Lice treatment time

[KrisM]

DD went to a Girl Scout event yesterday. About 10 min. in, the leader noticed one of the other girls had lice. The mom came to get her, took her home, did the shampoo and comb, and brought her back. I'm not sure how long she was gone, but the entire event was about 3.5 hours. We've never had lice here, so I've never treated for it, but this just seems super fast to me! Is this typical?

I did wash the clothes DD was wearing last night, but otherwise didn't do anything. Should I? Or just wait and hope she doesn't end up with them?

[trentsmom]

If this happened to us, first of all, I'd be ticked that the child was brought back to the event. When my boys got lice, I spent a lot of time combing through their hair using the terminator comb and white conditioner (didn't use the lice shampoo). I even kept them home from school the next day so that I could do another comb-through to make sure everything was gone. Maybe that was overkill. Anyway, if I were you, I'd do a quick comb-through just for my piece of mind. And maybe do another in a few days. But if I was swamped with other things, I would have no problems waiting to see if anything cropped up. I've received many lice notifications, but the only time I found lice, it was because of an itchy head. Here's hoping you have a bug-free child!

[doberbrat]

Yikes must have been pretty infested for the leader to SEE the problem!!

I guess its possible but a good comb out should last an hour - personally, I'd spend an hour finding my lice comb and shampoo etc and then leave acv on the hair for 30min to kill them so I would never be able to get a kid home, done and back again in a 3h span.....

as to what I'd do..... was your daughter's hair up? is it long? I would probably saturate with coconut oil and comb out as much as possible and again in 7 days. Throw the sash/vest whatever in the freezer for 2+ weeks and wash everything else. (Hot water/dryer would likely make the badges come off) Its pretty unlikely that there would be any transfer within 10min unless they hugged hello of course.

[hbridge]

Ugh, I cannot believe that the child CAME BACK to the event. When I was teaching, I actually "saw" lice on a child's head, they went to the nurse and went home! EVERY child who had lice was sent home! I am not sure of the criteria for coming back, but I had a student who was out for a few days, came back and was in my before school class, but gone again by the time I would see her again at 10am.

Depending on what was happening at the event would determine what I did next. Definitely put DC in the shower and wash her clothes as soon as you got home. If it was an inside event with fabric seating or beanbags, I would take some further precautions. If it was an event in an auditorium that the kids were still and watching, as long as the child was not next to mine, I would probably not really do much more. If they were sharing hats or hair products or hugged, I would treat for lice. HOWEVER, I am paranoid so take that for what it's worth

[KrisM]

The girl with the lice has hair a couple inches past her shoulders. My DD's hair is to her waist. It was partly braided yesterday - braided in 2 braids to just below her shoulders and then in pony tails from there on. She says she doesn't think she did anything that would cause her to get lice.

I'll put the sash in the freezer. Everything she had on was washed.

[KrisM]

DD says there was no hugs. And she just said her hair was in a bun, not braided. She must have done that in the car on the way and I didn't notice . It sounds like the other girl was gone for 1.5-2 hours or so. They were all sitting at a table on chairs, so not super close.

It seems like it should be okay. I hope. I hope the other girl had her hair up when she returned. That would help it seems.

[carolinamama]

Sounds like you should be fine but it spreads somehow because we ended up with it a few years ago.

When I get the dreaded text or email from a parent of a friend we've played with lately, I usually take the time to comb through DD's hair with a lice comb to make sure we don't have the beginnings of an infestation. After having lice in our house a few years ago, I don't take any chances.

[emily]

DD had lice when she was in daycare once. It was such a traumatic experience, something I hope I never have to go through again.

I would probably do a comb thru and check DD every night and stay away from the child for a while. There is no way you can do a thorough comb through in that little time. I would be angry the child came back and probably would have left the event early. Aren’t there rules about when you can come back to school after having lice?




Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

[KrisM]

DD had lice when she was in daycare once. It was such a traumatic experience, something I hope I never have to go through again.

I would probably do a comb thru and check DD every night and stay away from the child for a while. There is no way you can do a thorough comb through in that little time. I would be angry the child came back and probably would have left the event early. Aren’t there rules about when you can come back to school after having lice?




Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains

I wasn't there so didn't know anything until DD got home. Fortunately, the other girl is in 8th grade and DD is in 7th, so other than scouts, they don't see each other. So staying away is pretty easy.