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View Full Version : Head lice! Freaking out!



joflakes
May 12th, 2013, 06:27 AM
Hi all!

So on Friday night I made a horrible discovery...a head louse on my head. >_<

I work in a primary school with children who have them so it is an occupational hazard, I guess. Anyway, I have bought Hedrin Once Spray Gel, but I was wondering (after buying!) if it is really bad for my hair?

If it is bad, what do you recommend as an alternative?


The ingredients are:
Dimeticone 4%
Dodacetrien-3-ol
11-trimethyl
PEG/PPG dimeticone polymer
Silica Silyate

Annibelle
May 12th, 2013, 06:36 AM
I don't know anything about that product, but the very best advice I've heard for treating this is a good oil soaking, preferably with a bit of tea tree EO. Drench your head in olive oil, maybe with some tea tree, and put it under a cap for like 24 hours. This should drown the little buggers. There should be some threads around here somewhere for more details.

Ayjay
May 12th, 2013, 06:44 AM
I've heard somewhere that if you soak your hair in baby or mineral oil it kills them.

joflakes
May 12th, 2013, 07:02 AM
Thanks both. I have just found one more of the little so and so's. I'll return that Hedrin I think as it was expensive!

Annibelle
May 12th, 2013, 07:09 AM
Yes, I would do the olive oil/ mineral oil ASAP... and then from now on when you go to work, maybe mix some tea tree EO in with your conditioner or something, just to try to deter the suckers from coming back. >_<

joflakes
May 12th, 2013, 07:39 AM
Yes, I would do the olive oil/ mineral oil ASAP... and then from now on when you go to work, maybe mix some tea tree EO in with your conditioner or something, just to try to deter the suckers from coming back. >_<

I have olive oil to hand so I'll use that I think...either that or my sweet almond oil.

That's a good idea...I'm just annoyed because I am SO paranoid and never wear my hair down at work because of the fear of catching them! I'm so unlucky! >_<

CurlyMopTop
May 12th, 2013, 07:53 AM
Make sure to re-treat in a few days. Oil kills the ones that are hatched, but not the eggs. If you have a really bad case, I would retreat every few days for 10 days or so, just to make sure you have them all. Make sure to treat/wash/vacuum/throw in dryer any hair coverings, jackets/furniture/car where your hair has been to prevent reinfestation. :D

jacqueline101
May 12th, 2013, 08:11 AM
I did the lavender conditioner on dry hair place under a cap for an hour comb out the conditioner. Rinse residue out,

Magalo
May 12th, 2013, 08:21 AM
When I was young, my mother sprayed lavender essential oil mixed in water on our hair, every morning. Apparently it fight off lice. And none of her four children ever had head lices even after so many school infestation. :)

joflakes
May 12th, 2013, 08:50 AM
Thank you everyone! :D

lunalocks
May 12th, 2013, 09:07 AM
Are you able to do head lice checks on the kids you teach? Parents need to know.

RedBlue
May 12th, 2013, 10:37 AM
My mom used to slather my sister's hair and my hair in mayonnaise when we had lice. We would have to let it sit for at least a hour before rinsing it out.

jeanniet
May 12th, 2013, 11:51 AM
Make sure you let the school know so they can do head checks. If they don't figure out where the lice came from, there's going to be lice all over the school. Here I think schools are supposed to notify parents if lice have been found, and (not sure) kids are kept out of school until they're nit-free. I'm not positive on that because my kids went to private school and that was their policy, so may not be true in the public schools. When my older son was still in public school he brought home lice and when I told the office they said they would send out a notice but never did. I was pissed. I found out about the lice when I went to a salon for a cut and they booted me out with a 2" piece cut out of my hair. My husband had to butcher (er, I mean "finish") the rest of my hair. I didn't even know I had lice! Ugh.

Be very diligent about cleaning your flat. Wash everything you can in hot water. If you can't wash it, seal in plastic bags for two weeks. If you can't wash or seal it up, vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. You have to keep it up for two weeks and it's a real pain in the butt, but a nightmare if the little sh*ts come back!

joflakes
May 12th, 2013, 01:51 PM
Thanks, all.

The school are aware of the problem already, they send letters home regularly but it doesn't seem to work. Some parents take the stance that they keep coming back so why bother. Which is awful. =(

leslissocool
May 12th, 2013, 01:55 PM
Oil fights off lice! Squeaky clean hair tends to attract them, at least that's what I was told. I got them a lot as a kid, but ever since I started oil my stepson had them, and so did my husband, and the only one that didn't have them at home was me (which is really a first!).


