While getting report this evening, a confused patient rolled by in her wheelchair wearing a funny little shower cap on her head. I chuckled to myself and asked the nurse beside me why she was wearing it. "Oh, she has lice." She has WHAT?! Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!!
I've been itching all over since I heard the bad news... Maybe I should get myself a shower cap!
God, I hate lice..
Worst part: Family refuses to have the normal treatment d/t poor old mom is sensitive to smells. Apparently, they've been coming in every night to dump mayonnaise on her head!!
There happens to be an article in today's New York Times about the BUSINESS of head lice! There are people and in some places, salons, who do nothing but head lice treatments, for those prople who are too squeamish to do it themselves. They charge upwards of $3-500 yes FIVE HUNDRED dollars to do this for you!
They are mainly non-healthcare professionals, who have simply developed a following. There was little discussion of methods, except for heat.
And yes, mayo - the real stuff, not salad dressing - or petroleum jelly or similar substances have been used for years. No matter what method is used, the hair MUST be combed section by section with a nit comb, preferably metal. And the treatment should be repeated. If mayo or similar, twice a week for 3 weeks is the usual recommendations, check the boxes carefully for the recommendations on each chemical treatment.
I come cheap - I'll do it for $75/hr, plus the cost of the product!!!!
I think if I had lice I'd just shave my head and wear a wig for a while. I'd probably cry but having to comb and pick at each strand of hair every day for weeks would make me cry too. And then what about laundry? Are you supposed to wash your pillowcases every day too?
First, I know exactly what you are feeling. I was recently involved in a code situation involving a nursing home resident (I'm an ED nurse, and this patient came in by EMS). Following the code, we were informed that she was infected with head lice. Now, it was doubtful that anybody was actually exposed, but the instant I heard it my head just started itching...couldn't help it. On the way home, I stopped off and got some Rid. I probably didn't need to treat myself, but I did just in case. Now, I have to ask a question....Just what in the world is mayonnaise supposed to do for lice? Do lice not like the taste of Miracle Whip? Very discerning about their condiments, the little vermin! Did I, like, miss a lecture in nursing school somewhere or is this one of those "old timey" folk rememdies that this family buys into? "A lice infestation just isn't a lice infestation without the tangy zip of Miracle Whip." LMAO
All right, I just spewed coffee all over my computer screen. You owe me. :lol2:
We have recommended olive oil to families with repeat outbreaks because we don't thinks it is a good idea to repeatedly use pesticides. It works well, but like the above posts state, requires diligent combing for at least 2 weeks. Unfortunately, most of our families that don't do a good job combing after RID or NIX or whatever brand, don't usually do that good of a job combing after the olive oil. Makes for well-conditioned hair, though.
Nothing can cause panic quite like a couple cases of lice in an elementary school. You'd think it was worse than the Black Plague!
Specializes in LTC & Med-Surg, L&D, Pre-Op Clinic.
Ew, Ew, Ew......
My daughter had headlice last fall. We tried everything, I do mean everything. Mayonnaise, Listerine in the shampoo, vinegar to soften the eggs, RID, permithrin, NIX, metal combs, plastic combs. You name it we tried it! I had to chop off her gorgeous long hair to help the process. We all endedup getting it to, me, hubby, and brother
Yes, it's laundry EVERY night!
I'm not sure what finally worked, but thank goodness 'it" did! It was terrible! it lasted for 2-3 months because everyone kept passing it back and forth at school! I found out during this process, that the school nurse doesn't send home notes to say your child may have been exposed, until half of the class has head lice! She didn't even do a class head check. She just checked whoever the teacher saw scratching their head.WHAT??!!?? I even talked to the principal and she said, "it would set off a panic" well yeah, it would. Fortunately the after school program took it a little more seriously and did daily head checks and sent people home....
Enough already! Ew,Ew,Ew....Also working in a surgery clinic we had a patient going in for surgery and they just had to all OR staff wear their hats the entire time!
