found a ton of live crawling lice on my two year old's head just now. I'm seriously squicked out by this. I can't see any nits though. Checked other dck heads and don't see much....omg, I'm so grossed out and freaking out. Walk me through this--what do I do?

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I'm sure others will have better advice since I have never personally dealt with lice but this is what I would do.

Call for immediate pickup, the DCK can't return until they have had a treatment and no live lice. eeekkk! You don't want all the other kids getting it (or your family). Then wash all the bedding the kids use and clean clean clean. I would call mom or dad asap though.

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Breathe

Breathe some more......

Then take EVERYTHING your child's head/body may have come into contact with and wash it. Dry it on HIGH heat. Iron your mattresses, couches and other fabric furniture. The heat will kill anything live (both nits and bugs).

Vacuum everywhere. Put brushes, combs and stuffed animals in a garbage bag and stick them out on the steps for 24-48 hours.

Live bugs and nits need a host within 24-48 hours or they will die.

If the temps are below freezing, that is to your benefit as freezing temps kill them just as easily and quickly as the high temps will too.

Do NOT forget about his car seat. That is the number #1 reason for re-infestation.

Check out this site: http://www.headlice.org/

It has TONS of great tips and tricks for ridding your home of lice and nits.

Oh, and keep taking deep breathes. It isn't the end of the world and it IS something you can manage with a little diligence and careful attention.

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Oh I'm so sorry! I just realized it's YOUR child...can't send him home lol sorry...

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Thank you BC, that's helpful. I tried looking it up but got bogged down. I am trying to stay calm....trying to figure out how to treat HIM, because he freaks out about having his hair washed with shampoo that isn't a pesticide! And both kids end up in our bed a lot and he's been hanging out in his sister's bed, and she just spent the night at her cousin's house.....

UGH. I checked their heads a month or so ago when there was lice going around the homeschool co-op and there was nothing! And i swear I see NO nits on his head. But at least 8-10 live, crawling bugs. I'm so confused.

And I hate laundry.

It is bitter cold here right now so that's good. Wouldn't they die in the cold temps in the car? We don't have a garage and that car frequently goes more than 48 hours with no one in it.

BC, what's your opinion on the pesticidal shampoos? necessary or not? are there natural ways that are effective? I called the doctor about treating him (google says not to use the shampoos on 2 and youngers) and they said there is something they can call in for me.

And my daughter isn't even HERE and I can't check her head....

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I gather you are stuck at home with nothing to treat with. go wash his hair with regular shampoo and the put mayo all over his head then a shower cap or a stocking cap if you have to.

check all the other children there I bet they have them if you found that many if not if parents can pick them up it would be helpful

As soon as you can get some supplies the spray for your furniture after spraying cover with a clean sheet. Spray the car seat and the other seats if he gets in the car and then you strap him in besides at this point we are going to assume you and all family members have them.

When you get the shampoo also pick up a riobi comb Walgreens has them. They have a battery and will zap the lice when it comes in contact. You can use just that and forget the shampoo. Do it daily for a week of so to make sure. You can also check yourself that way you can hear the zap.

Remember they like clean hair it is NOT a lack of care issue.

If the childcare does not have it Sure bet the grade school and your other child does.

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YES! That cold will work to your advantage.

Personally I don't think the shampoos they sell at Walmart/Target are really that effective. I've hear of other remedies that are safer and more effective although, I have never had to use/do them so I cant' say for sure.

One of the more popular ones is using herbal remedies such as tea tree oil, which is known for its antibacterial and antifungal properties.

There is no natural treatment that kills lice eggs (nits) completely. Hence, removal of lice and nits is an important part of the lice treatment procedure. Using a lice and nits removal shampoo followed by lice combs to pull lice and nits off wet hair helps to get rid of head lice.

I hope that helps...a little anyways.

Hang in there.

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I have 3 dcs; two brothers and 9 month old. HOnestly I'm beginning to wonder if the brothers have/have had them and I wasn't old. I don't see a thing, but the 4.5 yo is in preschool and I've been noticing lately that their hair seems.....abnormally clean. Like, That sounds really bad, but I kind of wonder. The 4.5 year old can't really tell me for sure if his mom has combed his hair with a special comb or anything. He answers "Um, I think maybe? Or not?"