So my advice, oil you hair, buy the little tiny brushes and brush your hair, soak again. Use oil as leave in. I use oil as leave in for my kids too. And yes, seal all the pillows and the fluffy stuff in plastic bags for 2 weeks, and vacuum a lot.


ETA: Oh man that sucks! Poor children, lice were terrible for me I am still traumatized now, I can't understand leaving children with lice just because they keep coming back :(. Actually, some places in the US will send your kid home with lice and won't take him back until they are gone. I think the twin's school is like that, my stepson's school was like that.

cathair
May 12th, 2013, 02:54 PM
Last time I had head lice I think I got them from my little brother. He had long hair at the time and they made his head so sore and scabby he had to have it undercut, the doctor wanted him to have it all shaved off but he didn't want to. We tried all kinds head lice treatments prescription and none prescription and none of them worked.

The only thing that helped was absolutely saturating the hair with cheap conditioner and then combing over and over again with a really fine nit comb. The conditioner stops to head lice and the eggs being able to cling to the hair so much, so they area easier to comb out. We would have to do this every day probably for a month to get rid of all of them, it takes a lot of persistence. I don't think you will get rid of them without combing regularly. These combs are pretty good at getting lice off (I don't know if they are good for your hair), each tooth has a sort of spiral in it, like a screw, which helps scoop them off:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nitty-Gritty-Head-Lice-Metal/dp/B001PML6Y6

If you decide to try any head lice treatments, I would avoid anything that contains permethrin. It can cause pretty dangerous side effects in some people and animals. I think most modern treatments probably don't use this any more.

PrincessIdril
May 12th, 2013, 06:14 PM
When I was a kid my mum always used an electric head lice comb like this:
http://www.boots.com/en/Boots-Electronic-Head-lice-Comb_47060/
on me and my brother.

Works a treat as it kills any lice it comes into contact with rather than removing them alive (which we always found normal lice combs did). And it's totally hair safe.
(Also an awful lot easier and quicker than saturating the hair in oil/conditioner .etc!)

SerinaDaith
May 12th, 2013, 08:23 PM
Is it Borax and hot washing for your laundry to kill the little monsters? Just a thought, while you are oiled up you should probably be doing the laundry, I know you can also sprinkle borax on carpets and furniture with fleas but I am not sure if the same would be so with nits. DE is supposed to kill off bedbugs... I know that lice are not the same critters but both of those options may help get your house deloused.

an-anachronism
May 12th, 2013, 08:30 PM
The last time I had lice as a child my babysitter put a very deep conditioner on me, and had me sit in a cap for about two hours at a time, and then combed thru my hair. It took a few days but it worked, luckily I wasn't that bad, I actually hadn't noticed that I had them until the school nurse checked everyone who stayed at a weekend camp out because someone had gotten it too. The last time I was around it was when my roommates 1 year old got it from her cousin o.o that was a nightmare, the only thing we were able to do is comb and treat the hair with vinegar and that worked fantastically.

Herb
May 12th, 2013, 08:37 PM
Ugh. I know your feelings. I work with little kids, too, and got lice last year. It was awful. I mixed strait acv with super-sulfatey Head and Shoulders, left it on my scalp for 15 minutes, and the adults all washed out, mostly dead. That's probably damaging for hair but it did the trick cheaply. For weeks, I saturated my scalp in mayonnaise, olive oil, and essential oils at night with a shower cap and towels wrapped around my head to suffocate any new hatchlings. The best thing is to have someone who will nitpick you -- I'm very grateful to my mama for that.

Anyway, I'm sorry for your infestation. It sucks. *hugs* <3 You can get through it!

Sunshineliz
May 12th, 2013, 08:44 PM
I'm echoing the nit comb--use it! It'll get the eggs off your hair. I hope the natural remedies the others recommended work for you. I'd rather use something like that if it works. I've had it twice and just used the chemical RID brand. Nasty, but it worked. And make sure to treat/wash in very hot water anything your head may come in contact with--combs, couches, beds, floors, whatever.

joflakes
May 13th, 2013, 12:20 AM
Thank you all for your thoughts! :D I'm sure I can beat this. I don't think I have them all that badly as I have only found 2 actual lice thus far but I'll carry on with the combing etc just in case for a couple weeks.

Bagginslover
May 13th, 2013, 02:13 AM
It's a total myth that head lice are attracted to clean hair, think about it, if they hated dirty hair, they'd have died out years ago, when people didn't wash (think Victorian era, and earlier, when everyone was infested). They like hair, head hair in particular.

You also dont need to have head, or hair contact to get them from someone. While lice can't jump, they will walk off, so if you are touched by your students heads, anywhere on your body, then they can be passed to you.

