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Can't get rid of LICE! HELP!!!!!

by imcrazy2, Feb 12, 2007 12:00AM
My 3 and a half year old has been battling lice for 6 MONTHS.  We have tried RID, NIX, olive oil, Licefreee, nit-picking by hand (HA, HA, she's 3--she won't even sit still for 5 mins, let alone an hour to go through every strand of hair!!.  Every time I think they are gone, they show back up again.  My other kids are clear, and DH insists he can't find any on me (thought I'm awfully itchy--could be psychological).  Doc is not helpful, says the prescriptions available are not good for kids, (fine, but....)offers no other options, just says to pick them out by hand.  I have plastic on everything, change bedding, bagged up stuffed toys.
I finally got fed up and did a no-no--I double dosed her with RID, and then Nix in one day.  When I went to comb and pick nits, I found several LIVE lice!!!!!!  I realize now that they are resistant mutants, and the chemicals aren't working, so there is no point in continuing to expose her to the chemicals, but what can I do????  I am at my wits end, and she announces to EVERYBODY that she has "buggies" in her hair, as she scratches away.  I am MORTIFIED, and want them GONE.  Any suggestions would be appreciated!!!!!  Thank You!
Member Comments (33)

by amythist2779, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
To: imcrazy2
OMG I am not alone in this. I have an 11 yr old son that has them,we get rid of them and it seems like they come right back within a week or two. I have tried about everything too. I have tried the RID, NIX, LICEICE, I tried vegetable oil with a bag over the head for 2 hours to try to suffocate them, someone even told me to put mayonayse in the hair and then cover the head with a plastic bag for a couple of hours and this would take care of it. Well the mayo thing works the best for the time being. My son hates it, and so do I, I mean its just so messy and gross, but I dont know what else to do. I have even tried the prescription shampoo that the pharmacies have. No luck.

Now my youngest son is 6 and he does not have the lice, neither does my husband or I. It is only the 11 yr old who keeps on getting it. I am also to my wits end. I dont know what to do. I got so desperate awhile back I was doing some research on the net and there is a medication that the doctors can give to people that have tried everything else. It is some kind of pill medication though. I will have to go look it up again and let you know what it is so that you can ask your doc about it.

I feel for you hun. It is so embarrassing, but what can you do? I mean really, I have boys, so I cut their hair a little bit shorter if they get lice so that its easier, so I thought, to get out. But you poor thing its not like you can go and buzz your daughters head without everyone knowing.

I will try to find that information again and get back to you on this post ok. Hang in there, and hey if you havent tried the mayo thing...give it a shot. You really have to make sure you get it really saturated though, im talking like globs and globs sitting on the scalp and rubbed into the scalp...and it is a pain in the rear to wash out.

Its just no fun, no matter how you look at it, but it may work. But like I said saturate the hair and scalp with mayo then pile the hair on top of the head, put a plastic bag over her head, i use the bags that the grocery stores give you, I put it on the head cover the tips of the ears with the bag, gather it at the nape of the neck and use a rubberband, or a clippy to hold it into place. Keep the bag on her head for atleast 2 hours, so that it hopefully smothers the lice.

If you try this I hope it works for you, and good luck. Let me know if you decide to try it and if it works for you or not.

Oh one more thing...after you comb through the wet hair and get out all the dead lice and nits that you can, blow dry her hair, especially scalp for as long as she will let you. The hot air will help kill any remaining lice or nits...or its supposed to anyways.

Again, lemme know how it goes... and good luck!!
Aurora

by imcrazy2, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
To: amythist
LOL--looks like I'm not the only one who makes the rounds on these forums!  Thank you for responding to both of my posts!!  I will try the mayo thing.  I have also heard vaseline works the same way, but one website that talked about home remedies said that olive oil was the most effective of the 3.  So I DOUSED her head with it, put a shower cap on, and put her to bed for 12 hours.  Next day, I pulled at least 10 big fat live ones off, and NO dead ones!!!!  Maybe mayo or vaseline will be better because they are thicker, so the little buggers can't crawl out to get air.  If my husband would let me, I would almost consider shaving her head, I'm at that point, but she has gorgeous blond almost waist-length hair.  I feel like tossing my hands up and saying, "ok, so she'll just have lice for the rest of her life!"  (Not going to do that, though, LOL)
AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

by amythist2779, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
To: crazy
Yes I am a medhelp forum junky..lol...and I dont stick to just one topic, I have to check almost all of them out to see whats goin on. What an exciting life I have huh..lol. I have been so busy on the addiction forum today I still havent looked up that pill I told you about, but I will get to it sometime today.

I most often go to the addiction forum, and we had a little bit of drama over there today. Of course here I am wide awake today and feeling frisky, so I had to put my two or more cents in...lol. Made one lady mad, big whoop, so I did the right thing and apologized, and she just wanted to continue on arguing, so I finally left. She was giving me a dang headache. Way too much drama over there for me right now. So here I am wondering around medhelp poppin in and out of rooms being nosey, helping if I can...and quietly reading and leaving if I cant...lol.

