Ack, Sophia and I have lice!!

[EveRecinella]

Someone give me some tips on getting rid of these things! I am so creeped out right now I want to cry!! :( Antonio is off getting some stuff from the pharmacy, a comb and shampoo I would guess...

[Sue Setiadji]

These are the number 1 hazard in our Schools in Australia - there is not a 10 week period where we are free of these things and there are constant reminders in our newsletter. My eldest DH has butt length hair and I hate combing it with a fine tooth comb - it creates so many splits!
Most products on the market seem to work and we do have a wide range of them here including natural tea tree therapies right through to the chemical shampoos.
Its a long and tedious treatment process! Some suggest you wash everything including carpets. Since they only live for 24 hours outside of the hair follicle Ive never bothered with that extreme! Repeat occurances for us have sometimes been years between so the thorough linen clean seems overkill - def shampoo those buggers out of your scalp though!
Oh I so feel for you!

eta: They attack both clean and dirty hair - they are not picky and are happy in whoever's hair they land - make sure you keep the kids hair tied back to avoid picking them off others though (not full proof since boys seem to get them too)
Just follow the pack instructions and soak your combs and brushes to be on the safer side!

[DawnMarch]

OH NO! I have no advice, but ((Hugs))! Good luck getting rid of them!

[Julie Billingsley]

oh no! :( I'm so sorry!

[meems]

oh no. that really stinks, I hope you can get rid of them easily.

[Angela Spangler]

That sucks, Eve. We haven't had this problem yet, but it's hard to avoid when the kids are in school.

[mrs_jb]

No advice.... but Ewwww....Hope you can get rid of them fast!

[Priscilla]

yikes!!
sorry hun

[BeccaBoo]

Also, don't forget to wash EVERYTHING! All your bedding, etc.

[Priscilla]

I was just coming back to say that :D -- Also, don't forget to wash EVERYTHING! All your bedding, etc.

[Jennilyn]

That totally sucks Eve! I hope you can get rid of them quickly and easily! That's one thing I live in fear of... (besides getting ants down in the basement then DH will have to start sleeping upstairs with me again...oh wait, that started happening today) :(

[meganmecrazy]

Sorry that you guys ended up getting it. I haven't dealt with it YET, but most people I know with older kids have all been through it. I don't know much about lice but I have wondered how do you know if you have it or not?

[EveRecinella]

Thanks ladies!! The pharmacist gave us this stuff called HEDRIN (http://www.thorntonross.com/hedrin/) It's fairly new and supposed to be VERY effective and no need to comb or anything. I know that within 5 minutes of applying it to Sophia's hair lice were actually falling off her head dead! Megan you'll know if you have lice because your head will itch and Sophia actually had live bugs crawling around. *gag* I had to also apply some to my hair because I had a few. :( The boys have super short hair so seem to be avoiding it...

[my3hens]

Oh honey hugs!! I had lice in kindergarten and I remeber my mom picking through my hair with teh little metal comb! I have always had long hair so Im sure it wasnt fun. I hope you all get rid of it soon!!

[rachelv]

Eeek, glad the shampoo is working for you.

[newfiemountiewife]

Eve, that just gives me the shivers. We haven't dealt with it yet, I hope your shampoo works for you!

[lizzyfizzy]

yep...do the kit. wash everything that has been near your head in boiling water. i had them when i was 16 (in mexico on a missions trip). the good thing is they go away really easily with that kit. so sorry you are going through this!!!!

[Susan Bartolini]

Eve,

My MIL is a school nurse at an exclusive prep school in Baltimore and she says that tons of kids get them. It has nothing to do with being clean or dirty or anything like that. They are just so easily transmitted and they're everywhere. They are a pain in the butt to get rid of. She told me that there is a now a service you can call and a person will come out to your house and pick the nits (bugs) out of your kids' hair. Crazy huh?

I am dreding the day when my kids come home with them. They seems to pick up every nasty infection there is, so I am sure lice is lurking somewhere in my future. Oh, the joys of motherhood!

I hope that new medication works fast!
Susan

[scarletsierra]

Ooh oh no! Hope the little critters are gone soon soon soon! GL and hope it's not too horrible!

[Nathalie]

Oh yes, we had to deal with them just a while ago and they are a pain. Just do the treatment, wash bedding and clothing everyday for about a week and repeat the treatment after a week. I did the combing but mainly picked out the eggs by hand. As a treat for poor DD she ended up having many cute braids, she wore for a couple of days. It helped me to part her hair easily.

[meganmecrazy]

UGH! Sounds like such a PAIN to get rid of! Oh, I dread the day....

[EveRecinella]

Thanks ladies! So far so good, DH is down at the laundry mat washing the 100 lbs of laundry. It would have taken me all day and night to get caught up with my machine! Sophia and I washed the stuff out of our hair and did a comb through and just caught a few eggs. So fingers crossed. I'll be doing laundry all week and the second treatment in 7 days and then hopefully they will be BU BYE!

Oh and Susan someone on my mommy board has two daughters who have them and is using a service like you are talking about!

[Nathalie]

You have to divide the hair in layers and you will probably find more eggs, you don't get them all with the comb is what I found out.

Oh soft toys you cannot wash -> put them in a plastic bag, close it and put it in the freezer for 36 hours!

[mummytothree]

Om man huge hugs!!! I would be totally creeped out too!!! Hope those little suckers are gone from your house soon!!!!