If you let your kids use those headphones at media centers or music stores, it is the same as sharing a comb with all the people who have used it before. Lice can climb into their hair this way.
Also, here are tons of natural and nontoxic, tried and true tips on lice treatment and prevention. Some of these I have never heard of. Here is the link:
http://www.earthclinic.com/cures/lice.html
There are a lot of good ideas here on lice prevention.
By Robyn Fed from Hampton TN
This page contains the following solutions.
I had a terrible time with lice when my son first started school, they were so bad I had to cut his hair to a quarter inch long! These three tips worked to prevent them.
Children's hair can easily transfer lice when they are sitting close together, on rides such as carnival rides, such as roller coasters. Going through the hair with a lice comb should take care of any potential problems.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
When a child gets head lice often, what can I do?
Sharon from Bolivar, MO
if it a boy you can shave his head thats the easyest way to go about it
I'm wondering if y'all are actually getting rid of all of the nits (eggs) when you're treating the lice. The one (and only, thank goodness!) time my daughter contracted lice, I caught them from her. We both have pretty thick hair and it seemed like just when we thought we had gotten rid of them, the little buggers would be show up again. After about 2 weeks and over $100 in treatment, I was at my wits end. I called the doctor and the doctor on call suggested applying Vaseline to our hair and working it to the scalp.
Also, when you do finally get rid of *ALL* the nits/lice/eggs, put about 8 drops of tea tree oil in your shampoo/conditioner to keep them away!! :)
Good Luck!
At the age of 8 my daughter cought head lice at school. It was summer and HOT~~~ They spread very quickly at school with kids
sharing combs etc. We washed bedding daily and washed and bagged all stuffed animals, you name it we did it. We ALL used the lice shampoo. It was awful. Her hair was long brown and beautiful. We didnt want to cut i so we used that fine come and combed till the cows came home EVERY DAY!! She would fall asleep with her head in my lap as I combed and combed.. she cried and cried.
YOU CAN ALSO USE MINERAL OIL .THEN PUT A SHOWER CAP ON OR WRAP A TOWEL AROUND ON YOUR HEAD. LEAVE 1 HOUR WASH OUT WISH DAWN DISHSOAP
THIS IS WHAT OUR LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENT TOLD US TO DO AND IT WORKS
We had the head lice reoccurance problem one time, and I learned then, that even when I would get my kids checked by the nurse to "pass", they still re-occurred. We found out that the group we spent alot of time with, did not ALL treat, and one family kept re-infesting the rest of the kids.
I assume that you are using a medicated lice shampoo so here is some advice maybe your doctor did not tell you. Wash everything that child owns in HOT water with bleach. Sheets bedding and clothes. Put all stuffed animals in a black garbage bag and leave out side for at least a month of cold weather. Do not allow your child to share combs or hats until you are sure that you have killed all the little buggers. Be careful with the shampoo your child and the lice can build up a resistance to it. Good Luck.
Debra
my grandkids had lice we spent close to a 1,000 dollars trying to get them out of their hair and out of the house. my daughter just gave up and got an appt.
If your child is in school, tell the teacher it is imperative that your child move seats away from the children she was sitting near. Also, you should mention to your child's school nurse about the lice. And, if there is no school nurse, then call and make an appointment with the Principle and get that person to contact central office immediately and they should have a person who will come and check out all the children in the school. This is very important. They do jump from child to child.
Some other things you can try to help keep lice away is as soon as your children come in from school put all their coats and hats in the dryer. If you run the dryer for about 10 minutes any louse will die. This really helps to cut down on reinfestations.
licemeister comb is the best thing, but you must be diligent about combing, I usually do 2 sessions, a day for combing, one short and one long., The older the kids get the less they get it
I do understand how you feel as my two children just recently had head lice and once your child has them it is very hard to get rid of them as no matter how many treatments you do to kill the lice and comb out the eggs as soon as they are back to school they get them again. The best thing I have used is a head lice repelant shampoo containing tea tree oil in it as I have been told the head lice do not like the smell and a nit comb and so far it has worked - Good Luck!!
