Lula
member
Reged: 05/05/05
Posts: 145
Loc: Houston, Texas
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Alright, here it goes. My D is 9. My SS is 12. My DH and I have a new baby 3.5 mos. old.....for a few weeks it's just been me and the baby here at home, both kids with their other parents....Yesterday, SS arrived from out of town for 2 weeks and my D came home from her dad's after a visit of about 2 weeks.....well, D came home w/ (GULP) head lice!!!!!!!!!!!! I am beside myself! I had asked her father to check her daily because it's been going around in the neighborhood, etc....he swears he did, but it's obvious to me that he DID NOT...i could go on for hours i'm so mad! But I have a bigger problem! I've never dealt w/ this issue before, but I got all the stuff, did her hair, washed all linens, towels, EVERYTHING, even sprayed the house down......we sent SS to his grandpas. My H is LIVID at my EX, because we don't know how this will affect his visit. How long does he have to be out of the house? D was here for only 1-2 hrs. before I threw her in the tub to "de-louse" (ICKY!!!!) her. The box says do again in 10 days....but in the meantime, how contagious is it???? Supposedly the shampoo kills the lice and the 10 day follow up is to kill any new ones that you missed during the "comb out"....help! anyone dealt with this? I don't want to send SS home, but I'd rather do that now then send him home in 2 weeks w/ lice!!! His mother would absolutely KILL me and I don't blame her!!!!!!!
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"A person is defined by the sum of their decisions"
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KiwiGirl
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 06/09/05
Posts: 6271
Loc: Plains State
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What are you sweating about? Headlice are normal. My kids got them and you treat the child and wash their linen and they are gone. Headlice are seen in all kids including the cleanest kids on the block. Sharing hats is the biggest way these critters are passed on... and using someone elses hairbrush. Contrary to popular belief, they do not jump from head to head.
The reason you repeat the process in 10 days is that is the time the eggs incubate and it is mre a matter of breaking the life cycle than anything else.
As an aside, what colour is your daughter's hair? If she is blonde it is a lot harder tyo spot them and your ex may have missed them if he didn't know what he is looking for. My neice has the cleanest hair ever and she was checked every night when 'nits' were thru the school. Every night my sister would check every strand on that girls head. Then one morning there was a 'block party' of nits in her hair. How did my sister miss them? Who knows?
Some things to try are to get some lavendar oil and dab it around her entire hairline, front and back. They hate the smell. Brush the hair back and forth forward and backward, some say this breaks their legs. Keep your daughters hair in braids as if she brushes up against someone with them and she has loose flowing hair she will catch them again. And it could be when you take her out to the mall or anywhere.
Don't worry. If the worst thing she can catch is hairlice then you are getting off lightly. I get more angry at parents who send their kids to school with the flu or atrocious colds and my kids catch it and spend a few days off school and are in pain and misery.
Yhere was no need to send off your sson. He can come back now. Just give your daughter her own linen to use including her own towel.
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If I can't be part of the solution I insist on being most of the problem
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Lula
member
Reged: 05/05/05
Posts: 145
Loc: Houston, Texas
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I guess the reason I'm so worried is because the families I have talked to have all been having persistent "re-occurances" which makes me worry about it going around and around the house. Probably because if you've never dealt with it, you're not sure you're "doing it right"....It's a huge pain in the butt to get rid of from the horror stories I've been hearing!!!! I think it's probably because some people don't take the time to be diligent in the follow up. They shampoo and think that's the end of it. Plus I've read so much conflicting info I get confused. Personally, if I have to walk up and down the block and talk to every one of my daughters friends moms, I will, no matter how embarassing, lol-because I think that's how it keeps spreading. No one wants to talk about it. But at the same time, kids this age are prone to outcast other kids over stuff like this. There are 2 little girls on the block that had it for a long time, they were sent home from school several times and their mother still let them go to other people's houses. If SS were to get it though, BM would be PISSED, like so pissed that she wouldn't let him come back for a long long time. Not to mention that he's 12 and will tease the poor girl, even though she's already feeling bad about it. We are also suppose to go to my in-laws in 10 days and they have 3 kids too-I could never live with myself if I thought I had exposed them to the pains of getting rid of this stuff. I just wish it had never happened......
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"A person is defined by the sum of their decisions"
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TGSM
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 02/06/05
Posts: 5843
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Lula,
Don't panic sweetie...you have done the right things to stop it. Make sure you bag up all her toys and hair brushes, hair ties, etc. Keep them in a bag for three weeks. You already washed all linens? I would run them again...just the paranoid part of me. LOL Use Hot water.
If you sprayed everything down, make sure you guys get out of the house for a while, those fumes can make you sick.
Your SS can come back now. There is very little chance that he got it from her. I am a teacher and every year in my classroom, I have an outbreak of lice. I have never *knock on wood* gotten it.
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Faith-a f*rm belief in something for which there is no proof...complete trust.~Merriam Webster
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mestacy
enthusiast
Reged: 06/03/05
Posts: 237
Loc: Some where
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You have done everthing right, no reason to be in a panic. It happens. My kids have had it, does that mean we are unclean? No, just means they got it, i treated and its gone. Its really not that bad. In fact, lice like clean hair better, then dirty hair. Clean hair, is easier for them to move.
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A friend will bail you out, a good friend will be sitting w/U saying that was fun.
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mommynurse
Carpal \'Tunnel
Reged: 03/26/05
Posts: 4386
Loc: Indiana
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If your children go to school, chances are they are going to get head lice. Once is not a problem. But, it's the over and over and over again that can really wear you down. That's how it is with my skids. E/O/W we have to go thru what you have just been through. No fun at all, I can tell you!
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Handed lemons? Find someone else who was handed Vodka and have a party--Ron White
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sogle57
old hand
Reged: 07/04/04
Posts: 942
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the biggest reason head lice keeps coming back is because people dont do the things you need to do..yes you washed the kids hair..did you de-nit? you have to take the time to sit the child down and go thru the hair and pull out the nits..the only thing on the market today that can kill the eggs is kwell and you have to get it from a doctor..when my kids were young..i kept a bottle of it on the shelf all the time..tho i dont know how much contact you had with the child but everyone in the house should also wash their hair..as you all use the same brushes and combs..these items should either be boiled or thrown out and new bought..dad also needs to clean his house since daughter was there ..tho a louse can only live around 24 hours without a host..we use to bag up the kids toys and stuff for about a week..i taught school and we sure breed it there..tho there is nothing to be embarresed by it..i taught pre school for several years..i cant tell you how many times ive had it myself..as i said the reason most people keep getting it time and again is because they think washing it gets rid of it..and they dont think they could possible be getting from their kid..but you do..and then when everyone lays on the same couch..bed and uses the same brush..well there ya go..reinfestation...
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ohiomom
journeyman
Reged: 01/19/05
Posts: 82
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don't forget to spray the car seats!
also, using hairspray/mousse/keeping hair up, etc. seems to help keep them from getting reinfected.
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