Aghh lice!!!!

[Kenny1113]

Help! Apparently there is a huge breakout of lice at DSs' school. I would like to find out if there are any oils/sprays/etc (prefferably natural, but i'll take whatever works) that I could put in their hair to help prevent them from getting it. Any input/experiences are appreciated. TIA

[faline]

I don't think there's a lot that can be done to prevent the spread other than to avoid contact. This information comes from the Centers for Disease Control:

The following are steps that can be taken to help prevent and control the spread of head lice:

Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp).
Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes.
Do not share combs, brushes, or towels. Disinfest combs and brushes used by an infested person by soaking them in hot water (at least 130°F) for 5-10 minutes.
Do not lie on beds, couches, pillows, carpets, or stuffed animals that have recently been in contact with an infested person.
Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that an infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water (130°F) laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry-cleaned OR sealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay. However, spending much time and money on housecleaning activities is not necessary to avoid reinfestation by lice or nits that may have fallen off the head or crawled onto furniture or clothing.
Do not use fumigant sprays or fogs; they are not necessary to control head lice and can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
To help control a head lice outbreak in a community, school, or camp, children can be taught to avoid activities that may spread head lice.

Best of luck!

[PirateLover]

As a teacher I've heard it all... hairspray, tea tree oil, etc. I'm not sure if any of that works but what I can tell you is that if you know there's a lice outbreak, check your kid's hair daily. If you find eggs, (the nits), pick them out before you use any kind of shampoo. Unfortunately many parents go the lazy route, don't pick the nits, and then the eggs that survive the shampoo hatch and become immune to it, creating a "super" bug!

Don't share any kind of head gear, jackets, even headphones. Stay away from hugging classmates. The longer the hair, the more appealing it is to lice.

[BrerGnat]

Be grateful you have a boy! If you find any lice or nits, just buy some clippers at the drugstore and buzz off all his hair! It will grow back.

I've heard that putting peppermint oil in the hair helps repel lice. You can add it to your son's shampoo.

Similarly, watermelon scented shampoos apparently repel lice. Suave makes a "3 in 1" shampoo/conditioner/body wash for kids that is Watermelon scented.

[ElenitaB]

Another home remedy that's a bit extreme (but much less than Natalie's buzzing their hair off), is to dye the hair. My next door neighbor swears by it.

[disney obsessed]

I'm sorry. My eldest had it once in the third grade. She is now 21 and I think we both have finally recovered. She had long hair and it was difficult to treat. You also need to treat her bedclothes, your couches, any coats/clothes/headgear she has worn and anything those things have touched. Including other people in the family.
I do not think that anything repels it. Natural remedies do not work either. What saved us was a trip to disney world. I took all of her unwashable bed clothes and stuffed animals and bagged them and put them in the garage while we were gone for two weeks. Without a host they are toast.
Also, remember to treat her head more than once. Read the directions and follow them closely.
She never had it again and I have regularly checked my kids heads every couple of months since then. It's more common than you think and very easy to transmit. Kind of reminds me of bed bugs. Still creeps me out to think about it but we lived and so will anyone else who gets it.

[mouseketeer mom]

Had the lice with all three kids at the same time. They have massive hair, and we ended up going to a professional lice removal service as the task was incredibly daunting. Hours and hours of combing each day., as another poster said, its is of utmost importance to get all the nits,, and that can only be done by combing, combing, combing..
Having survived it, I panicked when there was an outbreak in my sons class this year. Best thing..keep away from head to head contact, and I also didn't have him hang his coat near anyones during the outbreak. And ever since we had it two years ago, I use a leave in conditioner of tea tree oil product that lice hate. I'm still using it, and no lice since. But the only sure way is to avoid head to head contact. My kids know this, and adhere to it. Lice are awful to get rid of.

[jmj18]

We use Fairytale shampoo and spray. Smells terrible and is a bit pricey but we have been lucky so far. My children's school gets hit hard every year! I also make my children keep their jackets and backpacks in those large Ziploc bags at school.

Good Luck!

[BrerGnat]

Another home remedy that's a bit extreme (but much less than Natalie's buzzing their hair off), is to dye the hair. My next door neighbor swears by it.

Ha ha! Dyeing hair to me is WAY more extreme than buzzing it off. I guess having a Marine husband whose hair I practically shave off every week has made me immune to the idea of buzzing off my boys hair. They have lots of thick hair and it grows like weeds. I would NEVER attempt to pick out lice and nits on their hair. They won't even sit still to eat! I'd buzz it off without a second thought!