Is your child going swimming regularly in a swimming pool? The chemicals in the pool water stop the head lice chemical treatments from working.
after you get rid of the lice, put gel or hairspray in their hair in the mornings. my children were getting it at school so i make them do it daily. so far, so good.
I had the same problem for 3 1/2 months last year. It was a complete headache. I just kept taking out the eggs and nits. Because you can't keep using lice shampoo. It's not healthy. Also there is an easy home remedy, which actually works very well. Mix vegetable oil & vinegar together. 1/2 & 1/2.
You don't need very much to cover hair. Then you put some type of plastic cap over the head for 2 hours, then rinse and wash with shampoo only...NO conditioner.
Good Luck with that!
I know exactly how you feel.
leeb67 AT sympatico.ca
3 times my child has had this stuff this year! I tell the school, but they do nothing! What should I do? This is killing my wallet and tiring me and my daughter out severely! Also why am I not catching it from her? I'm greatful for this! But it makes no since! What kind of shampoo has this tea tree oil in it or where can you buy it?
Does Spray kill the eggs? Like on a couch or in a car. If not how the heck to you treat a carpet, couch or car? HElP
My boyfriend has a two year old daughter he gets on weekends and he brings her over to my house with my two young children. Every time he brings his daughter back to her mother, her mother claims she has head lice. My boyfriends ex wife also claims it's only the nits that she comes home with, but my kids have never had head lice and neither have I or my boyfriend. Plus my daughter gets checked at school every week.
Probably not.
Next time your boyfriend brings his daughter over, use RID or another treatment on everybody (including the adults) as a precaution. Wait the recommended time frame (I think it's two weeks) and do it again.
Be sure to wash all linens, spray upholstery (furniture as well as car) with Lysol, etc. beforehand.
Keep everybody squeaky clean.
My kids never had head lice thank goodness -- but I would go through the above motions whenever any of their friends came down with them, and the precautions I took probably helped.
This way *if* she is picking it up from your house (and she's probably not) you can tell her mom what you've done to prevent her from getting lice at your home.
It's possible that the ex-wife isn't treating her house. I had a similar problem. The nits must be removed because that is what hatches to create a bigger mess. I used Rid or a store brand and spray created to kill lice. It's no big deal to get head lice--they love clean hair; the problem is that all parties involved have to clean and treat the problem. It involves many wash loads and don't forget to spray the mattress. Just check the instructions and possibly contact her pediatrician since she is two.
God bless you!
Does she actually have lice? Maybe the mom has a problem with her coming to your house and is using this hoping he won't take her over there. It's strange your kids haven't picked them up from her on these several occassions. Next time you see her, check her hair. If she has nits, they would hatch at some point.
I have many years of experience here and I can say ABSOLUTELY YES, that only one person can have lice!!
My youngest daughter, had battled that problem for too many years! I was at my whit's end! I talked to the pharmacist to see if I was doing something wrong, because it was only her that was getting it all the time. I have long hair and so does my oldest daughter. We only got it the first time when I didn't know what it was and what to look for. I spent a small fortune on the "special" shampoos, vacuum bags, garbage bags, laundry stuff, etc. We cleaned from top to bottom each and every time!!
I swear that I didn't "look" into my poor sweet girl's eyes for years because I was always looking at her hair for nits. We all wanted to scream. I gave up, after a year and a half (or maybe 10 times) calling all her friends' moms and the school. I felt that she was known as the "lice kid"! I found it too hard to believe that she was the "only one" in her big circle of friends that was getting it all the time! ... She wasn't!
Anyway, turns out when her friends moved away, so did the lice. I learned a few things along the way, though. Tea Tree Oil is the best and the cheapest way to get rid of them. Lice is immune to the expensive stuff from the pharmacy. I just kept the small bottle in the shower and added a few drops in my hand along with my regular shampoo. I accidentally found out due to panic, that a flea comb for pets is the best nit comb ever!! LOL! You don't have to wash all the stuffed animals. Just bag them up and put out in the shed or garage for a few weeks. (I still have bags of stuff out there from years ago and never missed it). Good Luck!!!
