When my kids were young, head lice plagued the school system and my long haired children. My kids are Hispanic and Native American so cutting the hair was out of the question. I do not use chemicals and stories about them not working, costing a fortune, and causing damage just reinforced my choice not to go that route.
Tea tree oil is a popular homeopathic deterrent, and coconut shampoo and conditioner is also recommended. Always treat bedding, mattress, stuffed animals and winter coats and hats/scarves. Things that can go into the dryer -DO IT. Bag stuffed animals, because the dryer can ruin beautiful materials the toys are made of.
I am not fond of tea tree oil's smell especially when you send your child to school smelling like a medicine chest. I used cinnamon oil to improve the smell. Always mix only 2 drops into a quart of water. Never make it stronger or cinnamon oil will irritate skin. But I found that a light mist on the hair and spritzing the coats and hats eliminated the head lice plague!
Of course, use caution! I think food grade cinnamon powder would also work. Dust items in a garbage bag, sparingly and mix some in hot water for the spray bottle.
Compared to expensive and caustic chemicals, it works fantastically. Very inexpensive, very effective, and very Natural. The bottle of cinnamon oil did my kids for years and I shared it with others plagued by the insects. No one ever complained about the smell.
Between occurrences use coconut shampoo and conditioner and continue to maintain the bedding, pillows, and stuffed animals. You may never hear the words "head lice" again.
By Linda from Flint, MI
This page contains the following solutions.
I brought up 5 children and when one got lice, they all got lice. The medication is not really great so I used hair dye on them. Each child's hair was dyed the same color it was before they had lice.
As a preschool teacher, I have heard (and tried!) many tips for getting rid of lice, the back-to-school bane of every school. The best and cheapest one is to use mayonnaise.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Earlier this afternoon before I knew that I have lice I had applied olive oil to my entire head. Then I discovered lice. Now online I see that if I want to use the CVS compared product to get rid of them, I was not to wash and condition my hair in order to get the olive oil out of my hair so that it would be manageable in order to apply this medication.
I'm very concerned.
Lice seem to hang on forever and re-treatment usually has to be done.
What we use in Tahiti for Head Lice:
Here in Tahiti it is a tropical island and head lice are most common here. The shampoo they sell to kill the lice is hard on people's hair, especially the younger children.
Here are some great tips and tricks that we use here for head lice that seem to work fantastic and keep them off the children's hair.
I have had head lice for months now. I've done all the treatments out there and home remedies too. I don't know what else to do.
Please help.
My granddaughter has head lice. She goes to school after using different medications, prescribed and over the counter. She appears to be free of lice, but come home again with lice. What is the best treatment and why is she not getting rid of the lice?
By JM from WVA
Well for starters everything she has touched, slept with, basically everything needs to be bagged up and sealed for at least 2 weeks. Clean all furniture also. Put plastic pillow covers on her bed, plus spray her bed and all furniture that cant be cleaned.
My granddaughter keeps coming home from daycare with head lice. I have done the spray and wash everything in hot water. Any other solutions? This doesn't seem to work.
By Jan
Keep doing what you're doing but also contact the daycare provider. If you are following the directions on the lice killing chemicals and nit ridding on your granddaughter, the only thing that makes sense is that the daycare provider is not getting rid of the lice there. Either the group area is not being deloused properly or one of the other children is living in a home that isn't being deloused properly.
Ask me how I know. My daughter (now 34 and would be mortified to know I'm sharing this story) caught head lice three times during kindergarten. The third time she begged me to shave her head the way one of her classmate's mother did. I was at the school in a flash insisting my child would not return until that whole school was cleaned, and someone went out the classmate's home to help that mother eliminate the lice her son kept bringing to school.
A group of mothers contributed to a fund to buy that family enough supplies to properly delouse. It can be very expensive if the infestation is well entrenched. We knew the child's family didn't have the money to do the job properly.
It worked, my daughter never had head lice again. The little boy's family got some help, and the school was cleaned up. The young man was able to grow his hair to a normal length, poor kid.
