August 23, 2015

Head Lice: They are getting more resistant, but resistance is futile!

Last week, a finding was presented on head lice at the 250th National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society. In the presentation, health scientists detailed how a particular mutated strand of head lice had made its way into 25 states in America.

ICK!!!

With school back in session in alot of places and getting ready to start in others, now is the time to prepare and educate yourself and your kids on this nasty pest!
 (online stock photo via webmd)
 (online stock photo)
 (online stock photo)

My family went 5 rounds with one infestation a few years ago. It was a horrid nightmare! I want to share with you what worked, naturally no pesticides. It was taught to me by one of my kids friends mom who had gone through it as well. 

What you need: 
Head Lice/nit comb 
Olive or Canola Oil 
Plastic Wrap

Use the nit/lice comb, available at almost every drugstore or WalMart, to comb through the hair and remove all the live louse you can. 
Then drench the hair in the oil. COMPLETELY! Scalp to tip. 
Wrap the hair in Plastic Wrap and put a shower cap over that. let the kiddo sleep with it on.
Wait at least 12 hours to remove the cap and wrap. When you take it off, use the nit/lice comb again to thoroughly comb out hair. 
Then as you see the nits, pick them off the hair strand. The oil should have loosened them. 
When you have completely picked over the hair, let your kid shower or bathe. Wash the hair with Dish Soap, we use Dawn. 
It might take a wash or two to get the oil out, but it worked for us. The key is to constantly comb and look. 
You might have to repeat this a few times before the hair is completely free. 

Myths:

Lice can jump.
Lice do not have wings. They cannot fly and they cannot jump. Instead, they move by crawling.


                              You are more likely to get head lice if your hair is dirty.
                       You have bad personal hygiene habits or if your home is untidy. 
                  Getting head lice has absolutely nothing to do with personal hygiene or the 
                                                     cleanliness of a home.

An itchy head means your child most likely has head lice.
Itchy scalp is one of the common symptoms of head lice. But there can be other causes of itchy scalp, such as seborrheic dermatitis (dandruff) or dry skin. Moreover, some children who have head lice may not experience itching.

You can get head lice from pets (and vice versa).
Lice cannot be transmitted from pets

Head lice carry and transmit diseases.
The good news is that lice have not been shown to spread disease.

To kill the lice, you must stuff all your child’s belongings in plastic bags, and put them in a freezer or leave them in the bags for several weeks.
This used to be the recommendation years ago, but it is understood today that lice do not survive very long away from a host. The best way to handle a lice infestation in your environment is to simply vacuum any items and areas you think your child may have rested her head on, wash her linens and towels with hot water and put them in a hot dryer to kill any lice or nits.

Kids are most likely to get head lice in school.
This is a common misconception. The fact is, kids tend to get head lice from places and activities where they are more likely to have direct head-to-head contact or share personal items, such as combs, bedding, towels and hair accessories. The most common sources of head lice infestations are, in addition to school, camp, daycare,slumber parties and sports activities, among others.

Head lice are extremely contagious and children who are diagnosed with head lice should be isolated until all the nits are gone.

The truth is that lice are most frequently spread through head-to-head contact, which allows the lice to travel from one person to another. They cannot jump from one person to another, so transmission can be prevented by taking precautions like not sharing personal items and avoiding close contact. Isolation of a child who has head lice, or keeping them out of school, as long as they has begun treatment, is not necessary.

Do you have any tips for fighting the dreaded lice? Have you had a bout with it? Are you dealing with it now? I welcome comments on tip, advise or anything else related to this post.

11 comments:

  1. OMGoodness…the picture of the live louse just sent shivers down my back. I could not imagine going through not one but five rounds of infestation. Interesting myth-busters posted here!

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  2. Thank you! I'm really happy I learned something so interesting today and just shared it to my g+ :)

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  3. All my boys have super short hair so I have been really lucky with them! I am keeping my fingers crossed that we don't experience it this year either! Thanks for sharing a pesticide free way and debunking some myths. I had heard of all of them!

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  4. This is so informative. I try my best to make sure that the kids won't be infected.

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  5. I had no idea they were getting more resistant! I am blessed that my kids never went through it, but I'll admit that I'd go the pesticide route. I know I'm bad.

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  6. Sadly this sounds like my life. We have two daughters and three sons. No issues with the sons but our daughters - both had head lice at least five times. Seriously awful. I use LiceHelp.com (they used to be Absolute Head Lice Cure) and it works great. The last several infestations I did not have to wash all that laundry every single day, no one had greasy hair all day, we didn't spend hours pulling nits out. And no I don't work for them nor are they a sponsor. But it works and works well. You just need to do the process exactly as it says to.

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  7. Hated head lice! Miserable to get rid of! Once my one daughter contracted them at a church VBS because they had the kids use bandannas they would store all together every night.

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  8. I remember as a child when my mother used to let me stay at home so she can do all the lice catching. She's very good at it, I may not need all these you've listed here. But yeah, times like these, we sure do need any help we could get. Busy times.

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  9. These are some great information indeed. I really love how you have explained about the myths in detail. I have never come across head lice before, but I know I should be careful when it comes to my kids.

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  10. This is great information. I have never had lice and neigther have my kids...hopefully it will stay that way!

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  11. Wow! I didn't realize that head lice are so teeny tiny!! I like the picture next to the penny, I'm glad my kids aren't in school this year...but it's everywhere. Thanks for the tips and photos!

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