Aaaaaagggghh!

[TazziRN]

Now that I've got that out of my system........four days ago I helped care for a Oaxacan woman who had been diagnosed with strep several days before and was getting sicker, so her husband brought her to the ER. She was weak and needed help to get out of the car and on the gurney. Turns out she was in major DKA and was almost shocky. All four of us had some contact with her in the ER. She was admitted to the ICU and is still there. This morning I got a visit from Employee Health.....the patient was found to have a severe case of head lice last night. After spending the day itching (psycosomatic, I'm sure) I went to Occ Med and was given a bottle of Nix. Great. No, I don't have lice but gotta be preventive. Husband is not happy about this. Neither are my kids (their feelings were made known as I passed the bottle of Nix around tonight).

Eeewwww!

[purplemania, BSN, RN]

There is a limit to how often someone can use anti-head lice medications (on children) as the medication can be absorbed systemically. Be sure to read labels and find out what preventive measures are available. Old-fashioned country people here used to put mayonnaise on their head then tie it up with a rag at night. I guess that smothered the lice. Anyone work in dermatology or pedi's with more up to date advice?

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

There is a limit to how often someone can use anti-head lice medications (on children) as the medication can be absorbed systemically. Be sure to read labels and find out what preventive measures are available. Old-fashioned country people here used to put mayonnaise on their head then tie it up with a rag at night. I guess that smothered the lice. Anyone work in dermatology or pedi's with more up to date advice?

At the hippie-ish summer camp where I used to work we had a huuuuuge outbreak one year. We put olive oil on the kid's heads and then wrapped 'em in plastic wrap for 48hrs. Some of the staff did it too so the kids wouldn't feel bad. Worked a treat.

On a sadder note, some cultures put kerosene on the head. I know a little boy who lost a few fingers and half his face when he wandered into the kitchen (w/ a gas stove) after one of these treatments.

[nrsnew]

Just an FYI... as the mother of three girls with long, long, thick hair unfortunately I have had a lot of past experience in the headlice department. The thought that it is unsanitary/unclean people who get lice is just a myth... they love and will thrive on clean scalps!!! Anyway.. I have found two things that kill the little buggers. This one's gross but it works.... saturate the hair with mayo (yep mayonaisse) put on a shower cap and leave it on for several hours or over-night. Wash it out... usually takes 2 or 3 shampooings, and you have lovely very shiny hair and dead lice (suffocated). The other thing that kills them and I didn't believe it at first is oral Bactrim believe it or not!!! Apparently they have a symbiotic bacteria in their little guts that helps them to digest blood, the Bactrim kills their little helpers and the lice can't digest the blood so they starve (the sick twisted part of me liked this kind of ironic revenge), but then a lot of docs don't want to do this treatment because of the rampant overuse of antibiotics. Lice in some areas have actually built up a resistance to Nix, RID, etc. they actually swim around in it and wave back at ya! You still have to get the nits out of their hair or you just end up back at square one!

There's your headlice lesson for the day! LOL:chuckle

[gr8rnpjt, RN]

Know how we have new drug resistant bacteria that are immune to regular antibiotics (think MRSA), well there are now "superbugs", lice that are immune to the drug store treatments! I went through this with my third daughter when she was in grade school. They kept sending her home despite treatment wtih the drug store remedies over and over again. Then I read a report about these new lice that are immune to the toxic chemicals in the treatment!

What I learned from other mothers, is that using blue dawn dish detergent does the trick. Saturate the hair with it, and cover the head overnight or for about 6 hours. It is the only thing that finally worked.

:stone

[Mission]

Oaxaca (Wha-HA-ca) is a state in Mexico. The Oaxacans are one of the indigenous Mexican Indian groups. Speak a different language than Spanish, much like China has different dialects. The boys go to school and learn Spanish, the girls are kept at home.

Sorry, as someone who has travel to Oaxaca several times, this was too inaccurate for me to ignore. Oaxaca is a state in Mexico, not an indigenous Mexican group. There are over a dozen different indigenous groups (Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Mixes, Chinantecos, Mazatecos, Chatinos, Huaves, Chontales, Zoques, Tacuates, Amuzgos, Triquis, Nahuas, Cuicatecos, Chochos, Ixcatecos, etc) in state of Oaxaca as well as the desecendents of spanish colonists, african slaves, and any mix in-between, all of whom would be considered Oaxacan and all who have widely varying cultural beliefs and practices.

[elizabells, BSN, RN]

Ah, so THIS is what you were up to in class today, Olivia!

[TinyNurse, RN]

yuck!! you know there more natural treatments for lice rather than nix..........ahhhhhhhhhhh i'm sooo sorry