[sassafras]

The grade schools my boys attended seemed to have an outbreak every year. Luckily, we managed to escape the plague. I do know everytime they had an outbreak, we got a letter telling us to take hats, gloves coats, jackets they might have worn and throw them in a hot dryer for a few minutes when they came home each day. Something about the heat killing anything that might have gotten on their clothes.

[EeyoresBestFriend]

I hate these kinda posts.

They always make me itch and twitch!!!




Good Luck avoiding them!!

[Momto3littlemice]

For us the key was early detection. I found the adults in my DDs hair while drying it and I went crazy. If you wait until they are itching -- then you've got problems. I think it is effective to wash bedding/jackets/hats in hot every single night for a couple nights. I also picked through her hair with a metal nit comb each night for about 40 minutes for a week or two. Also, the first night after picking, I slathered her hair in olive oil, wrapped it in a shower cap and had her sleep like that. Bike helmet went into a bag in the freezer etc.

We never saw them again

[Melanie]

I'd buzz it off without a second thought!

Me too! Thankfully we've never had this issue, but I've always said if we were to, it'd be an easy fix in our house. My boys have always had 'high and tight' and 'med reg' haircuts their whole life.

[BrerGnat]

Me too! Thankfully we've never had this issue, but I've always said if we were to, it'd be an easy fix in our house. My boys have always had 'high and tight' and 'med reg' haircuts their whole life.

Mine too! I like clean cut men. When their hair is longer than 1/2", it's time for a haircut!

My biggest fear is ME getting lice if they bring it home. Ick! I would NOT shave off my own hair...

[Tinkerfreak]

My girls school used to have bad outbreaks every year until they did a few things.
put in lockers so all the kids coats and hats were not all hanging and piled together.
They got rid of the headphones in the library and the big comfy cushions they had in there that kids used to lay on to read. They very rarely have an outbreak now and when they do it is usually over quickly.

[TheVBs]

Our youngest DD got lice at preschool near the end of last year, and gave it to me too! I swear it was an emotionally scarring experience. Thankfully DH and our oldest DD did not get it, but even they are still jumpy about it. Getting rid of it was gruelling work!

[magicofdisney]

Me too! Thankfully we've never had this issue, but I've always said if we were to, it'd be an easy fix in our house. My boys have always had 'high and tight' and 'med reg' haircuts their whole life.

Mine too! I like clean cut men. When their hair is longer than 1/2", it's time for a haircut!

My biggest fear is ME getting lice if they bring it home. Ick! I would NOT shave off my own hair...

I LOVE the "high and tight". I used to give it to my boys every month until my oldest began having an opinion on the matter. It's just not a battle I choose to fight.

However, I laughed when I read this because of who it's coming from. Maybe it's just a military wife preference.

Natalie, when I first read your fear was of ME getting it, my first thought was "Magical Express." I thought, "Yeah, that'd stink for Disney." LOL

[princessgirls]

My girls got the dreaded lice in April of 2008, after a visit with my inlaws (last time I was at their house, I might add).

It TRAUMATIZED ME!! Massive amounts of hair, combing for hours, mounds of laundry for days. It is exhausting and horrible, but as my husband pointed out, you will get rid of it with diligence. Thankfully, when I was at my wits end, my mom and sister came over and helped comb. The school nurse was also extremely helpful, believe it or not, and because I communicated with her daily, and was treating my kids the necessary way, they were able to stay in school, and I'm happy to report, that there was not one other outbreak in their school.
There is a line of repellent sprays that I use on my girls hair when I hear of an outbreak called Fairytales. They sell it pretty much everywhere.
It left such a mark on us that just recently, my daughter went to a glamour party and she said that 4 girls shared the same brush, but she wouldn't let them brush her hair with it. She just used her fingers to comb through her hair, she told the other mom that her Mom (ME) told her to NEVER SHARE BRUSHES!!!! I guess she remembered!!
You will survive! Just be diligent, it's not easy work, but if you ever want clean hair, comb through daily with a nit comb, do the treatments, and you will get rid of them.
Julie

[Dulcee]

Yuck, Yuck, Yuck.

Worked in a preschool during college and I itched the entire two weeks they had an outbreak. Thankfully, despite my long blond hair that the kids always seemed to want to try to play with, I never got them.

If it was my son, his hair would be buzzed immediately lol

Good luck!!

[Kenny1113]

Thanks everyone for all the experiences and info.
I have already shaved DS10's THICK hair. He is not too happy about it but I think it looks great!
I gave them both the spiel about not sharing hats, headphones, etc. I even told them not to put their heads near anyone else.
I will Definately look into fantasy shampoo, tea tree, and peppermint oils.