Lice
We are all in good spirits in spite of the title of this post.
In my usually over-analytic way, I’ve been researching and discussing lice with Nadia (remember my picker).
What we have both found the most frustrating was how conflicting and confusing the information we’ve found is.
The instructions in our treatments were similar. Treat, comb, treat again in seven days. My package even said, “If desired, nits and dead lice can be removed, following treatment, by combing with the fine tooth comb provided.” IF YOU WISH????
Dudes, I did the treatment and I combed over the weekend. I was alone so I could only comb my hair. I combed the girls hair. Back to school we go and, lo and behold, we still have live lice and plenty o nits. The nurse who was checking (who volunteered because her own daughter had them) implied I hadn’t been thorough enough. And she was right.
So my girls sat in quarantine at the office until they could get a supply in for me. OK, fine.
Then we found nits and live lice every day. EVERY DAY! In spite of hours of picking nits and lice by hand – BY HAND! Dragging those suckers out with our fingernails. One at a time.
How does this happen? We are thorough. Very thorough. We also researched like crazy and found conflicting info.
The Canadian Paediatrics Society (and the American) says to treat, comb, and go back to school/work the next day. So do many other sources.
I have wonder – WTF? If we have newly hatched LIVE lice every day, how can that be advisable?
I am not the only one who keeps having the live ones reappear. There are others who are being treated as thoroughly as I am.
But, many of the other people diagnosed at our school were back the next day. Which does not make any sense to me.
Are we being too thorough? I’ve been off work for five days – and the girls have been off school for five days. Today they had only a few nits, but I still had a few live lice. The numbers of nits and lice are reduced every day, but not gone.
We theorize that some nits are so small we can’t see them, then in a day they grow big enough for us to see. The live ones we either missed or they hatched in between picking. All the eggs are hatching at different times so how does treating once, combing, and then treating again in seven days make sense?
As for the Lice Squad, Nadia phoned them, we read their website. The nearest franchise is in Sudbury. Mobile Lice Squad costs $70/hr plus travel costs. Sudbury is three hours away. You do the math. And they say to go back to school after treatment.
Our school board does not have a policy. I was told no nits and no live lice for the three of us, yet I KNOW that people coming back the next day would have them. Yes, they were checked, for about 1 minute (if that), which is not enough when you’re getting down to the lower numbers of nits and lice. Remember, Nadia spent 4 HOURS on my hair yesterday and found about 4 or 5 live lice at the very end of the 4 hours (her system chases them to the top of my head).
So, I’m frustrated. Should we be at school or should the others be at home? Or is the answer somewhere in the middle?
The National Pediculosis Society, a non-profit organization, recommends a no-nit policy. You can read about why, here.
On another note, it’s very expensive and there are many families in our community who could not afford the treatments.
How you like to buy this cute little stuffy for your kidlets? You can order them from The Lice Squad.
Lice treatments are crazy expensive and often don’t even work. They’re supposed to kill off all the hatched lice and even the more mature eggs – the lice need to have a brain – so that you should be able to treat once, then treat again in 7 days to take care of any that hatch from the immature eggs left behind. This does not work for most people I’ve talked to. The ‘nits’ are actually the white, empty egg shells – no child should be sent home for those.
Lice seems to go around and around my kids’ school – at first I was freaked out and disgusted. Now? I just comb them every couple of days (with a fine flea comb – they’re wider!) If I were ever to find anything, I would comb more agressively (wet hair with conditioner), followed by a Robi Comb (dry hair) the next day and switch out the pillowcases. No more chemicals. The secret to your sanity is to comb, comb, comb.
I feel for you, Erin. Can can you imagine what it’s like trying to get that teeny tiny lice comb through kinky black hair that’s NEVER actually been combed before? (Finger combing only.) I thought my arms would drop off from exhaustion. Daily checks, treatment, combing… after two weeks I finally had to shave my poor baby’s head – his first haircut in six-and-a-half years. It was traumatic, but it grew back to it’s former “‘fro glory” in less than 12 months. Which was a relief.
I still dab lavender oil in around his temples and at the nape of his neck daily. And I keep my fingers crossed… I have my fingers crossed for you too, my friend. Hang in there!!
My son’s entire class had it when they were in grade 2 and it lasted 4 months of re-occuring in mostly girls because of longer hair it was nearly impossible to get them out. Seriously, even the teacher cried.
For boys, much easier..pretty much give them buzz cuts and keep a close eye. I also was a bit obsessed about ridding them so much that the Lice Squad people told me to calm down. I threw away stuffed toys, bedding,pillows, vacuumed the hell out of the beds and house. I made them get out of their clothes at the door and immediately threw everything into the HOT cycle everyday. I did buy the special comb checked everyday until the class was cleared.
I also sprayed them, us, the hats with teatree oil every day.
My son only got the initial round but the girls were perpetual. Ponytails are a must. And also check with the school to see if they are sharing lockers in the classroom and if they’ve cleaned any area carpets.
Hang in there!!!
We got infested on vacation once. Yuck.
Our tried and true remedy:
Comb through your hair with lice comb dipped in regular white vinegar or spritz on the vinegar mixed half and half with water, using a small spray bottle. The vinegar deactivates/loosens the glue that holds the nits and starts to penetrate the bodies of live lice. Don’t spend tonnes of time – you just want to get them moving and loosened, but make sure you are getting vinegar where the nits like to be (nape of the neck, near ears, temples). Don’t rinse – leave the vinegar on.
Then mix 1 cup olive oil, 20 drops pepperment essential oil, 20 drops tea tree essential oil, 10 drops lavender essential oil in a jar. Comb oils through hair using lice comb coating thoroughly and leave on your head for 2-3 hours. (The combing doesn’t take long – just a few minutes to make sure it goes through all the hair completely – the lice comb is best because it is so fine. ) I would just pour small bits on the top of my kids’ heads and comb through with the comb, making sure again to get the nape of the neck and around the ears. The essential oils start to penetrate the bodies of the lice and the nits and kill them. Be generous enough that you cover all your hair, rub a bit of extra oil around your ears and the nape of the neck. Your hair should look very greasy but not be dripping.
You need to be careful with peppermint oil with kids near their faces. I would always do tight braids/pony tails at the back of their heads after applying it and it was never a problem.
Wash out with regular shampoo and rinse thoroughly with apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar mixed 1:1 with hot water if you can stand it – it stings but it works).
I’d do another quick comb with my kids after they had finished washing out the oil just to get any lice or loosened nits. By quick I mean about 5 minutes while they were in the tub. Just some quick passes through the hair focusing on the nape of the neck and around the ears mostly. If we saw any, we would do another vinegar rinse. We did this for 3 consecutive days and they were gone. I did a repeat 3 days later just to be sure as friends of ours were still fighting them.
Lice treatment for 5 of us would take about 90 minutes a day, not including the time the kids were in the shower, or the 2 -3 hours the oil was on our heads.
Add 2-3 cups of vinegar to your laundry and swap out sheets and pillow cases daily while you are fighting this. I would also throw the kids coats in the dryer for 15 minutes after they had been wearing them. I didn’t go crazy with the cleaning. I would vaccuum the couch and car seats and anything else where the kids heads were resting daily but figured if the lice were on the floor and my kids’ heads weren’t I wasn’t going to worry too much about that.
Add 20-30 drops of tea tree oil and 5-10 drops of lavender oil and 5 drops of pepperming oil to your regular shampoo or conditioner. This will help keep them from coming back as well. Or buy a tea tree oil shampoo from the health food store if you can. I’d still add in the lavender. And a vinegar rinse is also a good preventative measure if your school is infested.
Good luck!