You know what? You will not believe this...its been snowing here since last night right, so there was no school. Ok so first thing this morning we discuss this headlice thing, and my son wakes up and scratches his head, I was like omg you gotta be kidding me....sure as hell, hes got it AGAIN. He just had them last week too. So he is going to be very unhappy with me tonight when I douse his head in mayo and put that bag on his head. Man oh man he hates that. Hes due for a hair cut too, but I left all of my supplies at my grandmothers house 20 miles away, and there is no way I am driving in this blizzard to get it. He will just have to deal with extra extra mayo on his head tonight. LOL....The wonderful world of parenthood...gotta love it huh...

by really??, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
To: different recommended solution--
I have heard from many sources that tea tree oil both gets rid of lice and deter them from coming back if used in shampoos regularly.

Go to any search engine and type in "tea tree oil" + "lice"

here is just the first site URL that I looked at"
http://specialchildren.about.com/od/medicalissues/qt/teatree.htm

And the paragraph about this:
"During my daughter's battle with The Head Lice That Would Not Die, I sent a message out to an e-mail support group begging for suggestions on what to do. One correspondent suggested tea tree oil shampoo, saying that she had used it when living among people with head lice and never gotten any herself. Shampoos with tea tree oil aren't the best-smelling things you're ever going to put on your child's head -- but as much as you don't like it, lice dislike it even more, and will find a treated head altogether less hospitable. That makes it a good natural solution, particularly in conjunction with another technique such as smothering the bugs. You'll also want to have everybody else in the family shampoo with it to keep their heads lice-free."

by imcrazy2, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
To: amythist
I posted a message for you on the addiction forum, but it didn't get posted with all of the drama today they are cracking down and sensoring everything.  I had already been there, and read it, so I knew what you were referring to. I spend  a good amount of time on the addiction forum too.  I am not an addict, but a nursing student fascinated with the psychology of addiction.  Plus it's really hard to not get personally involved & to care about each person's story, so I read to hear how everyone is doing.  I guess it's the nature of the beast, but I really worry about regulars who stop posting.  I think about Shorty all the time--remember her?  Anyway, always nice to make new friends!!
PS  My other post may have been deleted because I put my e-mail in case you wanted to chat off the forum.  Is that against the rules???
PPS  You-know-who was TOTALLY out of line.  Kudos for speaking up.

by amythist2779, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
To: imcrazy
Yeah I know who you are talking about being out of line, but I suppose I could have shut my mouth too. But Im with you, I enjoy reading their stories. I am not an addict either, but I know all about living with one, and what goes along with it. I do rememeber shorty, and I was also asking about memma. I believe she had just had her baby, but what I was concerned about was her head. She bumped it pretty bad before she went into labor, and we were both worried that she may have damaged the surgery she had already gone through. We both have arnold chiari malformation, only mine is stable and I have not had to have any surgeries as of yet, she has on the other hand, and I am worried that she may have hurt herself worse off than she originally thought. I just hope they didnt have to go back in and do the surgery again. God I pray that they didn't. I am so grateful that mine is stable and has stayed that way for the last 3 or 4 years.

As far as them deleting some of the posts, someone must have turned in that mamapooh lady because she did leave a last post to tell us all that medhelp emailed her telling her that they had removed all of her posts because she did not follow the terms of service, or something like that.

I actually started to feel bad about getting everyone riled up. I felt somewhat guilty because I was infact the first person who responded to her this morning at like 4 am. So I tried to apoligize and she came in on that post and started in on me and attacking me again. I finally just told her to leave me alone in a round about way.

I don't think you are supposed to post email addys on here but I see people do it all the time. I wont necessarily post mine, but if you take my screen name on here and put the yahoo name after it, you will reach my mailbox, or you can add me to messenger if you want. I hope you understood what I just tried to say there...lol. I was trying to be sneaky, which I am obviously not very good at...LOL. So now...about this tea tree oil. I wonder where you can get it. Im going to send hubby to the store to see if they have it in the pharmacy department. I am so desperate, I am willing to try anything!

Anyways I have little munchkins hollaring for some food, so I suppose I should get going, we still have valentines boxes to decorate tonight....ugh, not in the mood, glad I have boys so they wont want it all prettied up. LOL. Take care crazy...
Aurora

by harrassedmother, Feb 14, 2007 12:00AM
Glad to see others are also obssessed with head lice! with 3 daughters, I have a wealth of experience I'd like to share!
First of all, I haven't found any of the chemical treatments and shampoos any good, and besides I was never happy at pouring insecticides over the kids heads.
I have been told there is a new thing out that suffucates them which works well, sounds like a version of mayonaise/vasaline idea!
I'm afraid the only way i have found to get rid of them is combing with conditioner which stops them holding on! comb and comb, using the very narrow tooth ones made for the job. make sure you wipe the comb clean after each comb.
when you are happy the head is clear, do everyone else on the same day. Then do everyone the next day. then the next. If everyone is clear wait for 2-3 days and repeat. then do it again in 2-3 days! if all clear prevention is now essential. Tea tree is great for this. shampoo is ok but i find 1-2 drops of essential oil  mixed into a bowl of water and combed through works well.be very careful not to use too much,its strong stuff. after washing the hair towel dry vigorously,if any have got back on the head, this breaks their legs and they drop out. then as mentioned before, use the hairdyer, hot as possible next to the scalp. tying the hair back makes it easier for them to climb aboard!If your child is restless we find doing the combing in front of a dvd helps with the boredom. Once I was combing my youngests hair dry and the lice mustof been flying around. a little while later I looked down at my white top and there were 10-15 lice crawling up towards my hair, I think they can sniff it out!
good luck! by the way if you have a boy, apparently  they do not go anywhere them once puberty starts, sadly not true for girls.      

