Head Lice Nightmare!?

Question

I'm a young mum of two 5 year old twin girls. A few weeks ago one of them (Abby) came home with head lice from school. Me and my partner got both girls treated but only combed the lice out of Abby's hair as we couldn't find any lice in Amy's. Last week when brushing the girls hair I found that Amy was absolutely riddled with lice! I treated it and it seemed successful but yesterday I noticed that she was full of them, AGAIN! And by full I mean I pulled out 17 in one brush stroke! Is Amy immune to the treatment? I don't want to use it again if it's not do going to work! It costs a fortune to keep buying it!

What do you suggest I do?

Answer 1

distilled white vinegar will actually disolve the eggs! use it every day even after you think they are gone. pour it over the hair and scrub it around. use the lice comb to pick out any bugs or eggs that are left. i would suggest buying it by the gallon and sitting the kids in the bath tub. its cold and it stinks but it really works. treat everyone in the family. wash everything in hot water with bleach (if you can) and baking soda. put whatever you cant wash in large trash bags and put in the garage for at least 3 weeks.

Answer 2

Check out this new headlice comb - available in UK

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wle5lLXy1...

Head lice treatment for kids

http://pediatrics.about.com/cs/condition...

The secret to getting rid of headlice is breaking their breeding cycle.

There was a product advertised on TV a while back which got rid of headlice in one single treatment - it not only killed the adult headlice it also killed off any pupae and also the eggs too.

Sorry, cannot remember the name of this product.  Hopefully your local chemist/pharmacy will know.  Failing that, a visit to the GP should get a cure on the NHS - prescription.

Back in my school days in the 1940s and 1950s we used to get regular visits from the headlice nurse [nit-nurse] - she had a fine toothed comb and all the kids in school had their heads examined and their hair combed.

Back in them far off days when the NHS was new, they know how to get rid of headlice.

Good luck and keep asking questions. . . .

Answer 3

You'll possibly find that if she isnt immune to the treatment, then she will be soon.There are different brands so it's a good idea to try them but if you have some free time and patience, there's the more 'natural' way. If you wet your daughters hair, then add some thick conditioner and just keep using a nit comb to bring all the beasties out. She doesn't need to be in a bath for this - especially as it's a long process. You will probably have to repeat this several times before you get rid of them - once a night for a few nights.

It sounds like there's a lice problem at their school, perhaps you should raise the issue with teachers? Schools can't do an awful lot these days though - did you know that a teacher cannot approach a parent with suspicions that a child may have lice as it is a 'breach of the child's human rights'?? Also, they can't make a child stay home because of lice - which is why many schools have that problem, it spreads from the kids who aren't being treated.

Answer 4

you need to be treating the house to becuase they live in couches, beds , mattresses... it takes a lot to get rid of they but ask your doctor about something moreheavier that will give results... get help from family and do a whole house clean up the same day... anything cloth , wool any kind of fabric

Answer 5

You have to do more than treat the girl's hair.

You must treat their combs, brushes, hats, bedding, stuffed animals...

Here is some info:  http://www.dhpe.org/infect/lice.html

All the best.

Answer 6

all i use to use is a cheap conditioner from the shop and put loads on your girls hair and then comb out using the nit comb i never used the stuff you get from the chemist you will have to do this for several days because of the eggs but you will get the little buggers in the end.

Answer 7

i heard baby oil does the trick..but you might find an answer on google..=]

Answer 8

Wash her hair and leave in conditioner, comb out and do the same agin in the evening/morning. You should be very careful with products from the chemist as many have very nasty chemicals which are highly toxic and I would never use them on my children. If you continue with the combing with conditioner routine, you sould be able to get rid of them within days. Good luck and how wonderful having twin girls, I would love that!

Answer 9

Lice is very hard to get rid of!  First of all, you need to treat everyone in the house and check everyone's hair daily.  You need to wash all bedding daily and any stuffed animals or pillows and such that can't be washed need to be put in a dark garbage bag and tied up and stored out in a garage, shed, or basement for 30 days.  I would go to the dr. to get any alternate ideas or another type of medicine (sorry, but when it comes to lice I wouldn't mess around- organic or not).  Also, do not let your child wear or share hats, brushes, pillows, batting helmets, and so on.  It will go away, but it rarely goes away on the first treatment or two.  Many times, it takes 3 or 4.

Answer 10

My hairdresser recommended cheap VODKA!

It really works - but you gotta do everybody in the household together.

Answer 11

Did you also treat their toys beds, pillows, bed coverings.  Also all of their clothes need to be washed.  You need to treat both girls at the same time and also all of their belongings at the same time.  I found this website with information on how to get rid of lice including a recipe for shampoo.  Hope it helps.

http://www.lacetoleather.com/ridlice.htm...

Answer 12

conditioner and invest in a nitty gritty comb. They cost about £10 but have a lifetime guarantee. I found its the only thing that works on my kids as they all have very fine hair but the nitty gritty comb manages to get out the lice but also, more importantly the eggs which are often left behind with other combs

My daughters were completely immune to all the chemical treatments and were constantly riddled with the little bugg*rs until I got this comb and "touch wood" my girls havent had more than one or 2 since

Answer 13

Hello, lice is a nightmare. Especially now when they are getting immune to the same old treatments. And so-called "natural" treatments don't do a thing.