But why else would they be totally clean (from what I can see) and yet....my son is covered.

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I'd call the preschool and ask if there has been a case of lice going around.

They won't tell you who but they can surely deny or confirm.

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naturally, they are on winter break. I just found this out by calling the school. NOW I KNOW WHY DCB HASN"T BEEN PICKED UP YET.

(*#&(*&*@&^#*&#@^*&#^(#*&@#(*#& <-- swear words

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2 of my dck's had lice this summer. I freaked! I covered all the furniture whiel they were here, vacuumed nightly, took all stuffed animals away, washed all blankets, etc. on hot...made sure they didn't come into close contact with the heads. Ugh....worse week! Then I found one live bug on ds'
s head right after they touched heads the next week! I treated him with a natural remedy that we had to leave on for 4 hours but, it was my only option as he has reactive airway disease and I was afraid of the pesticides because it said may bring on asthma symptoms. I don't even know if it was a lice bug I saw since we were outside and I couldn't find any on the 2 original kids that day but, still. I know their mom used an organic treatment that she bought at the hair salon that cuts the kid's hair. I know how horrible it is to have it in your home!

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People like the ryobi zapping comb.

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yuck yuck yuck!


I think this is my worst fear with dck in my home all the time!

We use tea tree oil, just a few drops, added to each kids head when I shampoo their hair. No idea if it actually prevents it or not, but I believe it works. Ds's class (8) had a MAJOR infestation where half the class was out with lice and they have a no nit policy. Ds never got it. I would check his head every morning and every day as soon as he got home, before even coming in the door.

Vacuum a LOT. Wash everything on hot, zipper what you can't wash.

GOOD LUCK!

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Thanks folks. I have DH out to get a Robi comb for us. The shampoos are all $20-$30 and the comb is $30 so it seems like a wise choice to me. And it seems to come recommended. Also found info about blow drying being effective, and tea tree oil. I'll try those for starters. along with the vigourous laundry and vacuuming.

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You don't need pesticides. Lice are smothered/slowed by oils. Real mayonnaise, olive oil or other oil. Put it on thickly, and cover. A shower cap, or even a plastic bag if you can do it safely. After a couple hours, you are going to want to use a VERY fine tooth comb. Many in the stores will not work. If you need to, try a flea comb, but there needs to be only enough space for a single hair between the blades. You can do this in the shower or over the sink, but you are going to want a steady stream of water going down the drain to rinse your comb as you find them. Comb until you have no more lice coming off.

Wash hair to remove the oily, and rinse by soaking with vinegar (be careful of eyes.) Let vinegar soak for about 5 mins. Vinegar breaks the nits hold on the hair. Now do the same combing job but focus on the nits. Back of the neck and behind ears will be top priority.

You still need to deal with the house, toys, bedding and car, but since you are not using pesticides, you can actually do this about every 2-3 days, and I would for two to three weeks just to be sure.

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tee tree oil and blow drying will not kill them they just help prevent them because they do not like heat or the smell of the tee tree oil

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http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatri...ediatrics/4452

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This happened to my son(sent home from school)at this exact same time last year and talk about stress! It was already Christmas, my DH worked out-of-town and I was manic and a bundle of nerves. I ended up using both OTC pesticides and some herbal concoction that soaked on hair for hours(or overnight)that a local drugstore sold(best thing I ever used). I also used vinegar & lemon juice to loosen the nits(in a little container to dip the comb in and in a spray bottle to spray hair all over). I've found that out of all the eleventy zillion remedies the only tried & true thing that works is combing out the child's hair thoroughly day after day --Many a days I spent over 8 hours combing and in tears(yes you may have to keep checking and keep washing bedding)but it you do not comb good & thoroughly, it's pointless in my experience and in that of many others. I hope & pray for you at this time. It's AWFUL!! A hair straightener is good to use too because of the heat.

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well so far, he still has no nits that I can find, DD has nothing, I haev nothing, DH has nothing. WTH? I found another live louse on DS with the comb, but still no confirmed nits.