by suzyqx3, Feb 24, 2007 12:00AM
To: RAISING HAND!!
OH WOW!!! I could have written these post on here my self...I am at my wits end right now with my 9 year old daughter. And like you others oddly enough she is the only one. The first case appeared this summer, then again about 2 weeks ago and sure enough again tonight!! I have done it all too, chemicals, olive oil, mayo and tea tree oil.... AAUUGGGHH! The mayo and the olive oil seem to be the most effective. The best thing about those is that the nits slide right off the hair shatf....
I AM SO OVER THIS!! We cut 7 inches off my daughters beautiful thick hair, I cried, she loved it. But now its back again!! My husband is deployed and I want to cry...thanks for letting me vent...I do feel better knowing I am not alone!

by kk2, Feb 25, 2007 12:00AM
OK now I know why God led me to this forum tonight. I am on the weight loss forum day in and day out every day since last June, but I have never checked out any of the others until tonight!

My daughters and I fought the lice battle last winter and I remember what you guys are feeling. I found the answer on the Internet in a very simple affordable product called Nitmix. It is an oil. Its a little bit messy but it does not leave the hair oily, in fact you can get a spray or rinse to use every day as a preventative and people say it makes your hair shiny and smell great. The really amazing thing about the oil is that it doesn't kill the lice. So you think " well it doesn't work then." But it does! Its so oily they cannot hang on and you just comb them right out. Whatever you don't get the first day you probably will the next, and that's eggs too so you don't have to worry about them hatching seven days later. We used the stuff once and never had a problem again. It was a miracle for us. Just google Nitmix and you will probably find it, if not, let me know and I will see if I still have any of their info.

by Nikkihaskins, Apr 05, 2007 12:00AM
I am 24 years old and have 3 half siblings 7 10 and 11 years younger then me.  Because of head lice I was not allowed to visit my father or my brother and sisters.  When ever I went there I would catch them and my mom would freak out. I love my other family very much and head lice or not mother could not keep me from them.  I swear they had them for years but no one would talk about it.  I felt horrable for them because no one was allowed to play with them becuase of the lice in school my sister told me they were known as the head lice family.  Ever time a check was done they would be sent home.  My stepmother tried everything that was mentioned above and still years later they have it.  My brother doesn't have it all the time because he will shave his head himself.  They are Muntant Lice.  The kids had it for so long that they did not think twice about useing peoples brushes lying on peoples bed etc.  It would upset me because I didn't want to treat them the way every one else did.  So I would hide brushes ask them to only sit in the living room and vacum after they left.  I know have a 5 yrold daughter who loves her aunties and uncle very much.  But I could not live like this anymore.  School was starting in a fw weeks and I started to panick.  I heard that hair die would kill them.  So me and my daughter both got new hair colors then we piled hair grease on our heads and put bags over them.  The next day we had showers and the bugs FALL OUT.  I could not beleive it all the years I struggled with this as a kid my self they FALL OUT.  For the next week every day we combed every strand of hair on my daughters head then my own.  Never had them since.  I beleive not does it kill them but the bugs to not like you hair after you do it either.  They only thing is that my daughter has not seen her aunties or uncle or grandfather since school began this year.  How should I handle this?  I don't know what to say to my siblings or father.  

by babeth, Dec 06, 2007 01:21PM
To: all
Did anyone looked for Nit pickers, they are all over the US, like Lice Source Services & Lice Cleanique in Florida, they have clinics for you to go to or also offer house calls.
Even so they are obvious fees  to have someone remove nits for 2 hrs, it is probably nothing compare to how much you already have spent trying on your own. They work with needed families & educate individuals as well. Looking for a specialist in your area is the way to go.

by Jewel08, Dec 07, 2007 01:28PM
To: imcrazy2
Oh Boy that time again Head Lice .. when my neice gets head lice from school she calls me the professional nit picker every time to go through her hair  .. yes they do offer services in areas to clean you child out for a fee .. it is a lot of hard work to get them out of a small child that does not like to sit still for you to do it by hand.  Yes the RID , NIX do not work that well but PRONTO seems to work better then these too but my niece not only has me pick her clean but she keeps the shampoo  ( Pronto) on hand during head lice season and another thing that might help you is trying a small drop of Tea Tree oil on the scalp after they are clean the lice tend not to like the taste of the scalp treated with this oil during the Head lice season..

I have also had my neice after treating her and picking her clean have her put lots of conditioner on her head .... with a plastic bag on the head and this causes any live ones  babies that might hatch if you missed any (nits) to come to the surface becasue the conditioner keeps the lice from being able to get ahold of the scalp .. this is how I found them in my head one time when I caught them .. thought I had dry scalp during the winter and it turned out I had head lice.. I left the conditioner in and was brushing through my hair with the conditioner still in my hair and found lice in my brush .. boy was I shocked..