It will be important to treat both young ladies simultaneously, even if one does not appear to have lice, because the eggs are very tiny and lay dormant near the very base of each hair follicle for up to 7 days or so. Then bam- lice seem to come out of nowhere!

*Runs to bathroom to check treatment*

Okay- try a product named KP24. If you can't find this, please find something that contains MALDISON (1% W/W).

This works like an absolute spell against lice.

Showering works better than bathing when rinsing out the product. Comb assiduously. I bet they have long hair- so you will have to go really deep and try your best to comb from the roots up in small trusses of hair.

Good luck, and I hope the lice nightmare ends soon for you and your twin daughters. :)

Answer 14

You have to use a proprietary head lice shampoo. Prioderm or Derbac used to be the ones a few years ago, ask the pharmacist for the most effective one. You have to treat the whole family. You also have to leave it on at least as long as it says, or longer. And shorter hair makes it easier to deal with.  

Answer 15

Back in the days when i was at school,PARRAFINE put to the whole head and covered with a white nappy or headband for maybe a couple of hours and then washed out thoroughly with shampoo and then comb through hair!All of the lice should be dead by then!After removing the headcover dead lice will be all over the cloth,so it is advisable to do it in bath,so you can see when they are falling out!Gudluck,I know this WILL work,GARANTEED

Answer 16

i started using dr. johnstons shampoo 6 mnths ago. its a headlice repelant and my grls neva had them since. good luck they very bad at school just now.

Answer 17

The shampoo might not be the problem.  After the treatment for the girls you have to also clean their sheets, their beds, their fuzzy toys, all the towels, washcloths, hats, hooded sweatshirts, etc that they've come in contact with.  The whole family has to be treated at the same time and checked daily for the first 5 to 7 days just to get any you might have missed or get rid of the new ones that pop up every now and then.  Its a big pain in the butt but that's that only way to get rid of them and, once you do, you can keep treating the girls like once a week or so during the school year to keep them from getting any more.  You might want to contact the school, too, just to let them know your kids came home with them.  If the school can nip the problem you wont have to be so diligent - but you'll still need to keep checking.

Answer 18

Persistant combing is the answer.

Do them both at the same time, and comb through everytime you wash their hair for two weeks should do it.

ONce you have done an initial treatment with nit shampoo you can just use hair conditioner to comb them out with.

You could also try putting one drop of rosemary oil in the rinsing water as a preventitive.  My family swears by it.

Little divils aren't they!  They can be difficult but just don't let them win.

Answer 19

i read somewhere that olive oil is meant to be really good  

Answer 20

Get some tea tree oil, and tea tree oil shampoo and conditioner, wash and condition hair, massage tea tree oil into the scalp, comb thoroughly and condition again. works really well, and prevents re-infestation.

Answer 21

Teatree oil and loads of conditioner, comb it through with a nit comb, not a hairbrush. Do this every day till you see no more, and then do it again every other day for a week in case there are still eggs hatching. It's no good just doing one child, do both! These things travel! You need to do yourself and hubby too for obvious reasons. Also wash the bedding regularly and stop them wearing other people's hats.

Tell the girls to point out to the little cows from school that they must have caught them from someone, and the one that shouts loudest has probably got them. Also have a word with the teacher. This is bullying and she should have a word with the mothers concerned.

Check the kids every day when they come home from school. Obvious places are behind the ears, nape of the neck, and under the fringe. Head lice are immune to most treatments so breaking their legs with the nit comb is the most effective solution. The conditioner loosens their grip on the hair.You have to keep the treatment up because they have laid eggs which will hatch. You can pick the eggs out by hand but it takes forever.

Time for school to send the periodic nit letter out.

Answer 22

It's not your daughter that's immune to the treatment, it's the head lice! If your girls are going to school or playing with children who have head lice then they are going to keep getting them from whoever it is that hasn't checked recently. It's a sad fact of life and all mum's have to get used to it. You can carry on using chemicals if you really want to but I found the only sure thing to do was to visually check regularly, wash and condition the hair and then comb through, first with an ordinary comb to get out any tangles and then with a nit comb (very fine toothed comb). It also helped to put a few drops of tea tree oil in with the conditioner as this seemed to 'knock out' the lice and make removal easier.

I read somewhere that in Russia they put vodka on the hair to kill head lice! There are also lots of other home remedies but perseverance is the best and it does give you a chance to sit and talk with your daughters. Remember to treat any other family members too! As your daughters get older you'll have to do this less and less frequently but it does seem to go on for a long time!

Answer 23

you have to wash clothing ,hair brushes , bedding ,etc that they come in contact with.

Answer 24

Tea Tree ..its brilliant ..what i do is wet the hair and comb while wet, add the tea tree shampoo and give it a good wash, wash it all out and add some conditioner and while on comb with the nit comb you will find lots will come out, towel dry the hair and spray on the leave in tea tree ...Nits hate it and Kylie never gets them anymore since doing it