My baby has lice

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Specializes in Corrections, Cardiac, Hospice.

The school nurse called this morning and told me my 8 year old had lice. AHHHHHHHHHH! We have stripped all bedding, vacumed the mattresses (ours, hers and our son's,) put all stuffed animals in garbage bags and treated with rid. It took me a total of 5 hours to comb through her hair today. I don't see any nits in my son's or husband's hair and called my girlfriend over to look at mine. (None, thank God.) So my question is, what else should I do? I think she got this from camp a couple weeks ago, should I call the troop leader. I am overwhelmed right now.:o

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Specializes in Public Health, DEI.

I'd also thoroughly vacuum any furniture on which she's been sitting. Has she been riding in the car? If so, I'd clean that, too.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Put crisco over all of her hair, then put it (crisco still on) under a shower cap for an hour. Then comb through her hair, then wash, and dry her hair with a dryer. Repeat this every week for a few weeks. This will smother the lice, help loosen the nits, and the hair dryer helps kill the eggs. While you are doing this, watch a fun movie and eat popcorn with your child to make it pleasant.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
Harvard School of Public Health, Head Lice
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Combing is very important I had lice and my mom got rid of it with the shampoo and she combed all the nits out every night. Thank God for moms.

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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.
Safe Control of Headlice
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Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

Heat defeats lice

Head Lice to Dead Lice Treatment Program

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Specializes in Corrections, Cardiac, Hospice.

Thank you all so much! I told my daughter tonight, we need to look at the bright side: When was the last time you and I actually sat down and spent 5 hours together just talking and laughing? So I am trying to look at the bright side and say, I got to spend a LOT of time with my daughter this week, plus I am on vacation;) so if it had to happen this was a good time for it.

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I read a tip in a magazine recently,cut it out and taped it inside my medicine cabinet by Dale Pearlman, M.D. , family dermatology in Menlo Park ,California : " Cetaphil, the OTC cleansing lotion offers a safer and less messy alternative to traditional lice treatments. The nontoxic lotion is applied to the scalp, then sealed in place using a hair dryer. In my study, this treatment was 96% effective".

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The school nurse called this morning and told me my 8 year old had lice. AHHHHHHHHHH! We have stripped all bedding, vacumed the mattresses (ours, hers and our son's,) put all stuffed animals in garbage bags and treated with rid. It took me a total of 5 hours to comb through her hair today. I don't see any nits in my son's or husband's hair and called my girlfriend over to look at mine. (None, thank God.) So my question is, what else should I do? I think she got this from camp a couple weeks ago, should I call the troop leader. I am overwhelmed right now.:o

I am a nursing student and a former hair stylist. I will tell you what you can do to keep those little devils away for good. There are actually 2 options of doing this. 1. Go to your local beauty supply store, like Sally's, and look for a small bottle of oil called Tea Tree Oil.

Now, for this you can buy your child's regular shampoo bottle. Add the little bottle of Tea Tree Oil to the full Shampoo bottle and shake. Option 2. Buy Tea Tree Shampoo, at Sally's and if you like High-end shampoo's Paul Mitchell has a product called Tea Tree Shampoo and Conditioner.

Tea Tree oil is a natural repellent for insects, ESPECIALLY lice. If you shampoo your child's hair every shampoo with either of these techniques they won't be bringing home little surprises like this. In our salon before school would start we would give out the above so that we wouldn't have an influx of kids with lice, as by state law they are not allowed to be treated in a salon environment.

One thing as a parent you have to remember to explain to your children is to not share hairbrushes, little girls are notorious for this. Not to share baseball helmets, those are the worst for harboring those little critters. Finally, it is a misconception that lice live on "nasty kids heads." Lice actually prefer nice clean non-smelling hair.

Pass these tips on to your friends it will save you a world of aggravation in the future.

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

God love you ,honey.Good Luck.Great attitude,too-you are looking at the cup as half full.Enjoy your time together 'nitpicking" My poor son was so paranoid about all things infectious (thanks to me) He never got lice-but he thought he had ebola once after he saw a show about it....

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Specializes in SICU, EMS, Home Health, School Nursing.

Lice seems to be really bad this year... Like someone else said, make sure you clean furniture and especially car seats. Does she ride the bus? If so, they need to be sure to clean bus seats too. Make sure all clothing is washed in hot water or put it in the dryer. Another thing a lot of people don't think about is book bags... clean out her book bag and stick it in the dryer. The heat kills the lice. Make sure you clean your combs and brushes good... some people even recommend boiling things like that as long as they are heat resistant. Supposedly it only takes 2 days for lice to die, but I would leave things bagged for at least 1-2 weeks, just to be safe.

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