AUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!(i.e.head lice)

Keepstanding, ASN, RN · Oct 26, 2005

Hi Jen42,

I can relate !!! lol I do keep a bottle of Rid at my home for times

when I might just have'em, but I never have in my 14 years of school nursing.

I do color my hair and I also use a hair dryer on high heat every morning, so this may be a deterent to those nasty little buggers.

Like you, I am "up to my elbows" with head checks all of the time in an elementary school of about 1000 kids. I do have a friend at work who is a confidant of sorts and I often ask her to check my head when I get those psychosomatic feelings as you say. This helps greatly, to know that someone I trust has said I am "clean" ! I would not suggest using the lice shampoo.....just in case. Directions on the bottle says that if you use it too often, it can be toxic. Hang in there.....Fifth's Disease, Strep, Flu, Scabies, Impetigo, and a variety of other things will keep you occupied this winter !

Good Luck:nurse:

LPN 90

grannynurse FNP student · Oct 26, 2005

I had a wonderful experience with my youngest granddaughter last week. I picked her up and she told me that one of her classmates had head lice. She told her teacher. I was proud of her and made the comment that of course her teacher sent the student to the nurse. She said no, her teacher had told her she didn't like tattletails. Needless to say, I got upset. I spoke to one of the other teachers who told me she would take it up with the principal. She apparently did because the girl was sent to the nurses office the next day.

Grannynurse:balloons:

gauge14iv, MSN, APRN, NP · Oct 26, 2005

I would highly recommend NIX over the other stuff. For one thing, it keeps them from becoming reinfested for about 2 weeks. You can do a second application at that time just to be sure. Comb Comb Comb - takes hours but it is the only way to get them all!

ALL of the sheets, towels, pillows, hats, coats, nap blankets, etc must be washed. If she attends daycare or school, all of the nap pallets need to be cleaned there too.

It's frustrating because it happens no matter how clean you keep your child and your house!!!! And it can be very frustrating to get rid of!

I wouldnt do any of the shampoos as a preventative - but I'd keep it handy if I worked in a school!

suzanne4, RN · Oct 27, 2005

Be careful with some of those commercila preps, they are actually being outlawed in several states for being toxic to the person using it.

We used to have great results with plain old Mayo, and it can't hurt anyone, but will smother the lice. And it can be eaten.

Fiona59 · Oct 27, 2005

I can relate (18 loads of laundry to be totally paranoid about it). Skip the tea tree oil (our school was really into natural alternatives).

Nix all the way to be sure.

Walmart has a generic brand that is about $5/bottle cheaper than brand name!

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Oct 27, 2005

Be careful with some of those commercila preps, they are actually being outlawed in several states for being toxic to the person using it.
We used to have great results with plain old Mayo, and it can't hurt anyone, but will smother the lice. And it can be eaten.

ITA, especially lindane (Kwell):

http://www.headlice.org/jesseproject/jesse.htm

http://www.fda.gov/cder/drug/infopage/lindane/lindaneQA.htm

http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content/news/FDA_lice_treatment.html

http://health.yahoo.com/ency/healthwise/hw50910

VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN · Oct 27, 2005

Excellent resource here:

http://www.headlice.org/

http://www.headlice.org/special/whoweare_files/frame.htm

http://www.headlice.org/special/mission.htm

bergren · Oct 27, 2005

We all had high hopes for mayo and the other harmless household products that were purported to kill lice, but alas, the research did not support them :

Takano-Lee M., Edman, J.D., Mullens B.A. & Clark, J.M. (2004). Home remedies to control head lice: assessment of home remedies to control the human head louse, Pediculus humorifice capitis. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 19(6), 393-398.

