Headlice can somebody please give me some advice?

Question

hi could somebody please clear up a debate on headlice i have a friend who was telling me that her friends child has headlice and that she cannot get rid of them that she has been to the doctors and a hygenics clinic regarding thisshe says that the lice are immune to everything and so is the child how can other people get rid of them when all the lice are the same to me you cant get super headlice when i saw this child she was absoutley riddled in them you could see the eggs matted all round the sides of the hair and lice crawling all other the poor child if it is this case that the lice are immune to the lotions why on earth cant her mother put a comb through her hair and try and keep on top of this do you think it is sheer lazeness like i do and that she just hasnt been able to be bothered to do the childs hair and now its got to the point she is infested with them or that she is telling the truth and they cant do nothing about it

Answer 1

She is right their are immune to everything, My sisters kids had them and we got one and put it into the lotion and it didn't kill it.  The only thing you can do is smother the hair in conditioner and comb and comb with a nit comb.  It really is hard work but  that is all you can do. (she sounds lazy)  They are the bain of my sisters life.  And she needs to do everyone in the family so they get rid of them completely (maybe even you if you have been in close contact).  Tea tree oil is a natural repellent for them so after she gets rid of them she should out a little bit on the hair to keep them away.

Answer 2

Head lice can NOT jump. Some are immune to the RID. Olive oil works great, But nothing will work if this mother does not get off her butt and come this child's hair. The way it sounds it may be too late for this child's hair. My children have not had head lice in 3 yrs because I started having them put there coast and hats in their book bags at school. This way they are not against anyone Else's. I would call CPS immediately. This poor child deserves better. Head lice are a pain, but they can be dealt with or at least under control. This child must be in misery. I know its not your child, But could you help by cutting her hair and picking at least most of the nits out. I check my kids head at least 2 times a week.  If this so called mom doesn't care about head lice of this magnitude I guarantee she is not making sure this child has a bath and clean cloths and teeth. I could only imagine how she keeps a house. Get this child some help.  If some one sees child neglect and doesn't act on it, they are just as bad as the parent. You don't sound like a person who would tolerate neglect

Answer 3

if i was the child mother and the headlice were really THAT bad i would shave all the hair off because in extreme cases this can kill!! remember they are parasites

not heard of superlice before..........

Answer 4

The only sure way to get rid of them is to wash hair everyday, put loads of conditioner on then use a metal toothed nit comb and thoroughly comb through.  Rinse conditioner off afterwards.  You must do this everyday for two weeks.

It is laziness on her part, pity the child, she will be ostracised by the other kids.as mums will tell their kids to keep away.  I would class it as neglect on the mothers part.

Keep long hair in tight plaits when mixing with other kids as lice dont like it.  Lice are spread by head to head contact, they dont jump, nor can they live long away from the head, they need the heat.

Answer 5

I don't know that it's necessarity laziness, it may be more overwhelming than anything else.      If you don't treat headlice properly, they will come back and continue to multiply.  

The child's head needs to be shampooed with the medicated shampoo.     The mom needs to take the comb that comes with the kit and comb out all of the nits.    Huge task.    It may even require a shorter hair style for the child so that the eggs can all be removed.   If the eggs arent removed, lice will hatch.      Probably everyone's head needs to be treated.  

All bedding should be washed, at the same time, in the hottest water possible and dried in the dryer.      Don't put the comforters on the bed immediately afterwards.    Store the clean bedding in the garage or in a closed trash bag until the mattress can be treated.    There are sprays that you can buy to basically saturate the mattresses.     All pillows, stuffed animals, etc. need to be put in a trash bag, air removed, and tied shut to kill the lice.    Leave these in the bag for a week or so.     Do this with pillows on the sofa.....basically anything the kids have touched and came in contact with that cannot be washed in the washing machine.          

Wash jackets, hats, hair ties, barrettes, brushes, in hot water to kill the lice.    Wash any cloth toys or toys with a cloth or nylon.      Spray down the sofas and chairs.    Spray the carpets with the spray treatment and/or do a rug shampoo (kids laying on the floor, pillows on the floor).

These suggestions are a little extreme for the "normal" case of headlice that children get.   What you are describing is a normal case of headlice that has been allowed to get out of control.      This problem will only get worse.     It will not go away on its own.

Answer 6

You can get rid of head lice, it's a pain in the rear, but it can be done.  You treat the head with "RID", and then you wash all the linens, and stuffed animals in hot water.  Check the head frequently because you want to make sure you pick all the nits out.  Also, this is a little tid bit for everyone, lice can put a protective shield, so to speak, to protect themselves from water, but they can not stand heat.  So, if you blow dry your hair, that is a great preventative, but you need to blow dry your hair in heat, not just warm.  Your friend sounds like she's lazy and lacks in hygiene.

