How do you get rid of head lice once and for all?

Question

I swear I have done EVERYTHING to get rid of lice in my 8 year old daughters hair. We have cut it shoulder length. I've tried all over the counter lice shampoos, combed out nits with the special comb, mayonaise, washed bedding, locked up stuff animals, bought new hair brushes, sprayed furniture and car with over the counter lice spray and her hair is clean from eggs/nits for like 2 weeks and then she gets them right back. What else can I do but shave her hair off?

Answer 1

I had this problem with my daughter too. It's a very long process, but I promise, if you follow it, you'll be rid of them.

Get the lice spray (made by RID, if I remember correctly) and spray her mattress. Then put one of those hypoallergetic mattress covers on it. It basically zips around the mattress. I got it at Wal-Mart. Next, get her a new pillow, spray that as well, then put it in a pillow protector. It's much like the mattress cover. Just make her bed as normal then after washing everything very well. Use the spray on your couch or any chairs she sits in as well as carpet in her room.

Wash her hair with the lice shampoo. Use the lice comb. THEN, shine a bright light on her head (directly next to a lamp or similar) and pick out every nit that you see. They're hard to remove, but use your nails. Pick each one you see out. You need the light so they "shine". My daughter had blonde hair, so this was a chore. I did this everyday (no lice shampoo for the following 2 days) and then took her to have her head "inspected". She couldn't return to school unless they were gone. She had 2 left. I washed her hair with the lice shampoo again and put her under the lamp to pick out any new lice or nits. I returned the next day and she was clear. She hasn't had them since.

Now, to prevent it again, keep the mattress cover on. Also, the added pillow protection. Don't let her hang her coat next to other coats at school. Mine put her coat in her backpack. They're positive that's how the lice transferred to my daughter....the hood of the coats touching.

I'm sure you'll think of this as a hassle and others will think I'm nuts. However, it's the ONLY thing that worked for us. The key is removing the nits. The combs just don't get them all and until the nits are gone, they'll keep hatching into lice to lay more nits.

Good luck!!

P.S. Don't cut her hair. You'll only regret it.

Answer 2

I know that stuff can make you nuts. I have four kids and I ran an in home daycare. Let me tell you what I did when dealing with this stuff. First off store brands of the shampoos don't seem to work as well as RID does. I know that sounds funny but, I believe it. I wash everything in HOT water not cold. I spray the beds (mattresses too), carpets, furniture, everything. Be sure to vacuum and after vacuuming everything change your bag - place in plastic bag and immediately put in outside trash. Replacing the brushes is a good idea but, if she was hairbands and bows you need to replace or boil them. After you wash her hair with the shampoo don't wash her hair with regular shampoo or use conditioner. Blow dry her hair and get a bright lite to be sure you are getting all the nits out. Don't let her wash her hair with regular shampoo or conditioner for 5 days. Make sure you look through her head every day to be sure you got all the nits out. My daughter had long hair too and we did cut it just because it was making me crazy dealing with it. But, when she goes to school she has hair up and in a pony tail and we spray hairspray on it. I know that sounds funny but, she has not had anymore since doing this. If this does not help maybe there is someone on the bus, or in her class that has it and the schoold does not know. I know some feel embarrassed if their kids have lice but, call the school and let them know your child has had lice and you are battling with getting rid of it. My daughter was sitting with the same little girl and kept getting it found out the little girl had it too. This way they can check the other kids in her class or bus. Also, let her know that she should not use anyone else's hair brush or bows because she probably hates going through it as much as you do. GOOD LUCK

Answer 3

I took 2 days off of work and cleaned my house top to bottom with bleach and water. Shampoo your carpets, mattresses, couches and chairs. You wont like it but your house will never have been cleaner. Bag up or throw away all stuffed animals and toys for 3 months. Wash all clothes in hot water and dry on high heat weather you think they need it or not. Dont allow other regular visitors to your home for at least a week. Treat everyones hair as directed. Dont forget your car lice lives there too. Make phone calls to anyone who has been exposed to infected persons. It may be embarassing but it will definately help. It is not a sin to have it. It is a sin to not do anything about it. Vaccume and rewash bedding every day. Lysol is exactly the same thing as lice spray, but its cheaper

Answer 4

Sorry to hear about the lice. Plastic encasement on all of the linnens and washing them daily along with shampoo. When I was young before all of the comerical treatments I remember having my hair washed out in gasoline. I don't recomend that, I do recomend taking your daughter to the doctor. They have prescription medications to get rid of the problem on her head, and they can recomend other treatments that will fix the problem in the house.

When my oldest came home from camp with lice I used the over the counter shampoo and encased everything in her room and the rest of the house in plastic and used a bomb to kill everything in the house. For the next 3 weeks I washed all of the linnens and clothes every day for the whole family.

Answer 5

I heard that washing your hair with tea tree oil shampoo works.(Paul Mitchell makes some)

Have your daughter take a shower and change her clothes as soon as she gets home from school. Wash and condition her hair with the shampoo. While the conditioner is in her hair, brush it. Then rinse the hiar really well. Every morning spray bedding with the lice spray

Answer 6

My niece had the same problem. They checked and did everything they could think of. Then they finally found the source. A friend of hers had it real bad but you couldn't see it so nobody knew. They cleared her friends lice and my niece has been lice free for 2 years now. Also to prevent future infestations after the lice is gone, mix some lice shampoo into her normal shampoo so that if there is a chance she gets one, it will kill it before it gets to lay eggs. Good Luck.

Answer 7

Tea Tree Oil. You can get it at health food places. What you do is, add a couple of drops to the shampoo before you put it in your hair. Then you lather your hair up, let it sit for a few min. and rinse. It's all natural, and the Tee Tree Oil kills the lice and dissolves the eggs. You don't even have to comb them out. I've had to use this one before. It really does work. When I use this method, I do it for a week or two to prevent re-infestation.

Answer 8

You already know how to get rid of them, how to stop them from coming back is the big question.

The best thing is to let your daughter keep her hair a little dirty. Lice love clean hair. My daughters only wash their hair on Fridays and Mondays (after Swimming). Hair spray and hair gel are good things to put in your daughters hair. Always confine hair when at school, ie in a pony tail or plaits.

Head lice can not jump. They are a hair to hair transfer, so if there is hair on the pillow or hair on the head rest of the sofa, then re- infection can occur.

Please do not shave your daughters hair off. It's demoralising for her, and will mark her as different at school, setting her up for teasing.

Good luck with this. It's hard, but you can get there.

Answer 9

All of those things don't work unless you go through her hair one strand at a time and pick every egg out. My daughter has butt length hair and she's had headlice once. It was a bit** to get it all out but it was worth all the time I spent. Go through ever peice of hair and tie off sections when you get tired! I used butter until I was done picking them all out and when I was taking a break i'd wrap her hair in a towel and smother the bastards! Those sprays do work, but don't let the stuffed animals back in the house until a year is up and tie them up in a plastic bag and then in another in an opposite direction. Good luck, I know it's hard but it will only take you a few days to get through it. PS those combs don't work worth a shi*. The reason she hasn't had it sense is because she washes her hair once a week in anti-dandruff shampoo. Something about the ingredients keeps them off her hair.

Answer 10

Lice r immune to OTC shampoos.
Need a script for LINDANE lice shampoo.
Wet hair with vinegar and water then lather with Lindane.
Product called RID to spray her room.
Wash ALL in hot water, spray, vacuum.
Use steel lice comb and cut hair shorter if you must.