I called the doc and she called in a prescription shampoo at the pharmacy for me, so i'm going to do that too.

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Another thing, if you see no nits(I used a magnifying glass), this is a good time to zap/kill those suckers right now because they may be mostly all newly hatched nymphs and haven't had the chance, nor are mature enough, to lay more eggs/nits yet so get them at this opportune time. So, if I were you I would act now from experience.

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(BBM)
~That's even better! I've always wondered, with those RX lice treatments, do you still have to use a comb or no? I guess you or the rest of your family don't sleep with or use the same brush as your daughter? The school nurse told me last year that lice do not like adult hair because of the oil it gets during puberty and that is why it is much more likely for children to get them. ~Don't get me wrong, they will still go into a teen or an adults hair or an African American's(or black hair) it's just that they are less likely to and if they have a choice they won't choose them, they will choose the small child. I've also heard to use tea tree oil or coconut in your shampoo and lavender to prevent them(I started using Suave coconut shampoo). Good luck!!

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I had lice last year (for the first time). I was nannying at the time for 2 boys. A notice came home from the school saying it was going around. A few weeks went by and the boys started itching their heads. Mind you, we read stories every night- so they boys would rest their heads on my shoulder.
Now, I started getting nervous. They insisted that they did not have lice and their mom said it was allergies. I wanted to believe that the mom would check them.... Ya right The itching went on for maybe 3 weeks (I was only with the boys 2 days a week). When I went back the next week, (now my head started itching), I noticed what to be nits. Now, I don't know how the the mother didn't notice.... (She was the type of mom who was always straightening their hair, clothes etc...). I finally told the younger boy to sit still so I could check his hair. I saw lice right away. I called the mom and told her I needed to leave to check my own hair and she needed to come home to start treated her child/home. She was shocked that they had lice (she is a lawyer- so book smart, but she doesn't have a lot of common sense).

I ended up having around 20 lice in my hair (gross). My husband and son didn't have any. I did put olive oil on all of our heads. I also made my husband and son wear a shower cap until I was clear. My husband and mother combed my hair everyday with loads of conditioner. It took about 2 weeks to make sure all was clear. My mom was very thorough, but she did miss one egg, that my husband combed out the next day. So... You have to keep combing, even if you think you are clear. That one egg would have re-infested me all over again.
I bought a nit comb on amazon- as the one at Walgreens/Cvs doesn't work the best.
It was all time consuming, but at least we kept it contained to just me.

In regards to the mom I worked for, I understand that these things happen. I was just steaming mad that she let it go on for sooo long. How can a notice come home from school, then your boys start itching like crazy, and you not think to check their heads???

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~How's this going? ...Good I hope and pray .

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Thanks for asking I keep meaning to update and then get distracted.

Everything seems fine. I treated both kids with the prescription stuff (that was really expensive! Glad we have insurance) and the bugs are gone. I'm still working through the laundry though. SO. MUCH. LAUNDRY.

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~Yay!!


(SilverSabre25 quote)"Thanks for asking "(end quote)

~You're very welcome. As I said earlier, I know how it felt to me when I went through it and all the emotions & adjectives for me were negative....Crazed even. So, I just wanted to see if all was well and/or if you needed anything .


(SilverSabre25 quote)"I'm still working through the laundry though. SO. MUCH. LAUNDRY" (end quote)

..Thinking of all that laundry on top of all the Christmasy things you have to do-- Yikes ! TY for reporting back on how the Rx stuff, it was maybe "Sklice" I take it, works....Good to know, I've always wondered. ..Just a tip though to be on the safe side, I'd keep checking for eggs, nymphs & such at least every other day or so for quite awhile. That also helps keeped it nipped in the bud before it gets too awful bad again....If it does, that is(knocking on wood)and I seriously doubt it because of the way/the method you treated them with -- Good job. ..Glad y'all made it through! ~God bless!~

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yes, Sklice is the name. Super effective if you can afford it or have good insurance!

I've been checking each kid's head here and there...not a detailed check (DS won't sit still) but as good as i can manage. And a few swipes with the lice comb. So far, nothin'.

I just wish I knew where it came from.

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