Daughter keeps getting lice at school

[MichaelChang]

The shampoo kits are $50/whack ($25 for the initial treatment and $25 for the follow up treatment in 7 days).

Her hair has already been cut as short as can be for a girl.

Informed the teacher, used the shampoo, combed out the eggs, and followed up with the shampoo, eggs and lice gone

A few weeks later, bam

I'd tell her classmates' parents to bathe their kids if I thought they would but something tells me that's not on their priority list

Are there any home (read cheap) remedies to get rid of lice? I'm running out of $50 chunks that I care to spend on this issue.

This has been going on since the beginning of the school year

[Gunguy45]

Are you buying the prescription strength? Did you even try the over the counter stuff like RID or NIX..? They run about $10-14 for a bottle which should be good for multiple treatments.

Hygiene of the other kids isn't the issue..bathing and regular shampoos won't help. They need to have the same treatments. Also...don't let her share hats or anything.

Also...I believe the bedding and clothing needs washing...or is that for crabs? lol

Public school or private school? If private...I'd be speaking to the Boss..not the teacher. If public I'd see an assistant principal and the school nurse. If no help there call the District...they must have a health professional in some capacity. I'd also call the health department in either case...see if they can do anything.

[riggstad]

One of three of my daughters caught lice back in the fall. Our school works this way...

Once one child has been identified with lice, the whole class goes down to the school nurse. If the nurse finds it, they call the parents to come get the kid, and they are not allowed back until it gets cleared up. Once the kid does come back, the nurse checks again. If she's clear, then she can go back to class.

It is rampant in the 3rd grade class, and what we (or my wife rather) did was basically strip everything in the house.EVERYTHING!

I did some research, and this is how it goes...

1) the over the counter and prescription stuff isn't very good. It works, but it is toxic and may be dangerous to the children or pets in the house. We didn't use it.

(they do make a new all natural remedy that I saw advertised on TV. you can google that).

2) understand the life cycle of the Lice. They lay eggs that don't hatch for two weeks. This is the main reason why they have a high occurrence of coming back. Most people get rid of them and think, GREAT! They're gone. But two weeks later your hit again.

3) the best way to do get rid of them is with the combs. there are two types. One for nits and one for the bugs, and you basically have to comb your kids head like 3 times a day for about a month.

If one egg gets onto a pillow they will be sure to come back.

You definitely have to wash all of your linens and pillows and everything. It's one big pain in the arse.

Once an egg hatches it has like 3 hours to find a host. If it doesn't, it dies. So my wife took all the pillows and wrapped them in a garbage bag. (after washing) Then put pillow cases over the pillows.

Everything else that we didn't have an immediate need for she put in garbage bags and stored them in the garage for a month. Linens, comforters, etc. She's a psycho over this stuff and probably went to the extreme but it worked.

Definitely keep her away from friends houses for sleep overs and no sharing of hats or brushes. It's one big pain the butt!

[Concretemasonry]

I have two children and when they returned to school in the fall we immediately bought a stock of over the counter shampoos and they used some when they washed their hair or showered. If you were too slow, the stores would be out. In their era borrowing combs or brushes was common and not easy to control. This was a suburban neighborhood and peer pressure make the control easier.

We immediately washed every sheet, pillow case within sight in very hot water and did not use for a week or two. Sometimes, we would run the sheets through the hot drier before putting on the bed.

We usually stopped it after the first notification.

Dick

[Wayne Mitchell]

I am assuming that your daughter is getting reinfested at school. If that is the case, it is the schools problem. Most schools have procedures that they follow whenever an outbreak occurs.

When my daughter was infested in the 2nd grade the school took immediate action. If you reported this to your daughter's teacher and nothing was done then you need to talk to the school nurse or the school principal. If that doesn't work contact the school superintendants office.

You should not need to subject your child to recurring treatments for head lice. As I said, it is the school's problem and you need to hold them responsible.

[marksr]

When I lived in fla and my kids were young, lice at school was a major problem. The school would run the kids thru the gym once a week for a hair/scalp infection. If they thought they saw a bug or a nit, your child came home with a notice.

Since I was a single parent and child care ate up a significant portion of my budget, I always used the cheapest lice shampoo available. It always did the job although I'm convinced that 90% of the time - my kids weren't infected.

I understand the pain of dealing with this, even when I found no signs of nits or bugs after shampooing them - I'd itch all over

It's definitely a school problem, I moved to tenn when my boys were 9 and 12 and they have never had lice since

It goes without saying, no shared hats, combs or bumping heads...... easier said than done with an 8-9 yr old.

[Concretemasonry]

See next post that was made just after the time expired.

[Concretemasonry]

It is a shared problem between the schools and the parents.

In school, it is impossible to stop them from borrowing or snitching of combs and brushes.

The parents have to be diligent and take steps when they know there is or will be a problem. After initial first week or two of the school year, the problems went away or eliminated.

Our public school system had a camp 200 miles north where the grade school kids with the teachers for a week annually to study the outdoors, science and biology and grabbed water sample from the ponds to see what they looked like under a microscope. They had to calculate the board feet of lumber in a tree they measured and slept in dorms or cabins with bunk beds. All bed clothes were stripped, replaced and washed daily. When they came back there was no lice problem because of the planning and precautions.

It is a common problem and not an epidemic and it can be defeated with precautions and habits.

Dick

[chandler]

Riggstad, I'm glad you are married to one, too! Our kids are grown and gone, so all we have to deal with is fleas on seldom occasions. On her days off, I will come home from work and it is 25 degrees outside, and every sheet, comforter, pillow case and towel is hanging on the fence or clothes line in the sun. She is a firm believer the sun and cold weather will help keep them at bay and make them fresher. It may work, don't know. Borax in the carpet helps too. Outbreaks are short lived, anyway.

[thebugdoctor]

Hi, as a former bus driver I can help you with some tips we were told to do to prevent lice. 1. get some anti-dandruff shampoo and wash your hair twice a week with it. 2. Take some moose or gel and put a little in your hair everyday even hairspray will work. 3. The cleaner your hair the more likely you will get lice 4. If you suspect lice, use the anti-dandruff shampoo everyday and blow dry every morning. The heat will kill the lice and the shampoo will help remove, kill and prevent reinfestation.

I did this for 4 years and never had lice, nor did my children. I hope this helps! Good Luck!

[Wayne Mitchell]

Hi, as a former bus driver I can help you with some tips we were told to do to prevent lice. 1. get some anti-dandruff shampoo and wash your hair twice a week with it. 2. Take some moose or gel and put a little in your hair everyday even hairspray will work. 3. The cleaner your hair the more likely you will get lice 4. If you suspect lice, use the anti-dandruff shampoo everyday and blow dry every morning. The heat will kill the lice and the shampoo will help remove, kill and prevent reinfestation.

I did this for 4 years and never had lice, nor did my children. I hope this helps! Good Luck!

I am watching the "Regis and Kelly" morning talk show. Ripa is doing a riff on head lice. Apparently her daughter got infested. She had a lice treatment pro (apparently there are such things) come to her home and they also made the comment about lice preferring clean hair.

[marksr]

If you have enough money, you can find someone to do most any service. About 30 yrs ago I painted a lawyer's house that was being remodeled for $250k. They had a guy that came by twice a week to feed and clean the fish tank. It was fairly large [maybe 3'x5'] and installed in the dining rm wall - accessed from 2 bifold doors on the other side.

[MichaelChang]

kept on using the shampoo but since school let out, the problem went away, school about to resume next week so we'll see