Answer 7

well there is a great simple way to help! : )

as soon as you get rid of the head lice. then...

as they are in the shower make sure that they add some tea tree oil to there shampoo, i garenty no more headlice.

They hate the smell texture and everything. it works for me : )

hope i helped.

Answer 8

Ummm, they can always do something about it... The person is neglecting their child. I never had heard of lice being immune to Rid Shampoo (lice removing shampoo) The doctor will gladly give her a prescription for it that medicaid covers 100%  If that doesnt work she can always shave the poor child's head (last resort) She also has to wash and throughly dry all the sheets and pillow cases in the house and spray the furniture and rugs with a mixture of bleach and water.

Also, has your friend thought of calling child protective ? If the problem doesnt stop soon, i would give it a thought.

Answer 9

I am sorry but I would think the "friend" probably doesn't want to use a pesticide on her child's head! I understand this but at the same time the child is suffering physically and especially mentally (peer pressure, teacher pressure.) If this isn't treated the whole family will get it including the mother! If the child has thick hair, after the treatment, all of the nits or eggs must be physically removed or they will keep on hatching. I am sure there is a lot of talk about this at school and with the child's friends. The poor child will never be invited to a sleep over, a birthday party or anywhere when this gets around. How is this going to affect the child's  well being? Please help this child in whatever way you can. Is it because the parent can't afford the  treatment? If so, offer to help out.

Answer 10

why dont you offer to help the kid  she  must not know what  she  is  doing

Answer 11

That's pure laziness and neglect. Their are remedies to get rid of head lice and you also have to clean the entire house as well.

Answer 12

I am a good mom, I read with my kids, keep my house clean and watch my daughter for signs of scratching religiously.  I have a secret, I have dealt with headlice when my daughter was in kindergarten, picked 3 girls in her Girl Scout troops head clean the night and day before, and of our troop camping trip the next year and most recently this last fall school year through to Christmas. It really isn't fun to have to sit for HOURS having your hair picked through and being told to sit still, over and over and over. My daughter has gone through head lice too many times in my opinion.

The frustrating thing is a lot of schools are not doing anything to curb the spread of lice in school, so these kids spread it like wildfire.  I don't know if that's worse or better than the alternative of having to miss school and work, although it did save me while we were going through the treatment process when she wasn't contagious but I might have missed a nit or two. When she had it in Kindergarten I missed 3 days of work because her daycare wouldn't allow her to come if she had any nits whether they were dead or not.  

I do know this, I have gone through treating it enough that I know what does and doesn't work now. Head lice once it is treated either chemically or otherwise (mayonaise works too) work only if it is repeated within the time frame the eggs would be hatching. You have to leave the stuff on at least an hour and sometimes there might be one or two bugs that have to be picked through.  Then comes the vinegar or nit loosener, then the hours of picking through inch by inch, taking out the nits until the head is clean or you're cross eyed. Then this has to be done for the next week every night, this can take up to an hour sometimes longer each night. And then the hour treatment has to be repeated and the picking has to happen again. It is time consuming and irritating.

If her hair is kept braided then it will be harder for the nits to drop and she won't end up spreading them further. Not only do you have to do all that but the carpets have to be vacumed and all the clothes, sheets, and bedding need to be washed and pillows, jackets, and toys have to be dried in the dryer. Imagine how much trauma and stress both this mother and daughter are going through and how much it would mean to her to have you there as her friend.

I would suggest putting yourself in her shoes, and maybe realizing that she may not be 1. As financially able to take care of this infestation as the cost of a laundry mat, the treatments and everything else involved can be extremely expensive 2. she may not be as educated in the treatment of lice.  Try giving her a bit of sympathy and maybe volunteer your help and knowledge.  Don't assume she is dirty or lazy.  I spent probably close to 30 hours scouring my daughters head the last infestation she had.  It took 3 months and finally cutting her hair short to knock them out.  Put yourself in her shoes wouldn't you want someone to offer a helping hand?

BTW there were 2200+ YA questions regarding head lice.  This is not a new phenomon, just an irritating and difficult problem.

Answer 13

That sounds like sheer laziness and neglect. You may want to mention it to a social worker.

Answer 14

your friends friends child huh? sure......

Answer 15

KEEP HER AWAY FROM OTHER CHILDREN.

headlice can easily jump from one head to another. Use a fine comb and brush her hair. treat it as you would fleas (minus the flea collar!) use extra shampoo

Answer 16

This works.......my daughter got headlice from daycare a year ago, we fought with it for a couple weeks, we tried Rx from doctor, and over the counter. Then I was talking to our family doctor that had just got back from vacation.....this is what you do.

