Have a major problem - daughters head is majorly infested with head lice !?

Question

My daughter spent six weeks at her dads this summer and I just realized this morning that her head is infested w/ head lice. We've dealt with lice once before, but after almost 8 hours today, there is no end in sight. Her head is so infested that she has mutliple nits on every strand of hair - we've been working on the nits for hours and I'm not even half way thru her hair. Does anyone have any suggestions?

I had her put mayonnaise in her hair last night before she went to bed and we rinsed it out this morning (doctor suggested this last time she had it). After that, we did the RID shampoo and we've been working for hours and hours on the nits. I just don't see an end in sight for this. Nothing that I do seems to be making a difference today.

PLEASE HELP !!!!!!

Is there anything that a doctor can prescribe that will help?

Answer 1

I used olive oil in my hair, and it did the trick. This was after following the RID shampoo deal, and it not quite cutting it. My mom put it in (this was from when I was a little kid), I sat with it in for an hour (my hair was literally saturated with the stuff), and did this for several days and it worked well for me. You do have to get all the nits out, sorry:( So, make sure you wash all the sheets, and blankets, and pillowcases in hot water, throw out the old pillows (have your daughter sleep w/o a pillow until they're gone), vacuum everything, including furniture, soak combs and brushes in hot water with a temp of at least 130F for approx 15 mins. Also wash all clothing in hot water. You also need to contact her father, as he and anyone living with him needs to be checked for lice (as do you, and anyone in your house), and he also needs to wash all the sheets, blankets, and pillowcases and throw out the pillows, and vacuum everything to prevent infestation. He also needs to be trained to check for head lice, so that it gets caught earlier. Basically store anything made of fabric or cloth that can't be machine washed in a plastic garbage bag(s) for at least two weeks. (This includes stuffed animals, dolls, etc.) Make sure you throw out the vacuum bag also after you vacuum.
Try these tips, they make removal easier, and also help get rid of lice faster:
-use a fine-tooth metal comb rather than the one provided in the package (making sure to soak it in the water after every time it is used)
-rinse hair with vinegar after each shampoo (supposedly it dissolves lice eggs)
-blow dry the hair on a heated setting as lice don't like heat


Here are some tips sent into a website by parents who have been there:

Lucy
I have tried over the counter, Vaseline, and mayo. The best thing I've found for ridding lice is castor oil. Coat hair cover with disposable shower cap leave on over night. In the AM put shampoo on hair before you wet it! Wash twice castor oil is gone and so are lice. I do comb hair carefully to be sure there aren't any nits left. Hair is conditioned and looks great.
This is the best and easiest method I've found.

Debby B
"At our drug store pharmacist suggested using petroleum jelly (Vaseline) for lice.. Says this works in getting ticks out of dogs too my smoothening them. We tried it - it works great. You saturate head with it, keep plastic cap on overnight and the next day they all wash out, no need for fine tooth comb. May require several washings though...."

Liane P writes: "I know a few people who have tried rubbing mayonnaise in the scalp and covering with a shower cap overnight. It's a lot easier to wash out in the morning than petroleum jelly and works just as well."

Windy Stolz; I got rid of them was to wash her hair twice a day and rinse with vinegar. The lice find it hard to eggs to stick on hair. You still need to pick through the hair and dispose of eggs. I found the best way was to stick them on masking tape, seal them in a plastic bag and put them in the garbage.

LK: Soak your body and your hair in a pine oil bath for at least 10 to fifteen minutes twice a day. Then towel dry your hair and apply oil, (we used baby oil) but I'm sure any kind of oil would have much the same effect. The oil loosens the nits and makes it easier to comb them out. After this leave the oil in overnight, using a shower cap or placing a towel over your pillow. The next morning shampoo hair, first with Dawn dishwashing liquid (to cut the grease) then with your regular shampoo.

Sharon writes: "I read your suggestions and have tried them all previous to finding your site. Vaseline did NOT work, and took three months to get out of my daughter's hair. Mayonnaise does not smother the lice (and leaving on overnight runs the risk of salmonella poisoning) but it DOES slow them down and makes it easier to find and extract them; and it is also a great hair conditioner. This is what we do for head lice:
We comb, comb, comb!! We try to comb at night, because it seems easier to catch the live bugs at night (they are very light-sensitive, but artificial light seems better than natural light). We rinse the hair daily with the below essential oil blend and comb out every day, dipping the nit comb in vinegar --- vinegar won't kill the live lice but it does loosen the adhesive the eggs are attached to the hair with.
Daily rinse of essential oils:

* lavender
* eucalyptus
* rosemary
* peppermint
* tea tree
Appx. 5 drops of each oil to an ounce of carrier oil (castor, sunf, grapeseed, olive, saff), and about 5 drops of that mixture to a cup of water. This seems to be a repellent.
Our routine is this: The kids go to school (or out to play in the summer) and I strip their beds, run the bedding through the dryer on high for 20 minutes. While the bedding is in the dryer, I vacuum the mattresses and the other furniture the kids have come into contact with. When the kids come home from school, they go immediately to the laundry room, where they put all clothes worn that day, including coats, hats, mittens and scarves, into the washer to be washed on hot (your outdoor wear can be popped in the dryer on high for at least 20 minutes if you don't want to wash it every day). The kids then proceed to the shower, where they wash their hair with a tea tree shampoo, rinse with a cup or two of the essential oil solution, then I comb through their hair. We do this every day, lice or no lice. The kids also have a plastic 13-gallon waste-can liner with the plastic drawstrings (I think Hefty makes them) that they take to school to put their outdoor wear and backpacks in. My daughter is not allowed to wear her hair loose at school.It is braided or pony-tailed every day.