Conditioner is not going to hurt or harm your childs head  this way you can periodically check by leaving conditioner on her under a bag  to make sure she doesnt have any new hatches if you missed any nits ... hope this might help you

by Jewel08, Dec 07, 2007 01:38PM
To: imcrazy2
I dont know if I would put straight kerosense on a childs head even if it does get rid of them because if this burns the childs scalp it could be considered child abuse have you ever read the label on the Kerosene bottle ?   Using on yourself as an adult even ( I have done this to myself in the past ) but mixed it in shampoo never put it on full strength ..  putting it on full strength =  possible consequenses if you burn the child or it gets into their eyes because it is dangerous to use this chemical for a use not intended... I would never put this full strength on my daughter or son and they are both 9 at the moment .. and prime targets during head lice season ..

by primalmom, Dec 22, 2007 12:52AM
To: Everyone
Mayo will work. Lice can hold their breath for 8 hours. So putting mayo or olive oil will not work if you put it on for a couple of hours. You must have it on LONGER than 8 hours. Now, I will say the olive oil way works but you must stay on top of it.. olive oil night #1, night #2, night #5, #9, and every 4th night for 21 days.

Mayo.. do not do at night. Leaving on a child while sleeping risks the child getting salmonella. Do it early am (6am? 7am?) and leave on until at least 9 hours have passed. Comb through while the may is in the hair (out in the sunlight is best so that you can see the nits and aren't reinfesting the house.) Wash out by putting a shampoo for oily hair DIRECTLY on the hair with NO water. Massage in.. add a little water to suds it up. Rinse. Repeat. I rinse with vinegar too.

They WILL suffocate or at least slow down enough to get them out. Depending on severity.. you may have to do it the next day as well.

by Bellix, Dec 23, 2007 08:51PM
I didn't read the whole blog, but I totally understand not being able to pick the nits out of a three year old girl's hair. It was such a frustrating situation, I was out of work for a week the first time, and 3 days a couple of weeks later because of course we can't have one single nit in her hair. Here's what I did. I started with the rid, and what do you know, I pulled live and dead lice out of her hair. I was amazed that the buggers survived the chemicals. So, here's the real trick my dear...
1. Get some cetaphyl, it's the not soap stuff that you wash your face with, very gentle and easy with no nasty harsh chemicals. DOUSE the hair with it, and start blow drying... What we're going here for is a friggin CRUST of cetaphyl, so you'll have to put more in, and dry, and more... but you can sculpt her hair into all kinds of cool configurations while you're at it and turn it into a little game. Once you get all the hair up top in a nice little crusty helmet, slather some more on there, bag it, and put her to bed for the night. It's not greasy or grimy like the mayo treatment. The cetaphyl should suffocate the nasty little things.
2. In the morning, or as late into the afternoon as you can stand it, go for a rinse. You might still fine a few live ones but I've got that covered too.
3. Once her hair is dry, start making random parts in the hair and use a cotton swab to wipe tea tree oil on her head. This is the best part, I think they even abandon ship at this point, I didn't find a single live louse on my daughter's head the next day.
4. Put the tea tree oil on the head every day for about a week, keep it up, my understanding is that any that do happen to hatch quickly jump off onto your rug and die in a few hours.
5. I added tea tree oil to the bottle of shampoo the family was using, you don't need a ton, just enough to make it a little stinky. The smell got covered up with our conditioners, hairsprays, etc so nobody really noticed.

This was really easy on my family, especially after the nitpicking episode my daughter and I had to sit through. I only had to do it once. Hope it works!

by HazelLynn, Dec 28, 2007 03:41AM
To: imcrazy2
Hi, I have four children, three of them girls with waist long hair - they caught nits, we bought HEADRIN, NIX, TEATREE, LAVENDER, and many many other concoctions - and none of them worked, I spent hours and hours combing through, then I had an idea of soaking their hair in baby oil, I left it for a few hours and then combed through, and continued combing through and through.  I left the oil in all night and day and combed and combed, then washed it out by putting shampoo in first without water - to lift the oil and shampooed normally.  I repeated this every few days and found that there were no eggs and no nits.  We had wasted a fortune on this remedies, we had them imported if we couldnt buy them here - what a waste of money.   If you try this, please let me know if you are succesful. It smells nice and leaves the hair in lovely condition too.  GOOD LUCK!