From the abstract found on PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed

This article examines the potential value of six purportedly effective "home remedies" (vinegar, isopropyl alcohol, olive oil, mayonnaise, melted butter, and petroleum jelly) to treat head louse infestations and the likelihood of drowning lice by water submersion. Results indicated that only the application of petroleum jelly caused significant louse mortality but no treatment prevented lice from laying eggs. Most home remedy products did little to kill eggs, despite prolonged exposure. Petroleum jelly caused the greatest egg mortality, allowing only 6% to hatch. It was extremely difficult to drown lice, despite extended periods (i.e., 8 hr) of water submersion, suggesting that killing lice by depriving them of oxygen is inefficient. None of the home remedy products we surveyed was an effective means of louse control. This suggests that when treatment failure occurs, an increased amount of time and effort should be focused on alternative chemical pediculicides and/or manual louse removal (i.e., combing) rather than using any of these products.

abrenrn · Oct 28, 2005

Wish I had all Martha's information when I was trying to help out a relative with this problem recently (BTW - lice do not discriminate, this relative lives in a very affluent community - and picked up the lice in said community).

Just one question - in my internet searching (references not saved), I found some of what Martha mentioned. Only question I have is - way back when I did this before, we recommended diluted vinegar as an aid in combing and nit-picking as the acid would help loosen the adherent that glues the nit to the hair shaft. In the searching I did, I think I saw something that supported this. Again, this was a rushed search looking for helpful info so I can't give a reference on it. Do you know if vinegar is useful for this?

Thanks again for all the info being provided - it will really come in handy when I restart school nursing next week.

Anne

abrenrn · Oct 28, 2005

One more question. What about malathion? While I was researching this, I came across it a few times. It is also mentioned on the CDC site (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dpd/parasites/lice/factsht_head_lice_treating.htm#best_medicine) as being effective with few side effects reported. However, I have also heard it is flammable. Anyone with any experience with this?

mstigerlily · Oct 28, 2005

Well studies do back up neem oil. Do a search on "neem oil lice" and you'll find tons of info, studies, testimonials.

My oldest daughter had a four month long battle with lice years ago. Neem oil was the ONLY thing that worked. We tried Rid, Nix, olive oil, mayonnaise, tea tree oil, dandruff shampoo, everything. Neem oil smells absolutely vile but after combing it through her hair, we put a plastic shower cap over her head and sent her to bed. Two weeks later the same treatment and two weeks later (just to be safe) a repeat. You have to wash your hair a dozen times to get the smell out but it was worth it.

Apparently neem oil is from a tree in India so perfectly natural. Works great on scabies too (my OTHER daughter caught that once!) Apparently the neem oil kills not only the lice but the nits. Combing with the lice comb is important to get the nits out but it's much easier with the oil in the hair.

Call health food and natural stores to see if they carry neem oil lice remedies. Straight neem oil is very strong and must be diluted with another oil, such as olive oil or mineral oil.

I

We all had high hopes for mayo and the other harmless household products that were purported to kill lice, but alas, the research did not support them :
Takano-Lee M., Edman, J.D., Mullens B.A. & Clark, J.M. (2004). Home remedies to control head lice: assessment of home remedies to control the human head louse, Pediculus humorifice capitis. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 19(6), 393-398.
From the abstract found on PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search&DB=pubmed
This article examines the potential value of six purportedly effective "home remedies" (vinegar, isopropyl alcohol, olive oil, mayonnaise, melted butter, and petroleum jelly) to treat head louse infestations and the likelihood of drowning lice by water submersion. Results indicated that only the application of petroleum jelly caused significant louse mortality but no treatment prevented lice from laying eggs. Most home remedy products did little to kill eggs, despite prolonged exposure. Petroleum jelly caused the greatest egg mortality, allowing only 6% to hatch. It was extremely difficult to drown lice, despite extended periods (i.e., 8 hr) of water submersion, suggesting that killing lice by depriving them of oxygen is inefficient. None of the home remedy products we surveyed was an effective means of louse control. This suggests that when treatment failure occurs, an increased amount of time and effort should be focused on alternative chemical pediculicides and/or manual louse removal (i.e., combing) rather than using any of these products.