lice

[sandrak]

My daughter spent the night with a friend a few weeks ago and now has a pretty bad case of lice. Has anyone ever tried the vamousse lice treatment? It's supposed to kill 100$ lice and eggs in 15 minutes.

[Smky_Mtn_Echo]

I've never used it but I was talking to a nurse friend about lice last weekend and she said mayonnaise works to get rid of them. Here is a link that talks about it.
http://headlicecenter.com/head-lice-mayonnaise/

[sandrak]

Ok. Thank you for this info. I did read that mayo and such doesn't work because lice can hold their breath for 8 hours. Don't know how true that is. But thanks for the info

[lapushka]

I'd throw anything chemical at it you can possibly find, something that gets "nits" as well. Natural methods are not that reliable and you might get a re-occurrence with them.

[sandrak]

Yes I think that's a good idea. My daughter just got back from a beach trip so I haven't treated her til last night. She was infested. I did use the vamousse and will do it again today.

[Yarrow]

Both the shampoos and the DIY work. The main thing after doing them however is a 1 part vinegar and 2 parts warm water rinse ( to loosen the eggs) and a lice comb. Pop in a movie because it takes forever to comb out all the nits. and don't forget to wash bed stuff, clothes, jackets, hats, combs and brushes and stuffed animals and the like.
There is no way around combing out the nits. And that can take a few days.

[sandrak]

Thank you for the info on the vinegar water. The sad thing is my daughter has long hair but this has to be done.

[Daylilly]

Try lice freee spray. A mom invented it and it has no toxic chemicals, just a form of salt. It kills the lice and eggs, no need to remove nits. I buy extra to spray on furniture also. I would never use anything else again it works so well and removes the stress and hard work.

[sandrak]

Thank you for this info. I actually have some of that and will spray her scalp and hair down.

[Eraisuithiel]

Try doing one of the store bought methods and then putting on oil in her hair overnight (cheap oil works, I add rose geranium, citronella, and Rosemary to an olive/castor mixture when my sisters get them) and then running a life comb through the oiled hair in the morning. It takes time, but it usually gets everything off and the oil can help nourish the hair after the live shampoo strips it. We did that at my house last time and there was nothing after the one-week secondary shampooing.

[sandrak]

Ok thank you for the recommend!

[meteor]

Sandrak, I highly recommend neem oil against lice. I've never encountered lice issues myself, but all my friends who used it on their kids had excellent results. (It smells terrible though!) In fact there are anti-lice treatments with neem oil as the star ingredient. 100% pure neem oil (or diluted in some other oil) is better than standard oil treatments because it doesn't just smother lice (like what olive oil and other oils like that can do), neem oils kills not only lice but also eggs, it disrupts reproductive and feeding cycle of lice. You will still have to comb a lot and reapply the oil a few times, to be safe. But that's what all anti-lice treatments require anyway.

To prevent recurrent lice issues, it's good practice to add a drop or two of neem oil or tea tree oil to shampoo every time your kid washes her hair or every few washes - especially when she knows she is going to be surrounded by lots of kids (e.g. at summer camp or something).

Best of luck to you and your kid! :flower:

[Thinkrgrl]

It has not been mentioned yet, but you must wash in very hot water anything she has put her head upon since the infestation. Must kill the eggs or they will simply reinfect. Best wishes on your journey to rid the household of these pesky bugs. Don't forget the brushes and combs, too.

[Anje]

Remember, there's no reason why only the nit comb has to be the only one you use. Go ahead and detangle things well with a wide-tooth comb (you can disinfect it after) before attacking it with the nit comb. So many people seem to go at it straight away with the fine comb, and it's no wonder they find it damaging.

[sandrak]

Thank you all so much for the excellent suggestions. Will definitely get some neem oi if it kills lice and nits. I have used the Vamousse and the Lice Freee a couple tiimes on her hair and washed everything up. I've also vacuumed all the furniture and even the mattress. Hopefully all is well. If not, I will try some of these methods suggested. Thank you all again.

[Trinka]

No advice, but much sympathy.

How many of us who have read this, are now scratching our heads? Just me? Oh. Never mind. :)

[allierat]

You probably have different products to what we have here (UK) but I've never known a chemical treatment to work in one application. It's usually necessary to re-treat about 9 days later to catch any new lice that have hatched since the treatment, even in ones that claim to kill the eggs too. A quick look at google says that you can get Nitty gritty combs in the US, they are far better than a standard nit comb. My daughter used to frequently get head lice (I'm sure there must have been some kid at school whos parent never treated them!) and had very long hair when she was younger so I know it's tough, but washed and still damp hair smothered in conditioner along with a good comb makes things a little easier when trying to remove eggs.

[Bunnehlvr22]

I caught lice one time and had really long hair at the time. My doctor gave me some pills to make my scalp taste bad and starve the lice. It worked amazingly and all the lice were gone in a week. Maybe just something to consider. :)

[lapushka]

I caught lice one time and had really long hair at the time. My doctor gave me some pills to make my scalp taste bad and starve the lice. It worked amazingly and all the lice were gone in a week. Maybe just something to consider. :)

What the heck are those pills called? Sounds a little odd. That's the first I've heard of "pills" starving the lice. If it were to be that easy, it wouldn't be such a problem to deal with, would it? :)

[meteor]

Lapushka, I suspect it's pills like this: http://www.webmd.com/children/news/20100310/pill-kills-hard-to-treat-head-lice and http://www.webmd.com/children/tc/lice-medications

It's pretty typical to prescribe pills on stubborn issues like that, especially if topical, over-the-counter products aren't effective fast enough. :)

Personally, I'd choose topical solutions first (even if they are messy)... just to stay safe and not overload kidneys unnecessarily, but that's just me. :)

[lapushka]

Wow, thanks for the information, meteor. Had no idea pills even existed for this! :)