My whole family has lice?

Question

We are wondering what we should use for our bedding and furniture, plus hair. What are the best products?, and will I need to throw all of my bedding away?

Answer 1

A permethrin shampoo like Rid or Nix will get rid of head lice. If prevention of head lice just isn't possible and you find head lice on your children or yourself, you should treat the infested person for head lice immediately with a head lice shampoo. Rid, Nix, and just about anything with permethrins or pyrethrins will get rid of head lice. Another, less common, head lice treatment is Lindane. Most over-the-counter head lice treatments have a 1% concentration of the active insecticidal ingredient, so there isn't really much of a health risk.

stevie nicks can't cure head lice
Washing your bedding and clothes in very hot water will get rid of head lice if you've come across an infestation. As soon as you find head lice on either yourself or a family member, and after you've washed with pyrethrin or permethrin, you should wash all of the bedding the infested individual has come into contact with. Articles of clothing worn in the past week should also be washed to help prevent a reinfestation. Very hot water in both the wash cycle and the rinse cycle (if possible) is recommended, as well as setting the dryer to high heat when drying the fabrics in question.

yes, that's my bed.
To get rid of head lice infestations, thoroughly vacuum places where people rest often. You'll want to vacuum like the dickens if you find a head lice infestation in your house. Vacuuming beds, couches, chairs, and carpets will help suck up and head lice that have escaped the washer/dryer holocaust. Using an agitator on carpets and a bristled attachment on furniture are both recommended, to help uproot any stubborn adult head lice or even nits that may have fallen off and gotten stuck on fabrics or upholstery around the house Good Luck! :)

BTW.. Things that can't be washed can be put in garbage bags and tied up real tight for at least 2 weeks. This will smother the lice.

Answer 2

If one person has lice, then everyone could get it. If the infested person has been in the home, sitting on the couch, laying on the carpet etc, then the little creatures have layed eggs there also. 1. Examine everyone's head in the household. You must look through sections of hair, behind the ears, and base of neck especially. 2. If you find bugs, or nits (eggs) then you should either wash the head with a over the counter product such as Rid, or Nix. OR You can try slathering mayonaise throughout the entire head - every strand of hair. Wrap the hair in Cling wrap, overnight. Then wash out in the am - lice will die, but nits are still viable, you must remove them! 3. You must remove every nit with a fine tooth comb that comes with the shampoo, or bought separately at drugstore. 4. Must wash all bedding, coats, brushes, hair scrucnches etc. Any stuffed animals must be bagged for 2 weeks - lice will die in that time without a blood meal. 5. anything that cannot be washed in hot water in machine, can be run in dryer for 30 mins on hot. 6. Carpets, beds, sofas etc must be throughly vacumned, and the vacum bag put in outside trash can. 7. Re-check all heads in 6 days. If you see bugs, or nits, start over! IF you do not do all the steps, you will keep re-infesting.

Answer 3

Oh man. You've got a job ahead of you.

Okay, first, nothing will need to be thrown out.

Figure out an area where you can store everything that can't be cleaned. It needs to be fairly large and isolated. An outside shed is best, then invest in a bunch of big black garbage bags.

If the room you're going to store things is indoors remove everything else in the room and vacuum the floors really well. Take the bag or container and put it in a double bagged garbage bag and put in the trash immediately.

Start sorting through things. Anything that you can't wash in really, really hot water (above 140 degrees F) needs to have one of two treatments:

1. Put things into trash bags, double bag everything and tie the bags off really tightly, then put them into the storage area. They will need to stay there for 20 days until the lice suffocate and die.

2. Wash the object off with bleach, rinse with water and use a hot hair dryer to dry off. Make sure the bleach and hair dryer reach everywhere.

Now, everything else will need to go into the washing machine. Make sure your hot water is above 140F, and wash everything, then put it to tumble dry in a HOT dryer.

Make sure you put ALL clothes, ALL Mattress protectors and ALL pillows through one of these two treatments.

Vaccuum your couch and mattresses and floors and cars and just EVERY SURFACE YOU CAN REACH! Dispose of the stuff from this vacuuming immediately in doublebagged
garbage bags.

Now you're ready to clean hair. Decide if you're going to cut hair or not. With long hair, sometimes it's best to go ahead and take scissors to hair, then once you're sure the lice are gone, hit the hairdresser, but that's a personal decision.

It's best if you have two people go over everyone's hair. Split the head of hair in half and start going over it with a lice comb. Carefully, in very small sections, go over each bit of hair, combing out each and every nit you see. Trade places when you've done your half of the head and each person does the other person's half. You'll have to get both the lice and the nits. The lice are little teensy brown-white bugs about the size of a grain or rice. The nits are little pearly white things that are stuck to the hair. In addition, if the infestation is bad, you'll also see "silk" spun by the lice.