by romanorick, Feb 20, 2008 02:53PM
To: imcrazy2
the reason i have the lice removal center is just that my own kids are worst for me but good for everyone else,so same principal kids sit and be good for me at the center,where normally they wouldnt sit still at home....p.s im gonna check in to your guys sugggestion on the oil

by Rachelinpain, Feb 20, 2008 08:49PM
To: those with the lice problem
i have 2 children who are adopted...they came into foster care to us covered in lice and from what i know had had lice for YEARS!!  like some of the other posters have said...the chemicals really did not help...although I must admit I took several rid baths my self because of the psychological itching (never got them btu felt i had them).  the only thing that worked was cutting the kids hair as short as possible...for my son we just shaved his head...end of problem...with girls it is harder but you need to cut her hair as short as you can stand...then (as difficult as it may be) sit down every night after her bath and use the nit comb on every ounce of her hair...dont worry about the eggs, you will comb those out as they hatch but you have to get all of the adults before they have time to lay more eggs.  if you comb her every night she will get used to it.  we did this every night for months...my daughter strarted watching them swim around in the bowl of water.  you also have to be very careful about what is in her room...bag it all...if it is not entirely made of plastic, put it in a garbage bag and keep it in the garage for 2 months then wash it, that way you are sure you have killed everything.  you have to remove baby dolls and barbies too...i finally found a barbie that she slept with that i think was keeping her infected.  you have to completely steralize her room, they can transfer to anything.  if you can not wipe it with a damp rag it needs to be out of the house.  you have to do your car too, where she sits and the seat all around her.  a really bad case of lice is the pits...what horrible memories.  i hope some of my suggestions help.  good luck.

by sisbbbb, Mar 28, 2008 03:50PM
To: imcrazy2
Wow, you guys are going through my biggest fear.  When the kids (now 7 and 9) started school I found out just how prevelant lice was in schools today.  My kids have not gotten lice yet, but it is one of my biggest fears.  I work on pevention:  I have them wash their hair with Paul Mitchell Tea Tree Oil shampoo during school lice season (which is most of the school year), and during the cold weather season I make them put their winter coat, hat and mittens in a plastic bag when they take it off at school.  They just put their stuff in the bag and hang it on their hook.  My son never complains about doing this, but my daughter didn't like doing this at first.  She still wishes she didn't have to because no other kids have to do this but too bad.  The children's elementary school has 215 total students, and their have been times when as many as 15 - 20 kids have lice.  Our school does head checks at the beginning of the school year, and has periodic head checks after vacations where the kids are out of school for 5 days or longer.  I'm probably creating paranoid kids, but I know how much trouble people I know have had getting rid of the lice once their kids get it.  My prayers are with all of you.  I would advise that once you get rid of the lice do everything you can to prevent it from happening again.

by Becky1989, Mar 30, 2008 04:29PM
To: imcrazy2
tea tree oil mixed with conditioner really does work, give it a go if you haven't already.

by rilbrianne, Mar 30, 2008 08:49PM
Mayo and vaseline mix works for us.  3 hours.  Has worked for my teen sister for 2 outbreaks now and we swear by it.  Oil works too with the mayo.  

by Godslove0210, Jul 31, 2008 02:02PM
help!  I keep thinking we get rid of lice in our 2 year old daughter, and today I found another egg! First found lice 2 weeks ago today...did over the counter shampoo, and manual picking...then switched to olive oil,  and been putting tea tree oil in her hair....we hav 4 girls in house, and babysit a 5th everyday...so far no one got it, but cant stop finding eggs in youngest's hair! am I missing them or is there one hiding laying more eggs....feel im losing sanity.....

by redneckgurl, Aug 01, 2008 08:57AM
lavender shapoo helps keep them away alot people dont know after you do a treatment your are spost to repeat it after 10 day my sister use to get it and if she went  somewhere to spent the night we had to do a teretment when she got back and other thing you need to it wash the towels in hot water and the bed stuff and get the lice spray and spray it on every thing what ever she sit or touched and when you put her hair up make sure you put hair spray or evern when her hair is down put tons tof hair spray and another thing you can do is put maniose in her hair it and put a shower cap on and let her sleep in it

by redneckgurl, Aug 01, 2008 09:06AM
and after you do those things it can leave her hair mess what you it get some baking soda and mix it in with a little bit of shapoo and scrub in iher hair and on her scalp

by redneckgurl, Aug 01, 2008 05:03PM
hope this helped someone

by Trylea, Mar 06, 2009 09:29PM
im am bout to blow a fuse....tried all the chemicals...now doing a tee tree oil and mayo setting. for 2 hours i hope it works. we had a out break in dec and its march and im still fighting it. my daughter just turned four and cries because her toys are gone and she has a new bed and still has them... i just found the barbie post. i never thought  about that so we are doing the barbies...not sure how but im going to try and bag them and put them on the top rack of the dish washer...? and redo the mayo treatment in a couple days?.....pray for me im gonna scream

by Sally44, Mar 07, 2009 11:26AM
My daughter is the only one who repeatedly picks them up at school.  There must be other kids with them.  But the system I use that works is:-
All bedding, toys, towels, combs/brushes etc have to be washed at +60 degrees.
I buy a nit comb from the chemist, and after washing her hair I put on a conditioner that I have added tea tree oil to.  And then I comb the hair through.  After every down stroke I rinse the nit comb under the tap in the sink.  I keep a plug in the sink and I count how many I comb out.  You have to rinse it out after every down stroke so that you aren't just spreading lice and eggs all over the hair.  When I am no longer combing out any - and by that time I may have gone over all her head 5 times - I rinse her hair with clean water (not from the bath incase eggs or nits are floating in it.  Then I do the same thing again every 3 days, until I have not found any live lice for 2 weeks.  Then I stop.  Sometimes she gets re-infected.  But this last time she has been clear for over 6 months.  I also make sure her hair is not loose at school in a pony tail etc.  This summer I will probably cut it short.

