Lice love DD's beautiful hair

[Naranjadia]

OMG, I am so sick of lice!!! Just when we think we have them licked, they return. We have done Nix, Licenex, hot washing of all the bedclothing, bagging of the stuffed animals, nit-picking, lice-combing, and we are now on round 3 for DD since September. (DS, DH, and I have only had one round apiece)

I am ready to burn the house down, shave all our heads, and start fresh.

[ha98ed14]

:hug: I can imagine. Here is my advice: Cut it. Cut your DD's beautiful hair. It sounds sacrilegious to say it, but I did it. I cut my baby's waist-length blonde hair (that will never be blonde again because it's going dark) because I was afraid of what would happen if she did get lice. How would I ever be able to comb through it all?!?! So I did the unthinkable out of fear of the little buggers.

Everyone we know here has had lice. Some families have had it twice. If it makes you feel any better, a bunch of us moms cut our girls' hair. Two moms shaved their boys heads, a la Mr. Clean. Desperate times call for desperate measures! :hug:

[Cam&Clay]

I ended up having to get the prescription strength stuff from the pediatrician. It was the only thing that worked after multiple rounds of lice with DS1.

[KpbS]

I read here that lice prefer clean hair. I don't know if this is an option if she still has them, but can you go a few days between washings? Big hugs! I'm sorry! :hug:

[almostmom]

Have you done the cetaphil treatment? It worked magic for us, and was actually recommended by our doctor.

So sorry you're going through this.

[dogmom]

Have you actually seen the live bugs now, or just the nits?

[crayonblue]

This last round of lice, I called a lice removal lady (googled in my area). She got rid of everything in two days. If this is an ongoing battle for you, I would definitely consider calling someone for help. She came out to our house with two helpers and spent several hours on DD's hair. Next day she came back and went through it again. I also went through her hair at night. By day 3, everything was gone.

[JustMe]

I have btdt exactly. Dd's hair is Disneyland to them. She has had it about 6 times in the last 3 years. I got it one of those time and it was gone with 2 checks by friends. Each time she gets it its at at least a week before I see no signs. She now has not had it since April. This is what I do. When she gets lice, I put listerine in her hair for 3 hours, rinse, then 2 hours of warmed-up vinegar (its too cold otherwise). Listerine is supposed to kill the live bugs and vinegar loosens the nits' glue. Then I both comb and pick nits throughout the day. If she still has nits or bugs we do the listerine/vinegar every 3 days. I do not stop checking until I see no signs of lice for one month. I do not worry too much about the house (did a lot of research on this). Her pillow, sheets, and any blanket go in the dryer for at least 20 min every morning. I vacuum as I normally would and don't let anyone sit on the couch until we stop seeing bugs/nits. Keeping the head lice-free is the priority.

As a preventative, I am using Fairy Tales leave in conditioner. Don't know if this is doing it or not (sure hope so), but lice has been in her school this fall, and so far she has not goten it. This is the first time this has happened. I am sure hoping it continues.

[Katigre]

OMG, I am so sick of lice!!! Just when we think we have them licked, they return. We have done Nix, Licenex, hot washing of all the bedclothing, bagging of the stuffed animals, nit-picking, lice-combing, and we are now on round 3 for DD since September. (DS, DH, and I have only had one round apiece)

I am ready to burn the house down, shave all our heads, and start fresh.
1. You have likely not gotten fully rid of the lice and are dealing with reinfestations vs. new cases

2. What lice comb and protocal are you using? Have you tried the Cetaphil/conditioner treatment + this comb? http://www.amazon.com/Terminator-Professional-Stainless-Treatment-Removes/dp/B000HIBPV8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320249622&sr=8-1

3. How often are you combing? You will need to comb every day or every other day for awhile and then drop down to every few days, gradually decreasing to once a week. Consider this a 4-6 week project to fully rid yourself of the bugs.

For the bedding, I would just do the pillowcase/pillow and not the rest of her bedding daily - you can also vacuum it too IIRC.

[dogmom]

I just want to caution to MAKE sure you actually have lice. My school nurse has a horror story about what she thought was lice, because her DD school nurse sent her home with nits (no live bugs seen). She spent 3 months of really extreme lice removal tactics. She finally sent what she thought was a nit to a Harvard School of Public Health who researches lice. It was not a nit. It only matters if you have new nits in the first 1/2 inch of hair or live lice.

[Naranjadia]

Thank you all for comments, suggestions, and commiserations.

So I called our pediatrician, who recommended that we do the Cetaphil treatment before we go to the prescription stuff. So we are trying that.

I agree we have reinfestations of the same case - the timing fits perfectly. I think we're declaring victory too soon on the nits. Plus, at 41 my eyesight is going. :hysterical:

Katigre - we've got what seems like a good lice comb, but maybe I'll order that one you recommend, since it seems like we need to do a lot more combing than we've been doing.

[EllasMum]

I haven't read through all the replies, so I don't know if anyone has suggested this. I was discussing lice prevention with a friend who used to work as a salon-wholesale salesperson, and she said that they learned that lice like clean hair, not hair treated with chemicals (dyes, sprays, mousses etc). The recommendation that was given to her was to put a light spray of hairspray on her daughter's hair and supposedly that will help repel lice. Also, as others have suggested in previous lice threads, using a small amount of tea tree oil. She suggested putting a few drops into a water spray bottle (if you use that to comb your DC's hair) and the tea trea oil will help repel the little critters.

[kerridean]

I ended up having to get the prescription strength stuff from the pediatrician. It was the only thing that worked after multiple rounds of lice with DS1.

:yeahthat:Malathion