Jewel writes: "I have the answer, no more chemicals! Simply buy a Hair curling iron the big fat round ones with a temperature setting, set on highest level and run through every bit of hair. It will burn out all the eggs. You can also burn them out with an old fashioned hot comb, the kind sometimes used to straighten hair. After you burn the eggs, section the hair out and pull off the eggs and catch the bugs. Ways to avoid cleaning everything; buy a plastic mattress cover at kmart or jc pennys, they're only $6. When you purchase a new pillow keep the plastic on the pillow and safety pin the pillow case so the child will not suffocate on plastic. For the next days after you do the hair have child wear a plastic shower cap over hair, and check hair daily for any missed nits. Have child wear hair up in a scrunchie at school until the lice problem is over."


Roberto M writes: "My daughters were always infested with lice & nits. We tried various methods with negative results, until one day we prepared an infusion (tea) of Quassia Amara (also known as Simaruba - Bitterwood - Palo Amargo - Quassia Amer), and sprayed it on their heads. All the lice & nits were gone or died. We keep spraying for prevention every day.

Bring to boil one cup of water and add two tablespoons of Quassia Amara wood chips (from the bark) and let stand until cool. Strain and place in a hand sprayer and add 15% of rubbing alcohol to prevent bacterial spoilage. Discard chips. Spray on head every day. Lice will not appear."

Pamela W writes: "Use creamy peanut butter. Part hair in small sections and put peanut butter on the hair and comb back out with the small lice comb. This will take all the eggs out. This takes about 3 hours to do, but it works, my daughter came home from school with it and she has hair down to her waist and we just used the peanut butter and rinsed and shampood hair and that was the end of the lice."

D. West says:
Great information! I used the over the counter remedy first. Then had to use the vaseline which was the most effective. One shortcut I found was when rinsing out vaseline - shampoo and also shampoo with dishwashing liquid. Helps cut the grease!



Hope this helps!!

Answer 2

My daughter just went through this with her daughter. She found out that when she used the lice shampoo the first time, she did not follow complete instruction. She did not leave on hair the whole ten minutes, also you have to totally saturate the hair when it is still dry leave on for the right amount of time. If the shampoo really did what it was supposed to do then when you comb nits out they will come out a lot more easily. If you are having to really pull them out hard then you probably did not get the right stuff on. I also like to do a weekly apple cider vinegar rince on my girls head, And make sure to wash hair every day. that goes a long way. Also, a shcool nurse told me that blow drying hair helps, the heat helps ot get rid of them. I would also put a small amount of hair spray or gel or her before she goes to be with other kids. lice tend not to like heads with that stuff on them good luck there is an end in sight. also, wash everyhting. carpets, beddings, towels, and make sure you redo treatment in 7 days.

Answer 3

The best solution I know of for head lice is tea tree oil. If you can find a kit you will have everything you need. However, failing that buy some 100% pure tea tree oil and use your regular shampoo. Put some shampoo in your palm and add about 10 drops of tea tree oil. Shampoo this on to your daughters head and leave it for about 5-10 minutes and then rinse. Use your nit comb and remove what you can. Repeat this procedure in 12 hours. Then, repeat this procedure in 7 days time. It works everytime and it doesn't add any harmfull chemicals to your child's system. The smell of the tea tree oil will be gone when he hair is dry.

Answer 4

Instead of using chemical treatments (which lice become resistant to), delouse every third day for a fortnight. Use tons of normal (cheap) conditioner, comb it through with the nit comb then rinse out. The lice can't cling on whilst the hair is so greasy, and any left are too small to pass on and will be eliminated on the next round. Try plaiting her hair or putting it in a bun for school. Insist the school gets a nit nurse in- given enough pressure they usually will. Knowing that one is coming to check everyones hair is usually enough to make the lazier parents sort out the kids who are keeping the problem going.

Answer 5

Yes there is a prescription for head lice that is stronger than in stores.
Also if your daughter is old enough; helpful hint; lice will not go on heads with styling gels, mousse', and where the hair has been blow-dryed.
By the way, your childs father needs to seriously clean his entire house before she goes back there!

Answer 6

I know they make a shampoo to kill the nits sold at cvs or rite aide, some cases can take up to a week to get ride of. Keep going threw her hair and washing EVERYTHING, sheets, pillows, rugs, stuff animals. Lice move fast and like warm spots. Give it a few days and she'll be fine. Good Luck!! :-)

Answer 7

Check with your doctor; there are prescription-strength shampoos that deal with this better than over-the-counter preparations. And before she goes to dad's house again, talk with your attorney; a child shouldn't have to live with lice simply because of a visitation agreement.

Answer 8

I know what you can do that will help its kind of late though when u think u got rid of them wash her hair every day and BLOW DRY it it works just as much as those shampoos it kills almost all lice and 99 percent of eggs!

Answer 9

Sounds like you're doing all you can.

You could always do like the old days and bleach the hair.

Didn't all the old Englishmen shave their heads and wear the white wigs because of lice?

good luck!

Answer 10

Cider vinegar and then place a shower cap over her hair overnight. Have used on my children and this worked. Good luck..Gary

Answer 11

well you need to clean everything she had in contact with- ie-couch, carpet,and so on... the lice are prolly infested in those places which is why she keeps getting them