You don't need to use the commercial pesticide products that are on the market and some lice are immune to them. But you can use them, or you can shampoo your hair in tee tree oil an peppermint oil. Use 2/3rds tea tree oil and 1/3 peppermint oil. Be careful as the oils are quite strong and can hurt your eyes! Put up hair in clips and pins so that no hair is below the nape of the neck. Paint a "ring" around the head at the base of the hair using the pesticide soap and a cotton ball or similar. Have the person lean into a sink or over the tub and wet the hair, then start at the roots of the hair and saturate the hair and scalp. Work your way up the hair and then let down the clips and saturate that part of the hair with the pesticide. Follow the instructions for how long the stuff must stay in the hair and rinse. Put conditioner in the person's hair and then pick through their hair again. The conditioner immobilizes any lice that are left and makes it easy to get rid of any nits you may have missed. Dry the hair after you've rinsed it again with a hair dryer and don't forget to change all clothes into fresh ones and to wash the towels and clothes in hot water!

Finally, check everyone's head for nits and lice every day. If you find any fresh nits or lice, pick through the individual's hair thoroughly again (don't use the oils or pesticide though!), wash their pillows, pillow cases and any clothes the individual has worn, and vacuum anything the individual's hair or upper clothes may have touched. Stuffed animals and dolls that have been washed generally can just be re-vacuumed.

OH! And I just remembered. Get a METAL lice comb, not a plastic one. The metal will work forever. The plastic will only last you a couple of days.

Answer 4

I feel for you I have been there and it and got rid of it twice. Thr product ridx is the best they also sell a spray for furniture and mattresses. You should wash all the blankets and stuff in hot hot water. Also when my kids had it the school nurse had me use mayo in thier hair the day after treating it with ridx. You put mayo in thier hair well covered and saturated with it use a hair bag and cover leave on foe 1 hour then comb it with the lice comb. The mayo smotters the lice then makes it easier getiing the eggs out then they can wash thier hair after, Good Luck:)

Answer 5

No, you won't need to throw bedding away, I know exactly how you feel, when I get lice, it takes forever for them to get out. I had to cut my hair boy short, dye it and so on. What I did that helped me where I didn't have to cut my hair was viniger and alchohol. My friend has hair up to her hips and she uses it and my hair is mid-back length, If that does not work try coke. And if that does not work, get HENA or hair dye to do it. And one again, I tried all this stuff.... when that does not work you may need a hair cut.
And for the bedding and everything- just wash it, and you're fine.
I hope this helps and honestly, I know lice are a pain in the a** so don't share anything with anybody, I have had them so much that I am paranoid, I won't let my sister near me!

Answer 6

So sorry! We had this go thru all our neighborhood children! Most any drug store sells this shampoo. I know Wal-Mart does and it is particulary for lice. We first went thru all the hair with a tiny fine toothed comb. Look especially over the ear area and the forehead area and the nape of the neck. In one week use this shampoo again.
As for bedding, wash everything in hot water. If there are any stuffed animals in their bedroom, close them in a big plastic bag for about a week.

I feel your pain! Just talking about it I'm itching all over again!!

Good luck!!

Answer 7

You may want to do some research on lice. I have read that they live on hair only, not bedding or plush toys. To get rid of them, go outside and have a bowl of alcohol and a tight fitting plastic bag to go on the head after someone goes thru your entire head wetting it with alcohol. The odor is terrible, so try not to breath the vapors or get in eyes and ears. Worked for granddaughter after numerous treatments with Nix and Rid. A lot cheaper too! Good luck.

Answer 8

I am a professional nitpicker in NY.
Here is what I would recommend:
Please don't spend too much time on cleaning and vaccuming furniture. Just clean hair brushes/ other head gear, pillow case and bed sheets.
Use chemical free treatment to kill lice- Licefreee is good.
Then buy a finetooth metal comb (licender, licemeister, terminator).
Smother hair with a thick conditioner (pantene).
Comb out each family member everyday for the next 3 days.
An average comb out would last about 2 hours.
So, be ready for it and get other family members to help out.
Also watch a video about the comb out- www.headlice.org.
Just so you know, they are professional nitpickers who help out if it gets to be too overwhelming. Checkout www.licesolution.org (under 'go local') to see the listing in your area.
Good luck!
Sam

Answer 9

You can purchase a complete kit at any drug store or Wal-Mart that has shampoo for your family and a spray for the furniture and carpet. Wash all bedding and clothes in HOT water. If the kids have alot of stuffed animals put them in a trash bag, tie it and leave in for 2 weeks. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

ARRRRGH!!! Been there! Rid ex is one I have used before. Follow the directions well and comb out all of the eggs. Remove all bedding and wash in HOT HOT HOT water and put into the dryer. Vacuum EVERYTHING. I have even washed pillows and they turned out well. Good luck.