The daycare provider needs to prove to you they have properly addressed the problem. Insist on seeing receipts from a pest control firm, and that they've identified the child who is bringing lice back because his/her home is not being deloused properly. And hopefully, if the family is on a very tight budget, you and the other families will be able to help them get the supplies they need to take care of the problem.
If your daughter keeps bringing them home, you may want to make sure they aren't staying home. Wash her hair in Mayonaise every day, using a shower cap to keep it on, and once she stops having them, they won't transfer to her bed.
headlicecenter.com/
www.ehow.com/
At the first sign of head lice, wash and condition hair, then work a fine metal comb through the wet hair. Rinse in 1 liter of water containing 2 drops of cajeput oil, 5 drops of tea tree oil and 4 drops of lemon oil.
Sorry to be so blunt but unless you remove her from that particular daycare, you aren't going to get rid of them. It's not fair that she should be going through all this hassle when it's not her fault.
How do you remove the nits from a child's hair? Please let me know.
By Drakesmom
My daughter got them in kindergarten years ago, and it is a tedious task.
I sat her in a wooden chair, with an old sheet up under it all. I had to divide the hair into thin sections, with help of hair clips and combs.
Then I had to go through, and pulled off each one with my nails. This was after applying the shampoo to kill the lice. It helps to soften the 'glue' that attaches the nits. It can be painful if your child is tender-headed. I had to grasp each one, and slowly pull down the hair shaft.
I tried the removal combs, but they didn't get them all. Then I threw away the sheet, combs, clips, etc. You don't want to keep anything that you used for nit removal. God bless you, and just use more patience than anything.
The first time I heard of a 'lice removal service', I wondered why I never thought of it! It sounds like a waste of money, but if you have ever dealt with it even once, you would be glad to let someone else take care of it!
Best of luck to you, and take care. My daughter got head lice twice in the same year. We found out later that the children all piled their coats on top of each other inside the classroom door, as there were no hangers or any other way to keep them apart.
I tried everything on the market and ran up expenses I could not afford. The best thing I found was hair dye. I chose the dye the color of their hair and dyed their and we had no problems from then on. Good luck as this is such a delicate subject and such a costly thing to control.
Be sure you wash and dry all your pillows, bedding, sofa covers and everything the child's hair has come in contact with. Even vacuum the car you drive.
Whatever you do please do not use the pesticides on the market such as Kwell and Rid. These can be harmful to children as they are absorbed through the skin. There is a product called "Lice MD" which is supposed to work very well. It is harmless but is thick and smothers the lice. Then you have to comb with a nit comb but since this product is like hair conditioner it is fairly easy to comb through. If you find it difficult add hair conditioner. The bottle says leave on ten minutes but I am told 20 munites is best. It is non toxic so the extra time is not harmful. These little critters are rampent I hear.
If you google Mayonaise for Lice Removal, you will find people who will never use anything else.
Here is a link.
Hope it helps.
I would not try home remedies. If these things worked, people would not have had head lice when my mother was a child, when the remedy was kerosene. Use products from the drug store. Of course, these things are toxic, as the head lice are living things that you are poisoning. But there is no other way to do it. I see there is now a teetree oil product on the shelves at my local drugstore, so that may not be as harsh.
The comb that is used for nit removal is essential to the whole process, You must use that on your child's hair.
How do I treat or find head lice?
By Melissa
A few years ago, five out of six of us got a case of lice (from a special splurge to go to the movie theater!) After much frustration, the others in the family got rid of theirs with combing lice out & over the counter items to get rid of lice. For me, the only thing that worked was to color my hair! The chemicals there took care of the lice. (the one who didn't get lice? She had very long thick hair! She prayed that she wouldn't get it & she didn't!)
Olive oil. Work into hair down to the scalp. Cover with a shower cap. Leave on while sleeping. Wash out. Dawn dish detergent does well getting it out. May have to wash multiple times. Usually best to wait 2 days and do it again. Leaves the hair shiny and soft. No harsh chemicals (that don't work) and the school nurse recommended it.
My niece had head lice while I was pregnant and gave it to me. Well I didn't have any money at the time so an old trick that I was thought was to put mayonnaise in my hair. Now remember I was pregnant so it doesn't have any bad smell. Also its not expensive.
