Wow!! Do you remember my post the other day about getting crayon out of my dryer, if you have not read that post you should, but it was a first for me. This is another first for me. I have been a mom for 11 years and this has never happened to me until now. Lice. I am not sure why I am learning these things now, or why they have not happened to me before now, but I truly have learned so much from these two experiences. As a mom I know that we all will go through these experiences and so I say- I am sorry! It has not been fun for me and probably will not be fun for you, but we will survive. We are moms!! We adapt, we just do it!!
Here is my story;
It was another typical Sunday in our house. I was getting all 4 of our girls ready for church and was doing their hair, when I noticed something in my daughters Bree's hair. A little bug. Then I looked closer and noticed that there were several. I got one out on my fingernail and knew right away what it was-lice.
After much research and pulling all the information together this is what I learned from several different sites. I will link where I found the most helpful resources.
Lice- what they are
1. Lice are wingless bugs that live on your scalp. They pierce the skin and suck the blood. They are the size of a sesame seed. They move around quickly by crawling when you part the hair. They cannot jump or fly. The live lice you see crawling around are the adult louse. They live for about 3-4 weeks and lay about 10 eggs a day. Off the head on a strand of hair, they can only live for about 24- 48 hours, they need blood to survive. Their lifespan is about 30 days. I got to thinking about my daughter and realized she has had these bugs for about a month.
2. The eggs or nits are that are laid by the adult louse are firmly attached to the hair shaft with a type of glue. They are white and very difficult to see. That is why I didn't notice the lice before now. For my daughter, I saw the live bugs and then noticed black spots glued to the hair near the front of her head and at the very back of the neckline. Dandruff will come off if you try and pull it out. Nits will not, they are glued to the hair. They hatch in 6-9 days.
3. Nymphs are smaller adult louse. They hatch from the egg and the egg stays on the hair. Nymphs become adults in about one week.
The very first thing I did was scream!! No I am just kidding, I knew right away what I needed to do. I needed to treat her hair. My daughters Bree only had about 10 or 11 live bugs crawling around and many other cases may be more serious. Bree did mention a few days earlier that her head itched. This is a sign that you have lice.
Treatments
There are several treatments. I have been told by so many people that Tea Tree Oil kills lice. I happen to have some on hand and also grabbed the jar of mayonnaise. Online, many comments suggested using mayonnaise. I really didn't know if this would work but thought it was worth a try.
My method: I Put the little one in the bathtub. I washed her air with regular shampoo and added a Tablespoon of Mayo and then several drops of Tea Tree Oil. I scrubbed and scrubbed and then rinsed. At this point I got her out of the bath and put a white towel over her shoulders to see the bugs. I combed her hair and the live louse were completely gone. I did find some black eggs and kept combing them. I repeated this process again at night and did not find any live lice but mostly eggs at the base of the neckline. *Don't forget to launder the towels used in the process right away.
I was also told that Selsun Blue really worked to kill lice too. I was willing to pay the $10 for this at this time than spend over $30 for the Nix. I washed her hair the next morning with Selsun Blue and Tea Tree Oil and still found some black eggs, but not that many. I know this part of the experience is the worst. Getting rid of the eggs. Nix is a two step treatment. First apply it generously, rinse, and then comb, just like my process, but then in another 7-10 days you repeat the process. If lice is a really serious problem I would suggest buying Nix and skipping the guess work. I knew my daughters wasn't terrible and so I thought it was worth it try the Tea Tree Oil, mayonnaise, and Selsun Blue.
It has killed the live louse.
Other tips and comments
After much research, here a few tips that friends have said to do: leave the conditioner in the hair-do not rinse it out- and then comb them out with a metal comb. I also found that it was important to get a metal comb that is specific for lice. I found mine at Walgreens. This was only necessary because the only real way to get out all the nits was to comb them out.
Many people have commented that Vinegar works. I did not try this as of yet, but if it continues to be a problem I am sure that I will. This link was very helpful. I agreed with her right off the bat and cut my girls hair. I wasn't about to deal with it. I cut 6 inches off my daughter Bree and 7 inches off of Bo. I cut the hair myself and put it right into a garbage sack, and later threw it away. I knew it would help see the eggs and it did. This is a personal choice, but I wasn't about to deal with long hair. Once they are clear of lice, they will get professional hair cuts.
Housecleaning
I know this is a painful part of having lice, and takes a lot of work but in the end it will be worth it. You don't have to go overboard with this and clean everything, but there are few things that are most important.
Bedding-Strip all bedding including pads and launder. You can vacuum the mattress to get rid of them. Lice do not stay on beds, like dust mites etc. They need a host to survive. Simply vacuuming should get rid of them. Change your pillowcases nightly. What about stuffed animals that they are sleeping with? You can either put them in plastic garbage bags tied really tight outside in strong heat for two days or inside your house for up to 2 weeks. This kills the lice.
Clothes- Launder at least once in the hottest water and then dry with the highest setting. Lice are sensitive to heat. Most recommendations are about 130F.
Vacuuming- Vacuum your entire house, rugs, floors, etc. This gets rid of any lice left behind. I was wondering about pillows? What do I do with the pillows? You can either vacuum them or throw them in the dryer for a short time on the highest heat setting. That should do the trick.
Doing all of these steps should get rid of the lice. It might pass to or from other family members, so it is important to check all family members at least once every 7-10 days. If it comes back again, just repeat all of those methods or consult a doctor.
If one family member has lice it does not guarantee that all family members have it. You can prevent it possibly by adding Tea Tree Oil to their shampoos and conditioners. I know this can be a long process maybe even months if I don't get all the eggs, but I think preventing them by using the Tea Tree Oil and washing and drying the sheets on a weekly basis will help. I will be checking my whole family for about a month.
If your kids are school age just check with your school and see what their policy is. Once they have been treated they should be allowed back into school.
I know this will be a difficult journey and believe me after the first day it was very emotional. It wears you out, but hold the truth that it will go away! I hope and pray that you will find solace through this journey as I have. On day two my daughter came to me and told me her head didn't itch anymore. She was happy and was asking to go back to school. Hopefully she can.
When I told my other girls that Bree had lice this family favorite movie of ours came to their minds. It made us laugh through a difficult time. Hope it does for you too. It is a four letter word-Love.
Good luck and you will survive. It is only a matter of time!!!
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