I'm not asking if my children are going to get it. What I'm asking is if you think that it's possible that his two year old be the only one getting it. Neither of my children have gotten it from her nor I nor my boyfriend or anyone else who's been in contact with her. So his daughter seems to be the only one getting it, but the ex wife never has proof. So that's why I'm asking this question. Is it possible that only that one child have head lice and no one else seems to get it when she's around or has it when she comes over. The ex wife only accusses of head lice on the weekends she gets her back from him.
When your boyfriend takes his daughter back to her mother, have him ask to have the child's head checked then. And check it at your house too. I"ve done many a head check at the school I work for and trust me, you'll know a nit when you see one.
Perhaps you should take her to a doctor to have her checked. If a two year old is being treated for head lice with chemicals, it could be dangerous for her. Ask the doctor to suggest the best way to treat a child this young. Good luck!
I have had the occasion to have had my kids around a friends kids that had head lice. She did inform me after she found out (thank you), but my kids never got them. So it may be that she just wants to start trouble.
I saw your plea again, and yes, it is possible that one child could get the head lice. I had problems with my husband's ex-wife and had to clean my "daughter's" head many a times. Her older sister had it once, but the boys never had it--nor myself. It was a long standing battle to get her to treat her house. I would definitely check her head for nits the moment your boyfriend picks her up, if she has them. Then you know the problem lies with his ex-wife and she needs to comb them all out and wash/treat her home. Again all the best. God Bless!
What is the length of the life cycle of lice? Could it be that the lice are at the ex-wife's house, but since the little girl goes to your house and then returns to the ex-wife on a regular schedule, she just happens to arrive home at the point in the life cycle when the nits are most visible?
Maybe you could skip a weekend and see if the ex-wife still notices the nits. I doubt she'd admit it, but if she still notices them hopefully she'll quit blaming you.
Kids at my sons school got that all the time so as a preventive measure my mother would give my son a weekly treatment of RID to help keep him from getting it too.He never once had head lice.
Years ago head lice were spreading through my kids' school. My daughter caught them but my son didn't, and neither did I even though I worked in my daughter's classroom as a teaching assistant every day. It took a lot of trying to totally eradicate them, and in the meantime I kept her in head scarves when she was at school (but not at home). My husband, son, and I never got them. So it definitely is possible for one family member to have them and not the others. But in your case I think there's something else going on - either the child has something else and not lice, or the ex is just making it up to make trouble. If the child supposedly has nits (eggs), she would also have whatever laid the nits. If there is something in her hair that looks like nits, it could just be flaking from dry scalp. Maybe it's whatever shampoo she uses when she's with her father.
Honey, I know how you feel. I am going through this exact same thing as we speak. My daughter started scratching her head and when we checked it out, she had the nits. We treated her immediately and sprayed down all the furniture and bedding.
I watch kids all day long, so we started checking everyones heads. My daughter had even just recently slept over at the house of one of the girls that I watch.
Suprisingly, no one else had any nits.
I washed all the linens from the beds and put all the stuffed animals in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heat and everything was fine.
Your problem is a little different though. I had the same problem with my boyfriends ex years ago. He always claimed that if the children had head lice then it was her fault. It was actually a mixture of both of our faults.
If the child comes to you and they have nits and you do a treatment and send her bacvk to the mother, it will not do any good.
The linen, stuffed animals and upholstery need to be treated in both homes as well. If you do a treatment on the child and the mother does not wash all the linens in hot water and put any stuffed animals in the dryer for 30 minutes on high heast, then the infestation will reoccur.
As far as the treatments like RID, you can only do them so many times. I would reccomend the mayo treatment for a child that age. You can find the mayonnaise treatment on any website about head lice. It would be cheaper and safer for a 2 year old.
Hope this helps. Oh, by the way. I have 7 kids in my house pretty much all the time, and only 1 had the head lice.
God Bless.
I know this was posted a while ago, but I wanted to give my 2 cents.