So I'm in nursing school and the thought of "being the patient" on our mock beds freaks me out. People hop into bed after each other, but it really gets to me! EW!!
Between my two daughters and my foster kids, I have unfortunately had a lot of experience with lice. I finally started collecting the bugs when I could find them and trying different things directly on the bugs.
The best bug killer is heat. (Remember microbiology class?) A blow dryer on high, directly touching a bug for two seconds will kill it. You can't use a blow dryer on a kid's head, lest you burn them. But if the kid is old enough to do their own head, or if you are doing yourself, just use the blow dryer on dry hair as long as possible without burning your head. When I was delousing my three foster kids, it took me three weeks. I blow dried my head, and my kids did their heads each night, and we never did get any. (Thank God 'cause there is no one to nit pick me.)
On the kids I used a battery operated nit comb. When the comb touches a nit, it makes a little zap and kills the bug. If you use a regular comb, the bug can run away. The comb doesn't zap you or the kid. NOt sure why. Only zaps bugs. You have to use it on dry hair. When my foster kids would visit family members, I would use the electric comb when they returned to my house. Often I would zap a bug or two that they collected while on the visit.
Rid or Nix works sometimes, but as was said before, it is toxic and the bugs become immune. Mayonaise didn't work for my daughter, but she has thick long hair, so it was hard to get the mayo between each hair to cover each bug.
My kids have been plagued w/this in recent years. My daughter, now age 11, has long brown hair. What I would recommend is getting the RobiComb from Wal-Mart. It's battery operated and emits a charge or signal that kills the adult louse's nervous system. Once there appears to be no more live lice, I would try to have a person, such as my daughter, sit outside in nice weather on a chair and meticulously separate the hair. I found it to be easier to narrow the strand to the one containing a nit/nits and use a small pair of scissors to cut that particular hair strand as close to the scalp as possible. This will assist in reducing the pain that occurs with trying to pull the nit out manually or combing it out.
I tell my student's parents to use olive oil for the first comb through then soak the hair in vinegar for the next comb through. The vinegar breaks down the glue holding the nit to the hair shaft. I've had parents use other methods and products like nix and rid then come back to me to tell me my way is better (and no chemicals!).
Specializes in L&D; GI; Fam Med; Home H; Case mgmt.
Well, after all these years of having kids and a couple of them bringing home lice, I myself finally have a case of it, and got it from homecare! I am a nurse supervisor and I have a good handful of clients who hug the heck out of me every time I see them and I always love it. I knew I was going to pay the price. Weirdly I am the only one in the house with it, including my husband who sleeps right next to me. But no louse in its right mind would leave my thick, wavy head of hair for his very fine, thin hair...
I am in the middle of treatment. I have done Lice MD twice, combed my own hair out once and had my husband comb my hair out once. Let me just say that, despite both of our best intentions, neither comb-out was thorough. So I'm going to try the Cetaphil method and see if that might help along with the treatments I've already done. I have a -touch- of the panicky, ick-factor going on, but I'm trying to stay very positive and keep this in perspective. It's not THAT big a deal. I've always been successful at getting rid of these the first time around, but I've always been the one doing the combing on someone else! I am very thorough and diligent. It's impossible td see what you're doing on yourself though. And despite his best intentions, the hub just doesn't have the diligent, methodical, thorough, TENACIOUS nature that I have so ... I feel a bit helpless... I will update in a couple of weeks and report on the Cetaphil method's efficacy. If anyone has any thoughts or tips they'd like to offer, my ears (eyes) are open! Thanks.
She has WHAT?! Yuck, yuck, yuck!!!! 
:lol2:.thumb.gif.bd59648159cce1b1d54711ce1ae578c4.gif){kind=avatar}
nebrgirl
133 Posts
So now that my head is itching...how effective would it be if I just shave off all my hair...(answers the how to wear your hair a work problem too :)