by MAYALEE, May 12, 2009 06:32PM
hi, every one! yah I'm one whos also in battle with these things, I feel like just cutting all girls hair off! I did the mayo thing, olive oil too combed all nits but they came back I feel reading you all on here may help.. thanks so much! :)  ITS GOOD TO HEAR THINGS FROM PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRYED, I HAVE BEFOR ONLY READ THING FROM PEOPLE WHO JUST THINK THEY KNOW..

by Help54, May 16, 2009 05:25AM
It is so frustrating! At my house we tried RID and it didn't work. The school nurse said put Cooking Oil on her head with a plastic bag. It didn't work. And then the doctor said to put mayo on her head with a bath cap overnight. It still left maybe 5 adult lice left. So lice die because of heat, right? So we are going to sit her in the bathtub, have hot water coming out of the facet and she is going to put her head under it for 20 min. and hopefully that will kill the lice. Then we will wash her hair. If you do the mayo or oil thing make sure you wash her hair with ULTRA CONCENTRATED DAWN dish washing soap. I know you have tried some of these, but try it again. And then my husband made her cry and get worried cause he said a friend of his friends daughter had lice and they couldn't get it out so she had to shave her head, but the funny this is, her dad shaved his head, too so she wouldn't feel as bad. Hope this helps!

by Help54, May 16, 2009 09:10AM
It turns out that the Mayo didn't leave lice, it was just in her mind, only the eggs we left, so she took off her cap, took a shower and now we are picking out the eggs. Hope this helps! and if you can't get the ''buggies'' gone, then you will have to shave off her hair.

by luchiii, May 16, 2009 11:24PM
To: imcrazy2
Hi, Im 14 I just got lice and it is HORRIBLE. I had it one time before, and it just kept coming backk! but theres this one thing that works that few people know about.
          This is exactly what I did in 1 night:
1. Get ALL clothes, brushes, blankets, pillow cases, hats, etc and IMMEDIATELY put them in the washer and dryer, or boil them.
2. Layout about 3-4 towels, and 2-3 pairs of clothes that you will need to use during the process. Also, if anyone is helping you, make sure they do the same: (putting clothes etc in the washer) and also washing their hands and putting their hair up in a high ponytail!
3. took a shower and SCRUBED my hair with shampoo with the hottest water I could stand.
4. Wrapped my hair in a towel.
5. Begin "NIX" treatment. First have someone SMOTHER your hair in the NIX lotion (use the WHOLE bottle) and leave it in for 10 minutes.
6. After the 10 minutes is up, go back into the shower and rinse ALL of the lotion out of your hair. During this process, some of the lice may fall out of your hair in the shower.
7.Get out of shower and with a DIFFERENT towel, wrap your hair again and change into a NEW pair of clothes.
8. Use the fine comb that will come in the NIX pakage and comb out Every single strand of hair...literally until most ALL eggs, nits and lice are gone.
Next, use a 12 oz bottle of CETAPHIL and saturate your hair in it. and i mean like DRENCH it!
9. Then, again use the fine tooth comb and do the same. Also, during this time, you are tyring to get out as much cetaphil as possible with the comb. This part is the most important. You really really have to get every thing out!
10. Blow Dry your hair until completely dry.
11. Check head again for ANY signs of lice.

The next day, even if you DONT see anything, still do another treatment. you could do anything...mayonaise, vinegar...etc.  Eventhough this takes a long long time, it works, and the most important thing is to keep doing treatments like every 2 days or so after this one, because eventhought they might seem like their gone, they can re hatch without you noticing.
Hope this helsps

by veroluvsluis, Jul 01, 2009 07:16PM
To: imcrazy2
my daughter had lice when she was 6 years old and it took me 6 months to get rid of them. It's  true what luchiii said, you need to keep on doing these treatments at least for the next month eventhough you think they are gone. combing the hair and doing any treatment of your choice  at least every other day untill you completely kill all the eggs or they will hatch and keep on coming back. good luck and don't give up. remember keep on doing your treatment of your choice untill know you got rid of every single egg. and very important keep on combing and combing hair with fine comb.

by erin545, Jul 05, 2009 08:01PM
buy lice x off the computer my children had lice for 5 years straight it will work and the spray iff you use it every year will keep your child from catching it i promise you you can buy this on the internet i urge everyone to buy it if they have children and even ust use as a precauiton

by erin545, Jul 05, 2009 08:08PM
To: imcrazy2
buy lice x off the computer my children had lice for 5 years straight it will work and the spray iff you use it every year will keep your child from catching it i promise you you can buy this on the internet i urge everyone to buy it if they have children and even ust use as a precauiton

by steph5692, Jul 24, 2009 04:56PM
To: all
I have been threw this twice. My kids are almost 10yrs apart and when i was pregnant with my second child my oldest had caught it at end of school yr. I fought it all summer long. Then someone told me about rubbing alcohol. I put it on and and shower cap and let it sit for a hr or so. Then i combed and picked threw her hair and she has never had it again, now 17. Now i am pregnant with my third child and my second daughter, now 7, have been fighting it since May, here it is end of July.  I have tried Rid x, Mayo, the alcohol. Nothing seems to work. My oldest daughter read a article that says to use a hot straightner to straighten the hair but in little section. She is doing this as we speak. Im going crazy. I have washed pillows, blankets, vaccuumed everything possible and they just dont go away... I feel like shaving her hair off at times. But i cant do that to my little girl. Her dr. even says the only way to get rid of it is pick them out till there is none no more.... This is hard when i have a very active 7 yr old.  Well i will keep trying everything i can find. If and when i get rid of them i will post how i did it... Thank you im so glad i am not the only one out there..