-Get a jar of Mayo(that you put in a salad or on a sandwich)

-you need a plastic bag or a plastic cover that you put over salads.

-I cup of white vineger

and warm water.

-plastic gloves

Here's what you do. Put the mayo in a bowl, put on your gloves and on the DRY hair take the mayo and rub all over your daughters hair (just like you are putting in shampoo) after you have the mayo in her hair and her hair is all full of the mayo, cover it with a plastic bag or the bowl cover and make sure its tight. leave it on her head for 1-2 hours. When the time is up you need to take 1 cup of white vinegar and poor that in her hair. then rinse it with warm water. Make sure she is standing up over the sink. While her hair is wet, make sure you use that comb to brush out all the dead nits!! After you brush it out...rewash her hair with shampoo cause the mayo will leave it a bit greasy looking. You may have to repeat these steps agian depending on the length of hair. But wait a day or two. Make sure you check for nits every day. Dont go cutting off her hair really short, if you follow these steps it will work. My daughter had long hair and it worked. Make sure all clothing, bedding and other fabric she came in contact with is washed in hot hot water or bagged for a month! Good Luck and just be patient...it takes time.

Answer 17

she could shave her child's head. that would get rid of the lice.

Answer 18

Yes you can get rid of ALL headlice, including the superlice (known as the Giant Geordie Dickie in the North East of England) -  don't know if there really is superlice, but head lice are becoming immune to medicated treatments!

The best way is safe, cheap and effective but does take time - I have done it a couple of times with my own daughters and there is no re appearance of head lice.

What you need - conditioner - cheapest you can get, don't waste your money. A nit comb - with teeth close together. A towel and small dish of water. Plenty of time - so watch a movie at the same time!

What to do - wash your childs hair and apply plenty of conditioner, sit them infront of you and separate their hair into a small manageable section, tying the rest of the hair out of the way. Start at the nape of the neck.Using the nit comb, comb the hair from the root to the tip, making sure you touch the scalp and scrape (gently) accross it to get any eggs that might be there. After each comb through, wipe or wash the comb to remove any lice or eggs. Repeat the same section a few times to make sure you get them all then start another section and repeat until all the hair has been combed.

Here is the most important bit:

Repeat every 3 days for two weeks - this is the only way to ensure the eggs have all been removed. The life cycle of a lice is what makes most peoples infection come back! They breed every 5 days, so the eggs you might not have found (because they are so tiny when they are laid) hatch and it starts all over again. This is generally how some children appear to keep catching them, it is actually them who might be infecting other children.

Don't panic over head lice, most children get them at some point in their lives. Children are not dirty when they have them, it is not their fault.

some facts about head lice:

They only live on human hair, they need a constant supply of blood to survive so they wont survive on your bedding and sofas etc. So don't waste your time cleaning everything in the house.

They don't jump, they need head to head contact. This is why it is usually children who get them as they are in close contact with each other.

When the itching starts you have had the headlice a while. Lice inject something to make you go numb so you can't feel them sucking your blood, after a while we become immune to this. That is when the itching starts.

Don't shave your childs hear off, even children with very short hair can get lice - don't embarrass them further.

Don't live in shame, talk about it, tell your childrens friends parents - this is the best way to stop it reinfecting. Being quiet stops people checking hair, giving the lice plenty of time to multiply and find new homes.

the places live lice hide are the warmest parts of the head, behind the ears and the nape of the neck.

Dont wast your money on an electronic zapper - they seem easy but only get the live lice not the eggs. They are costly.

Not sure if these are true, but worth giving a go when you are fed up.

Lice's legs have little curls on them which help them stay in our hair. They get stuck when we put mousse and gels on our hair, they then look for a better home. So put hairspray, mousse or gels on your childs hair, it might stop the lice from making a home there. Tie your childs hair back too, less likely to make head to head contact.

Tea tree oil might work, plenty of people swear by it. Either add it to your final hair rinse or use tea tree oil shampoos and conditioners. Apparently the lice don't like the smell!!

Give your hair a final rinse in diluted vinegar - the smell does vanish after a while, gives a nice shiny finish too.

Hope this has helped.

Answer 19

try some getting-rid-of-lice shampoos =)

they might help!!

why don't you tell that mom something?

Answer 20

If it were my daughter, I would cut her hair super short. Then I would repeat the lice shampoos and have my carpets cleaned- even if I had to rent a rug Doctor and do it myself. Also, I would wash all bedding and blankets and clothing. I would spray down her mattress, as well. Eventually, they will be eliminated. If it reoccurs, I would look into who my daughter is playing with, or any other homes she has been visiting frequently. My daughter hasn't enetred school yet, and I haven't had this problem yet, but this is what I would do. Best of luck to you- poor little girl.