Head Lice

stacisoccr

I teach first grade and I just found out that myself and several of my students have head lice. What can I do to get rid of it since we can't use the normal pesticides? Any ideas? Thanks!

crhein26

I would call your OB right away and find out from him/her what's safe.  I have no clue on this one.

snowpants

Ugh!  First I'm so sorry!  I'm terrified of the day my kid(s) come home with lice because let's be honest, chances are it will happen to most/all of us.  Ewwwww!

I've not done this myself, but I've heard that covering your head in mayonnaise will kill the lice.  Don't know what do to about washing your clothes and such, but you could try mayo for your head.  Google mayo head lice and you'll see lots of resources.

Good luck!

Mztwilson

This happened to us at the beginning of the year. My dr said nix was fine

Reasons2Smile

Fairy tales hair care works. I imagine you could also use rosemary extract, but I've never tried it. 

owlcup

First, I'm so sorry. Lice is horrible. I dread the day my kids bring it home.

I second the olive oil and washing everything! Including carpets!

Cindy Thomas

I am a school nurse. We had a couple cases last monday. I had to kick some kids out of school. I don't know what your district policy is, but we made teachers bag up anything upholstered in their classroom (I.e. carpets, pillows, stuffed animals, etc). They got sprayed and are being kept in storage for a couple weeks. The kids who had it were sent home and had to be treated before they could return. There are pretty good prescription and OTC shampoos. If you end up with it, make sure to wash everything in your house (I.e. blankets, sheets, etc. with hot water). Hope that helps.

EmbracingChange

Nix is fine and IMO most effective. Wash everything. Spray your couches and carpets and vaccum. Don't forgot to spray your car seats. I had that crap all of the time when I was a kid. My mother treated like crazy, but she couldn't treat my best friend's house. We couldn't afford Nix back then so she took me to my Aunt's for a perm when I got it. 

My kids got it once from their preschool. I used it as a good time to purge their stuffed animals and blankets. They have tons! 

I found out after I spent $160 on supplies that our doctor would prescribe the shampoo and our insurance covered it for free. 

MarciP83

This happened to us before I was pregnant, but I found several natural remedies and just combined them all for my own concoction. Lol. Lavender oil, citronella oil, tea tree oil, olive oil and vinegar and water. Put it all in a spray bottle, applied to my DD's head and covered with a shower cap for an hour or so. I combed her hair with the nit comb multiple times. Then I washed her hair with a tea tree oil and lavender shampoo I got at a beauty supply store. I regularly use that shampoo on both my girls several times a week bc it's supposed to help repel future lice. After that I blow dried AND flat ironed her hair. (The jury is out on if that's actually worth it but I felt like it was worth the try!) I feel like all of that was a success bc I never saw another egg or bug or anything after the first treatment...and I was borderline psycho about checking. Hehehehe. Making the concoction was pricier than a store bought lice treatment...but I have enough left to make the solution several more times if need be. I washed ALL of our bed linens daily for a few weeks (what a drag...) and covered the pillows in trash bags and then put a pillow case over that. I also bagged whatever stuffed animals/loose clothing on the floor that I could. It sucked but we haven't ha an issue since...and that was over a year ago. No one else in the house ever got it either. Good luck!!

stacisoccr

Thank you all for your help! Yall have so much more knowledge with this than me! Went and got hubby checked. He didn't get it thank goodness! It took them 2 hours to disinfect my head. Soooooo not fun! Currently washing every cloth thing in my house!