isnt meant to sound mean, just cautious.

I know you said you used mayo, but did your wrap her head with a plastic bag for 30 minutes with the mayo on? If so, make sure you pick through every single strand of hair for the nits. The bugs are a sign that she has had nits for a while which means you didnt get rid of them when they were nits.

If you do allow her to come back, keep all her clothes and bedding and toys that she brings outside until you know she is clear.

I HATE HATE HATE lice. I had them often as a kid and my daughter has had them picked them up at school.Make sure EVERYTHING is being sprayed with lice bedding spray and floors and furnature is vacumed. spray any stuffed animals that are in the house with it and put them in plastic bags and seal them for I believe it is 2 weeks then take them out and wash them. actually Wash all the bedding in HOT water treat pillows as well. and spray matresses those suckers are hard to get rid of.
good luck
B.

As a former hairstylist here are a few tips.

First don't forget to treat the car. Use one of those sprays from the drugstore to treat the car seats. Lice like to hang out on fabric car seats.

Next treat more than once. Usually go back two weeks after the first round of treatments and do everything all over again just as a precaution.

Third don't be afraid to ask the pharamist for advice Walgreens and Eckerd usually keep phamplets around with excellent advice.

Fourth, get her to a doctor. Get a report from the doctor stating her condition. If the biological mother is refusing to treat the condition that is neglect and should be documented for the court system. If the mother can not provide a "safe and healthy" environment for the child maybe the child should not be visiting her at all.

I just went through a similiar experience. I was visiting with family in another state and my cousin has triplets. They go to visit their daddy and EVERY TIME they come back with lice!! We happened to be visiting when they had it and I have 2 boys (3 1/2 yrs old & 10 mths old) and I freaked out!!! I packed all my bags and left on the spot!!!!!! It sounds like the biological mom has not treated her bedding, toys, etc. I would not let her visit until the home was rid of all bugs!!

I don't blame you for not wanting her in your home - - - it's a terrible decision to make becuase you are right it's not her fault! One trick to use is buy Sea Breeze (that you use on your face) and put it in a spray bottle. Spray it on your childrens hair every day. The bugs don't like that! I used the shampoo on myself (I have really long hair) just to be on the safe side.

Good luck!

Try nix ive heard good things about it

Sounds like you have had a couple easier solutions given to you with the products you find in the ethinic group of hair care...but I have never known Melaleuca Oil (often referred to as Tea Tree Oil) to not work when (1) it is used correctly and (2)a pharmaceutical grade Melaleuca Oil is used (not usually found on a store shelf).

Below - I am going to type what I have learned to tell people in my circle. Product names are from Melaleuca, Inc. - a registered pharmaceutical company - and with this method - those hours of combing is not necessary. Getting every nit sounds exhausting!

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Immediately upon suspecting or seeing evidence of lice (nits), shampoo with Naturals Melaleuca Oil Shampoo and bathe in a tub of water with 1 oz of Sol U Mel (oil in water soluble form) and 1 oz of Renew Bath Oil added. Afterward, massage T36-C5 (pharmaceutical grade of the oil) into scalp and hair to soften and dislodge the nits (the eggs of the lice). Don't be stingy with the oil! Comb the oil through the hair. To fumigate the live insects, wrap your hair in a hot moist towel for 10 minutes. Repeat every second day for at least 5 treatments (10 days). To avoid reinfection, wash all clothing and bedding with MelaPower laundry detergent plus Sol-U-Mel in hot water. Add 2 oz of Sol-U-Mel to 16 oz of water and spray the entire house, especially affected areas.

My mom has found a couple things that work. One is called Not nice to lice and can be found at Walgreens. It can also be found online. It's a natural enzyme that dissolves the bug and eggs, so they can't really develop a resistance to it like they have to rid. Also, my little sister had lice constantly, my mom used Blue Star hair treatment (I think that's what it's called, maybe blue magic?) It can be found in the ethnic hair care section of walgreens or wal mart. You just coat the hair for a few (3-4) hours, you can cover it with a shower cap too. This basically suffocates them. My sister hasn't had them once since my mom tried this. The real key to getting rid of them for good is to COMB REALLY WELL. My mom says the best comb to use is called the LiceMeister (sp?). It may take hours, but you absolutely have to comb all the eggs out. Also, any bedding, stuffed animals and such need to be washed in HOT water. Anything that can't be washed needs to be put in a plastic bag and sealed for a couple weeks. Vacuum matresses and furniture, and use the furniture sprays.

I know you're very frustrated. But there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I would call a different doctor. If that's not an option, tell the nurse you've tried all of the over the counter meds. Use the comb that comes with the medicine. It is very important that you remove all of the eggs. Most people treat and then re-treat after a couple of days to get any eggs that they may have missed that hatched.

Hi B.!
My 9 year old just dealt w/lice this summer - my first experience in my life! We tried the store-bought stuff the first night, but still found 2 live lice & LOTS of nits afterwards w/the comb. I ran to the internet & THIS WORKED: Day #1:Warm some Olive Oil (it's supposed to "dissolve" any live lice exoskeletons on contact?!). Leave on 3 hours. Rinse w/vinegar (helps loosen the nits), comb nits out. Day #4:Mayo under a shower cap for 3-4 hours. Rinse w/vinegar , comb out. Day #7:On DRY hair, apply Cetaphil face wash (We used the "Equate" cheapo version @ Walmart). Comb through hair. DRY WITH HAIR DRYER. Leave on 6-8 hours. Rinse w/vinegar again & comb nits out again. Day#14:Redo the Cetaphil application.
We washed her sheets on the days we did the treatments. We placed all of her stuffed animals, decorative pillows, hats in a trash bag up in the attic for a week.
We NEVER found live lice after the olive oil application. And, these "treatments" are cheap AND left her hair feeling soft. The rest of our family did the Olive Oil & I did the Cetaphil as preventatives, but noone else had lice or nits.
The little girl my daughter got lice from had TWO more lice recurrences before her mom gave up on the storebought stuff & I gave her my leftovers for "home remedies."
I've also heard - and tried - pulling my kids' hair back & spraying it w/hairspray when they're around other kids that may have lice.
NO more problems/outbreaks since then.
Good luck. And, it's NOT alienating your niece! She'd just have to miss ONE weekend @ your home, then she'd have PLENTY of time b/t visits to get rid of the lice. Trust me, you do NOT want it passed on to your two kids.

Hi B.,

A couple of years ago, my niece had the same problem. Couldn't seem to get rid of them. Then an elderly lady from our church said to put vaseline all through her hair and saturate it. Wrap it with a shower cap and leave it on all night. You will have to wash her hair about 5 times the next morning, but it worked. Apparently the vaseline smothers the lice and they die.

Good Luck

ok i've had alot of dealings with this problems myself i have very thick hair and it is super hard to get them all out!! well my kids brought the lovley critters home from school one day and lucky me i got them! we tried RID, NIX, and what ever else we could find over the counter nothing worked! go buy some transmission fluid and put it in their hair but you really have to be careful for the eyes! but let me tell you what it works! they have metal teeth lice combs they sell at wal-mart and they work much better than those cheap plastic ones they give with the lice shampoo. now to get the transmission fluid out you have to use dawn dish soap cause it is the best for grease. good luck!!

I'm having the same problem- have you gotten any good tips yet?