by gosharks1, Aug 10, 2009 01:03PM
To: Help54
I have been battling lice for 3 months now, with my daughter who is 9. She keeps getting reinfested, and we have even gone to a lice clinic in Houston. We have spent over $500 on trying to battle this thing. Evey couple of weeks, I find either nits or live lice.
I think we are just going to do what the posts say, a treatment every 3 days with a thorough nitpicking. School will start soon and that is where she got it from in the first place! Cetaphil has seemed to work best, (The Nuvo Treamtment) but you MUST do the follow up treatments, which I didn't do. Now, I will.

by chemicalanarchy, Sep 24, 2009 12:37PM
80% of all head lice are PESTICIDE RESISTANT!

I won't beat around the bush, but I'm a biochemist and I have my own business making organic body lotions and massage oils and a PRIVATE website with restricted access and my kids and wife had head lice for 2 mos until I found, and looked up 'ulesfia'.  Being a chemist, it's not hard to make 5% benzyl alcohol (BA) solution like in their formula or make it 4% or 6% of substitute a like chemical for 1/10 the cost. (I accidently made a 10% solution when I didn't remember it was only 5% for ulesfia and that worked, too!)

NONE of the chemicals including the BA, or any other part of it are restricted and in fact, ANYBODY can buy 1 gallon BA for $50 and you don't need a script or I can sell you my version by the liter which cured the problem IMMEDIATELY after we'd been living this hell for mos with EVERY other 'remedy' and you only have to apply it and leave it on for TEN MINUTES!

If you want to know how safe BA is, it is also used in pharmaceuticals for INJECTION as well as IV's and eye washes and drops which I also make for my allergies.

This 'big secret' about how to really kill head lice has to end as well as the suffering I and others had to go through to solve it!

You can contact me at ***@**** if interested!

by AndyM63, Sep 24, 2009 08:35PM
Hair..off!...its that simple with a serious infection of lice.  Oh don't fret......it grows back.

by kerry63, Sep 24, 2009 09:23PM
To: imcazy2
I found that using Head and Shoulders anti dandruff shampoo worked for my girls. Only use once a week on young children, it seems to stop any nits being able to stick to the hair.  Follow all the other advice over washing brushes combs bedding etc. I found buying cheep pillows was a better answer than trying to launder them, and whenever I discovered lice the pillow went in the bin. Thankfully my girls are grown up now , but occasionally their boys come home with itchy heads so they follow the routine.

by 91004, Sep 24, 2009 09:54PM
You all are saying mayo and cooking oil. Have you tried the oil that black people use. I use it in my hair just to moisten it at nite but it has the same effect but probly easier to wash out then mayo. Also you mite want to check who the kids that keep getting it are hanging around. I remember my nieces would always get it. They would get rid of it and go to their neighbors and the little girl there had it. They were getting it from her. Plus are you tellin the school that the child has it they could have it in the class room to and other kids that parents don't know yet and its just going back and forth. When you get rid of it put girls hair up in ponytail and spray with hairspray. Boys gel the hair or spray also.

by kerry63, Sep 24, 2009 10:11PM
To: 91004
Your suggestion of spraying hairspray and using hair gel is a good one and makes sense.  What a simple and good idea, the blighters cant stick their eggs to the hair.Just make sure  that when using the hairspray the child covers her face with a towel so that she doesnt inhale it, or get it in her eyes.

by 91004, Sep 24, 2009 10:23PM
I use to do it all thru school and even when my neices would get it. When they would come over I would do a treatment on them then put their hair up and spray theirs. I have only had it once and I got it that time in I think third grade. My son just start Kindergarden and I put gel and spray in his for that reason. Not alot where it looks slicked.

by McAw8709, Sep 25, 2009 09:31AM
To: imcrazy2
Try "Not nice to lice"
it takes time to apply, but it worked for me!
Blow-drying hair kills them because of the heat, and V05 has a chemical in it that the lice cannot live in.
Good Luck!

by teddybears4ever2, Sep 25, 2009 02:41PM
To: imcrazy2
One other thing that I would have you make sure you are doing is disinfecting your hairbrushes and combs.  You can use lysol, hospital grade disinfect, and/or rubbing alcohol.  Make sure that you are combing out their hair throughly with the picks that come with the lice shampoo.  It will get rid of dead lice as well as any eggs they may have layed.
I know no one wants to sit still for this and it takes time, but it is really helpful.  Again, i'm sorry you are going through this.  Also be sure to repeat this in abut a week as any leftover lice will be killed.