First, if you are a lice-free web surfer who is reading this, there is an entry below me written by a mother who used RID on her child to PREVENT him from getting lice? Don't do it. You do NOT use a product that fights an infection when the person does not have an infection. Lice are becoming resistant to RID. Why help speed it along? Plus, they are pesticides. Why subject the person (in most cases, a CHILD) to pesticides when they don't need it? Just use the essential oil shampoo repellent method like tea tree oil.
*sigh* There is a reason why most anti-infection medications are prescription-only.
Back to the original question:
I agree with the posters who said you need to clean BOTH homes and make sure everyone is checked and treated if necessary. Anyone who doesn't have lice should still use the repellent methods.
I can't see how her head would be swarming with lice after one weekend. Maybe the mother is trying to use the lice excuse to get back at you two. Can you take the child to the doctor before returning her to her mother so that the doctor can confirm she doesn't have lice? Can't hurt to have proper documentation so she doesn't try to claim neglect or something silly later on. Good luck!
Please do not treat small children with RID. It is a toxic chemical not only to lice, but to humans. There are better, safer, more organic ways to treat head lice.
My daughter's friend was at our house playing for several hours. Later that night her mom called to tell us that she found out she has lice. I have checked all of our heads thoroughly several times and washed, cleaned, and vacuumed the entire house. I bagged up any toy that she could have even came in contact with. The pediatrician said it could show up for a couple of weeks. Do I need to keep my daughter from activities and other friends just because she was exposed? I feel like I'm just punishing her for no reason.
By Jen R.
The latest Lice info is really not to worry about it. Used to be kids with lice are sent home from school, now they are not. Your daughter should be fine, let her play, keep checking for lice and relax. I supervised a group home for years and we had 12 girls, every now an then a girl would come who had lice. We treated her and bagged up stuffed animals for a few days. We NEVER had the lice spread to the other girls even though they lived in the same house and shared bedrooms. We did a couple of times get girls with resistant lice who were treated eventually with Malathion (a really strong chemical). Even those girls' lice never spread to the others and these girls had their lice for months.
Jen, I work in daycare who has a summer program for school age kids and we have been going through this. There is a shampoo out now that will prevent kids from getting lice if exposed to it. I would go get it just to be safe. Also make sure everything is washed in hot water this information was giving to us from a doctor.Tigertame4 I don't know where you are at but here kids are sent home when they are discovered with lice. After they have been treated they can come back. We have never had head lice to spread to other kids until this year. First time in almost 18 years that we have had several girls come down with head lice, not at the same time but week or more apart from each other.
Jen wash everything in hot water. I work in a daycare and we have a summer program for school age kids and we are going through this now. There is a shampoo out now that can be used to prevent lice on kids who have been around someone who has head lice. I would go get it and use it. First time in almost 18 years that we have had several girls get lice. We have not had it much in the past but the few cases we did only one child would have it.
Tigertame4 I don't know were you live but here kids are sent home from school if they have head lice but may return when they have been treated. Head lice is just a pain because you have to treat everything that that child has come in contact with including carpet. Carpets if child has laid on them needs to be steam cleaned! Stuffed animals can be put in dark bags and put in a dark room for 24 hours if you can't wash them.
Can you get head lice from swimming pools?
By Reddy from TX
Probably not. When head lice are deprived of oxygen, as when they are in water, they cling to the hair shaft and their system shuts down. They do not let go and float to someone else's hair.
If someone get head lice there, it was more likely from the close contact with others. Lying on a towel at poolside with heads close by, or from towels, clothing being thrown in a pile together, or near each other.
The most common way to get head lice is direct head to head contact, as when little girls with long hair are playing together. Lice can also be on headgear, and travel from one person to another when things such as combs or caps are shared, or stored in really close contact. Head lice prefer clean hair, and are not a reflection on your personal cleanliness any more than getting bit by a mosquito is.
Where do head lice originate?
By Lisa Latta from Vista, CA
It requires a lot of work to get rid of head lice, so prevention is vital. This page explores the idea of using hairspray for lice prevention.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
Hair Lice Prevention. Children will soon be starting back to school and unfortunately head lice are a fact of life.
