[okiedokie]

Hi,
I don't know anything about lice. I never had it and neither did my kids.

I had to restrain a patient yesterday and it turns out she was infested with lice.

How easy is it to catch?
Thanks,
Okie

[Soidhonia]

Hello Okie. I would do a Lice treatment just as a preventative since handling someone with Lice could have caused a transfer of the lice to you, and since not all cases of lice are seen or detected in people that have lice. Take care. Soidhonia

[bebop]

they can jump from one person to another. it is highly contagious in schools. I would go get a treatment at the drug store.

[okiedokie]

OH, YUK!

Thanks for your input, however.
Okie

[January]

Okie,

Not only are you going to have to use it on your hair and use a special wash in your shower, but you need to wash your bedsheets, clothes, etc on the hottest settings possible. Disinfect your brush, comb, etc. Wash your pillows, matress cover, etc. There are sprays you can buy to use on your furniture, etc.

Hugs,

Jan

[kimmydawn]

I wouldn't go straight to a lice treatment.

If you're not sure, I would (every day for the next week put a heavy conditioner on hair after washing and run a lice comb through it thoroughly starting at roots. No chemicals for you and good protection "just in case".

Also the pharmacist said to buy a shower cap and heavy cheap hair gel. Put it on your hair before bed every night for a week (all night is good). I never did that. I don't think I would've been able to stand the feeling.

These might not work good for heavy infestations, of course, but as a preventative/protective measure they're great...also great for small children that you don't want to/can't use chemicals on.

That's just what I would do and actually have done in this situation when I feared.

KD

[kimmydawn]

I just realized...you might not have the time to do that, and also you might have alot more hair than I. Shoot a 2-yr-old has more hair than I do.

Either is good. I just didn't want to do chemicals because I wasn't sure and just wanted to be safe (as you).

Good luck hon!

KD

[allthegirls6]

lol with the 2 year old

[sujunew]

lice are SOOO contagious. I work at a childcare centre where we have used an electric lice comb on every child for a week to try and stop the infestation (it worked too ) I got lice too (horrible) but after I found a live one on the Friday I used a lice comb ALL weekend and was clear by Monday. Oh- washing your hair with vinegar can help too as a non-chemical treatment.

p.s. my 7yo just saw the cat and LOVES it

[okiedokie]

How do you know if you have it or not? Are there symptoms? Do they itch?

I am just totally grossed out by the mere thought.

Thanks for all your words to the wise.
Okie

[Rhapsody]

</font><blockquote><div id="quote"><font class="small">Quote:</font>
okiedokie said:
How do you know if you have it or not? Are there symptoms? Do they itch?

</div></font></blockquote><font class="post">

Head Lice

http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/inf...mmon/lice.html

[katheryn]

as a mother of a four children there are lots of ways for lice to be passed on but jumping isnt one, they live on clean and dirty hair, and for some reason i get them everytime the kids have them, chemicals work but you have to repeat the action after a few days because if one egg is left behind you can get reinfested, combing with conditioner in is a good way of getting rid of the lice/nits and eggs the eggs attach close to the root of the hair,
avoid sharing hairbrushes, with the rest of the family,
like kd said change bedding regulary

[sujunew]

other than using vinegar to get rid of lice does anyone have any CHEAP alternatives to chemicals for getting rid of these nasty creatures??? PLEASE?!?!?! To treat 3 females constantly at the moment is a horrendous expense that I just cannot afford, and nothing is getting rid of them anyway. Every day that my daughter goes to daycare there is a message on the board telling us how more chn have been reported to have it... So I'm just not winning. I treat it, I send her to daycare, she comes home with it... vicious cycle. Sorry, really REALLY frustrated (and itchy lol).

[katheryn]

just wash hair as normal but comb with lice comb before rinsing conditioner out, this stops the adults staying in the hair to lay new eggs, and doing this even when you dont have lice is a good way of preventing them, i know keep a comb in the shower

Olive oil.... wet hair all over with the oil then comb through after half an hour then wash as normal using conditioner and use comb again......

Daughter got infected with them three times year before last ew nasty little buggers.

Its a nice way to get rid of them for the child and its good for the hair too !

[FerretGuy5]

Use OFF Deep Woods insect repellant when yu send them to school. It will keep them from hopping aboard.

[sujunew]

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't know if we have the OFF deep woods repellant here, but will check it out tomorrow when I call into the chemist. Otherwise I will try whatever I can get, esp as they are getting it from school and kindergarten! I was also given the following recipe yesterday by a nurse at my drs surgery. She and the other nurses swear by it. I will be trying it out at the weekend because they said it leaves the hair very greasy looking for a few days (understandably!).

20 drops rosemary oil
1/4cup cooking oil (i guess the olive oil would be good here)

Rub in hair and cover with plastic wrap. Dry for 10 minutes with a hairdrier. Comb daily. Repeat in a week.

ps my hairdresser said DONT use conditioner because the lice love it! I don't use it anyway but thought I would pass on her (conflicting) advice!!

[Rhapsody]

Cetaphil liquid face soap is the new thing doctors are telling parents to use on their childs hair when two uses of Rid doesn't work... it worked for my hree year old niece.

[lisa599]

Originally Posted by okiedokie

Hi,
I don't know anything about lice. I never had it and neither did my kids.

I had to restrain a patient yesterday and it turns out she was infested with lice.

How easy is it to catch?
Thanks,
Okie

I have a child in school and I freak out at the mere mention of it. I was always told that head to head contact has to happen and that they don''t jump.

I also read on the internet before that they do not like the smell of coconut or lavender so I buy coconut shampoo for my daughter and make her was her hair with it every night

[Locust]

Lisa, while I was always told they did jump, I read online that it wasn't true, and that they only crawled. However, there doesn't have to be head to head contact in order to catch them. They can end up on combs, brushes, and other head items people use such as hats, hoodies, headbands, and the like. Also, they can get onto pillows and may fall off or crawl off onto other surface such as couches, and get onto someone that way.

[sujunew]

Originally Posted by sujunew

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't know if we have the OFF deep woods repellant here, but will check it out tomorrow when I call into the chemist. Otherwise I will try whatever I can get, esp as they are getting it from school and kindergarten! I was also given the following recipe yesterday by a nurse at my drs surgery. She and the other nurses swear by it. I will be trying it out at the weekend because they said it leaves the hair very greasy looking for a few days (understandably!).

20 drops rosemary oil
1/4cup cooking oil (i guess the olive oil would be good here)

Rub in hair and cover with plastic wrap. Dry for 10 minutes with a hairdrier. Comb daily. Repeat in a week.

ps my hairdresser said DONT use conditioner because the lice love it! I don't use it anyway but thought I would pass on her (conflicting) advice!!

Just thought I would add that I finally tried the cooking oil + rosemary oil mix last week and after using a commercial treatment Mon and Tues (and still combing out live adult lice after both treatments) I used this recipe on the Wednesday and she has now been lice-free for a whole week . Daughters hair was oily but after 2x washes with shampoo was fine (and the rosemary smelt lovely!!!)