The best non chemical treatment I have used was a combination of olive, tea tree, and eucalyptus oils, olive being the larger portion. It is thought that the eucalyptus oil does indeed kill the eggs as well (it is highly toxic, but fine on skin), but it is best to retreat anyway, just in case (plus it smells good!).

Do the schools not send home children with lice anymore? They started doing that after I left school I beleive, have they stopped again now? Seemed like a good way to get rid to me....

Hope you are free of them soon x

wandlimb
May 13th, 2013, 07:48 AM
You could try neem oil - you can put the oil in your shampoo or get shampoo with it in already. It's good for your scalp too. It was the only thing I found to work when I got them.

bunzfan
May 13th, 2013, 07:53 AM
Thank you all for your thoughts! :D I'm sure I can beat this. I don't think I have them all that badly as I have only found 2 actual lice thus far but I'll carry on with the combing etc just in case for a couple weeks.

I understand your compliant my kids came home with them constantly because most of the parents couldn't be bothered to check or treat it, hears what i've found in recent years worked. They really really hate tea tree oil i put some in my conditioner on put a tiny amount on my scalp and did daily co washing and checked my hair in the shower, smothering all my hair in oil and then putting a hat on top the little buggers get smothered and die (this really works trust me) this is a treatment that my sister told me about that you can buy online that kills the eggs and the lice but its a bit pricey if your interested i could pm you with the details.

Angelica
May 13th, 2013, 08:47 AM
It's a total myth that head lice are attracted to clean hair, think about it, if they hated dirty hair, they'd have died out years ago, when people didn't wash (think Victorian era, and earlier, when everyone was infested). They like hair, head hair in particular.

You also dont need to have head, or hair contact to get them from someone. While lice can't jump, they will walk off, so if you are touched by your students heads, anywhere on your body, then they can be passed to you.

The best non chemical treatment I have used was a combination of olive, tea tree, and eucalyptus oils, olive being the larger portion. It is thought that the eucalyptus oil does indeed kill the eggs as well (it is highly toxic, but fine on skin), but it is best to retreat anyway, just in case (plus it smells good!).

Do the schools not send home children with lice anymore? They started doing that after I left school I beleive, have they stopped again now? Seemed like a good way to get rid to me....

Hope you are free of them soon x

Absolutely correct. Head lice cannot jump or fly, you only catch them from head or hair contact. It is difficult for them to walk, because their legs are designed to attach to the hair, so they can only walk off if your head is in contact with another. I found this out from experience and health visitors and searching on the web. There are a lot of myths around. So someone flicking their long hair at you will likely infect you with the critters if they have them. They also can't live very long off the head as they need blood to survive. So by using the nit comb, you break their legs and they can't do anything. You don't have to go mad cleaning your house, it's not like cat fleas. Lots and lots of oil will make it too slippery for the bugs to cling onto the hair and they are fairly easy to comb out. I did use lice lotion the first time my son had them and it made his hair look glorious, because it conditions the hair as well. I found tea tree no good,. and I hate the smell of that stuff anyway. Just plenty of conditioner, oil etc., will sort the creeps out. And yes they love dirty hair, perhaps moreso really because if hair is regularly washed and combed they will be disturbed more than hair that is not touched much. Also hairspray can help because it will make them stiff and die and hot irons (occasionally - because they won't like being fryed but neither will your hair).

Anje
May 13th, 2013, 10:03 AM
This might be a strangely obvious piece of advice, but DETANGLE your hair before you nit-comb! People talk about how they get so much damage when nit-combing, and it seems like they're usually not using a wide and then regular comb to work all the tangles out and get the hair smooth before the ultra-fine combing begins.

akka naeda
May 13th, 2013, 10:45 AM
Buy the stuff from Boots which is a silicone mix - Fullmarks, get the liquid, not the spray.
Do what willowcandra did - put it on overnight and leave it, then wash out in the morning (I washed mine out badly, but didn't leave it in overnight), repeat until they have gone. You don't need to worry about combing them out. She didn't bother, and I tried but couldn't.

akka naeda
May 13th, 2013, 10:48 AM
The server is playing up and I can't edit my post.... it may take 2-3 days of using the Full Marks, but as I said, you really really don't need to worry about whether they have all been combed out or even combing your hair at all, as the silicone kills them. It's far quicker than any other method I have tried and believe me when DD was at primary school I tried everything.