by momofseven, Oct 02, 2009 09:43AM
Go to www.nitnannies.com. Lots of great information on headlice, products that they offer
are non toxic and I have heard they really work! Its about time someone can up with something
like this.

by babygirl6152, Oct 03, 2009 02:05PM
Yes the Lysol type stuff should work--- under and over mattresses the whole house- carpets- de fogger type sprays- you have to leave the area for a few hours- that way you will rid it from the whole house- their friends may also be spreading it back and forth - does she/he seep anywhere else?- theres always pure alcohol or Jack Daniels- no kidding. I worked in a shcool over 20 years and heard of all these treatments but you have to treat the WHOLE ENTIRE HOME not just the head- wash all bedding in HOTTEST water possible .  Cut little girl's hair in a short cute bob if they are willing...

by xmjsb3z, Oct 04, 2009 10:29PM
some of what ppl say I have heard really works, my cousins daughter fought with it for years, she dies her hair everytime she comes for a visit because its the only thing that works. Lice dont like dirty hair I have always been told to spray hairspray and put gell on their hair before they go to school. thats why adults dont get it. we die our hair and use tons of products. I would die the hair a natural color and call it a day. good luck

by luvinmommy, Oct 17, 2009 01:11AM
I have just found and removed like 12 live lice from my 6 year old daughter's hair, but I haven't and cannot find any  nits or eggs what so ever.. how is this possible? does she still have lice?, should I do treatments?

by kaydencelovesyou, Oct 19, 2009 04:18PM
I am 18 years old and have had lice for about a month or two (I found out a couple weeks ago).
It's terribly embarrassing, especially since every website discussing lice treatment and even the shampoos give directions for washing your elementary-school-aged child's hair, and even my elementary-school-age brother is lice-free! I am an adult in college with no children!
Last time my mother and I caught lice when I was 7, we tried all of the OTC shampoos and the only one that worked was Rid. So this time I faithfully used the Rid treatment, 4 times although I know it's not recommended (twice on Day 1 because after the first treatment my mother still found a live louse, again on Day 4 or 5 because I couldn't stand the thought of letting the babies run around on my head while I waited for the rest to hatch, and again on Day 7). I was honestly more concerned at that point with killing the little buggers rather than any pesticide damage I cause to my body, but my scalp is now destroyed it is so dried out, I do have weak kidneys I should watch out for, and obviously the pesticides are not working entirely. I asked my mother and my stepfather to comb through my hair for me and they both declared me clean (and they have had a lot of experience in lice-combing from the last infestation). I've been putting several drops of tea tree oil into my shampoo every morning and before I blow dry my hair I spray it with water that I have also mixed more than several drops of tea tree oil into, enough so that I can really smell the oil. I've washed every article of clothing, bedding, sheets, and hair accessories on the hot cycle in the washing machine and then put them in the dryer, everything I couldn't wash I sprayed with pesticides. My mother and brother never caught it, still don't have it, but this morning I pulled a few strands of hair from my comb and saw nits on the hair, very close to the root, and so I am assuming that I have a reinfestation right now. The only people I have come into close contact with since my treatment are my immediate family who are still bug-free, my boyfriend who has shaved his head, and 2 of our friends whom I have checked myself and are bug-free as well.
At first I was convinced that I picked it up from someone on the bus, since I have to use public transportation to get to school and work every day and to get pretty much everywhere. But now I honestly don't know. I've been careful not to lean back on the seats on the bus anymore and not to bump into anyone, although I know it's still possible that I may have been reinfested that way.
I'm losing my mind over this, I honestly want to shave my head right now, but I can't afford a wig, and the store where I work is VERY concerned with the appearance of employees and I know I would get fired if I showed up bald. I cannot afford to see a doctor for prescription medication, and I'm going to go try using the hair straightener right now and plan on trying the vinegar tonight, but after pesticides and tea tree oil have failed, I don't have much faith in other treatments either.
I'm considering getting my hair dyed as well, but would like more information on it. Must I get it professionally dyed or will at-home hair dyes work as well?
I was planning on taking my mother to the salon to get our hair done for her birthday in November, I suppose when I get paid at the end of the week I could take her early, but I don't want to resort to such an expensive treatment just yet.
I'm very upset that all the $20 bottles of Rid have failed. I've already spent the money I'd set aside for my boyfriend's birthday on treating my head, and I'm trying to save up for Christmas, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen.
Also, does hair dying kill the nits too or just the live lice? Is this something I will need to do twice?
I have a LOT of VERY thick hair, so although nit-combing is the most effective method, it's not a very practical one for me, since my family and I try to get all the nits but are simply unable to get them all. I also seem to be incompetent at nit-combing myself ; when I tried, all I successfully accomplished was to rip out chunks of my hair, break teeth off the plastic nit comb, and make my scalp bleed in various places.

by kaydencelovesyou, Oct 19, 2009 04:45PM
Well don't I feel ridiculously silly. The hairs with "nits" that I found this morning I had placed into a ziploc, and my mother just came home for her lunch break and double-checked them for me - they were not nits, but in fact were the roots of my hair.
-sigh of relief-
So apparently multiple applications of Rid and religious tea tree oil usage really do handle the lice problem after all =)
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