Don't forget that you have to wash all bedding and blankets in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. Pillows and stuffed toys should be sprayed with a pesticide and put in sealed plastic bags for a few days, then aired thoroughly. Otherwise, they will keep coming back!
There is a shampoo that the doctor can prescribe to you. Also make sure that you wash your bedding and anyone else that has long hair in the house should also take preventative measures, since they jump from head to head.
The "mother lice" is a black small odd shaped thing (that you may never see, since it moves around) and lays clear eggs at the scalp of the head. Since the eggs are clear, they are difficult to see, but not impossible. If you find one egg, it is more than likely there will be other eggs in that same area. The way to kill the eggs is to pop the eggs in between your fingers (you will definitely hear them crack).
I tried many ways and finally found the method! Denorex shampoo. Make sure it is the one with coal tar in it. It stinks but it does the trick. Even rids nits without combing. About 7 dollars at Walmart, if not found there, buy at Walgreen's. Worth every penny! You will get wonderful relief and be so thankful for this stuff!
Google this shampoo and you will get wonderful testimonies from others who tried everything before and couldn't solve the problem until they discovered Denorex!
I'm out to spread the word! :>)
Linda
My 3 daughters and I had lice not long ago. It was a nightmare! I finally took them to a lice specialist and paid lots of money, but in 2 hours they did what I had been trying to do for 5 days. You don't need to spend all the money I did, though. The key is to find the right lice comb. The cheap plastic ones in the drugstore kits are worthless. The Terminator or Licemeister work wonders! We had such a bad outbreak at the school and nothing was working for anyone. Even our principal and her daughter got it. But everyone who got the Terminator was back to school in a day or two, with no nits, while those who didn't were gone for almost a week. You can find these combs online or at some kids salons. They aren't cheap, but it's cheaper than the money I spent tryng everything else.
I found head lice on my granddaughter when she came to visit. How do I clean my microfiber couch and loveseat to make sure they are not on them?
By Faith from Meridian, ID
Lice need food to live, so they don't stay long on non-living surfaces.
How hard is it to kill lice on furniture?: Off of the body, lice can only survive for a day or two. Nits that hatch will die if they don't find food within hours. This means de-lousing furniture is easier than delousing a person. Regular lice sprays should have no trouble keeping your furniture lice free.
This is taken directly from this link...which is cool by the way.
www.shopinprivate.com/
We had head lice in our house a few years back. We just vacuumed the furniture everyday (at first) and then every few days and so on until my daughters problem was cleared up. Plus she was banned from sitting on the couch until then. PoorbutProud is right that the lice don't like to be on non-living surfaces and that it is easier to delouse furniture than people. Good luck!
Is there an economical way to rid children of head lice. My family is infested with the critters and after 2-1/2 mos of Rid, Nix and other home remedies, we cannot seem to clear them. HELP!
I need help and advice. I discovered my 9yr old had nits/lice not sure what the difference is to be honest. I read the conditioner method so tried it this morning. I brushed the dry hair caked it in conditioner then used the wee plastic comb but genuinely don't think I found anything.
But now round the front and sides of her hair are wee black things, that I'm having to drag out with my fingers. What are they? Did the conditioner thing not work? Did I do it wrong? What do I do now? Help! It's freaking me out. Should I just get like Hedrin or something?
My sister and niece have lice. My sister has taken her daughter to the Doctor. He told them to get Rid. They couldn't find it at the drugstore but they did find Nix. They used it and did everything they were told and It didn't work.
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I have had them before and now I do again. It is so frustrating. My scalp really hurts when I scratch it. It bleeds and I am concerned I will get an infection. I tried the treatment, but it did not work. Please help.
Does anyone know of successful treatment for head lice? Any information at all would be appreciated. ASAP
I heard that shampoo for cats gets rid of head lice, is this true?
My sister and niece have lice. My sister has taken her daughter to the Doctor. He told them to get Rid. They couldn't find it at the drugstore but they did find Nix. They used it and did everything they were told and It didn't work.