Angelica
May 13th, 2013, 11:03 AM
http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Head-lice/Pages/Introduction.aspx

I think this information will help :)

akka naeda
May 13th, 2013, 11:14 AM
I'll also add that I didn't bother washing the bedclothes, because after it took so long to get rid of them when DD was at primary school I would have had no bed clothes left as they'd all be in the wash/drying. So, as I said, Full marks, put it on your hair, comb if possible, leave over night if possible, wash out badly so some is left in and your hair looks greasy (possibly easier for me with kneelength hair than you), and repeat daily until they are gone. I had so many they were falling out of my hair, after three days of the above I had none.

cranberrymoonz
May 13th, 2013, 11:17 AM
The demethicone stuff doesn't work very well, and it's VERY hard to remove. Think coney build-up^10. I'm not sure if natural oil will kill them, but of course you can give it a try. Make sure to repeat the treatment within a week though.

There are also special fine-tooth combs to remove lice. I recommend using a plastic one to check for lice, but don't use a metal one. Yes, they remove the eggs too, but they cause an incredible amount of breakage. I'm still growing it out.

Just found this website:)
http://verdilaurent.blogspot.nl/2012/08/how-to-get-rid-of-head-lice-naturally.html

akka naeda
May 13th, 2013, 11:21 AM
The demethicone stuff doesn't work very well, and it's VERY hard to remove. Think coney build-up^10. I'm not sure if natural oil will kill them, but of course you can give it a try. Make sure to repeat the treatment within a week though.

There are also special fine-tooth combs to remove lice. I recommend using a plastic one to check for lice, but don't use a metal one. Yes, they remove the eggs too, but they cause an incredible amount of breakage. I'm still growing it out.

Just found this website:)
http://verdilaurent.blogspot.nl/2012/08/how-to-get-rid-of-head-lice-naturally.html

I had no problem with coney buildup, which surprised me. You do get it with lyclear though.
natural oil will take you about a month, first time I got lice 16 years ago I used coconut oil and that's how long it took (on classic length hair)

joflakes
May 13th, 2013, 11:41 AM
Thanks to all your wonderful suggestions! I can't stand tea tree smell, but I'll be doing daily combing with oil and every other day with conditioner I think. I got the school to send out a reminder text to all parents in the year group again about getting them treated, too!

redsiren
May 13th, 2013, 12:16 PM
I heard somewhere that henna kills headlice.
I think it was in the ebook on the hennaforhair website.

joflakes
May 13th, 2013, 01:06 PM
redsiren - that's cool! If I henna'd, I would be straight on it, haha. Unfortunately I don't so I can't. My Mum did tell me to chemically dye my hair when I told her and I was like..."NOOOOOOOOOO!" :laugh:

redsiren
May 13th, 2013, 01:10 PM
Lol.

If that was the only option I would probably just let the lice be :)

alexis917
May 13th, 2013, 08:20 PM
I just came to wish you good luck! I'm terrified of bugs. If I ever got lice, I'd panic! I hope they leave you soon.

joflakes
May 14th, 2013, 12:30 AM
Thank you! :)

Bagginslover
May 14th, 2013, 02:34 AM
Absolutely correct. Head lice cannot jump or fly, you only catch them from head or hair contact. It is difficult for them to walk, because their legs are designed to attach to the hair, so they can only walk off if your head is in contact with another. I found this out from experience and health visitors and searching on the web. There are a lot of myths around. So someone flicking their long hair at you will likely infect you with the critters if they have them. They also can't live very long off the head as they need blood to survive. So by using the nit comb, you break their legs and they can't do anything. You don't have to go mad cleaning your house, it's not like cat fleas. Lots and lots of oil will make it too slippery for the bugs to cling onto the hair and they are fairly easy to comb out. I did use lice lotion the first time my son had them and it made his hair look glorious, because it conditions the hair as well. I found tea tree no good,. and I hate the smell of that stuff anyway. Just plenty of conditioner, oil etc., will sort the creeps out. And yes they love dirty hair, perhaps moreso really because if hair is regularly washed and combed they will be disturbed more than hair that is not touched much. Also hairspray can help because it will make them stiff and die and hot irons (occasionally - because they won't like being fryed but neither will your hair).

Oh they absolutely will walk off onto any body area-I've seen it first hand when my mum hugged my niece and she was left with 10+ lice on her chest, all steadfastly marching upwards on her sweater! (My niece is deathly allergic to so much stuff, when she was a child they had to leave the lice be, and control them with just combing, it was really sad).

cranberrymoonz
May 14th, 2013, 11:15 AM
Oh they absolutely will walk off onto any body area-I've seen it first hand when my mum hugged my niece and she was left with 10+ lice on her chest, all steadfastly marching upwards on her sweater! (My niece is deathly allergic to so much stuff, when she was a child they had to leave the lice be, and control them with just combing, it was really sad).

Ugh! That's gross! I'd think combing would remove a great deal of them.

QueenOfTheSkye
May 17th, 2013, 10:16 PM
If nothing else works, try to get a prescription for ivermectin pills. I've had lice two times and it was the only thing that worked.