How to deal with persistent lice

[Anonymous]

ivermectin shampoo to completely kill them and then comb the nits out.

Spray their heads with the rosemary stuff every day.

Braid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Did you go to one of those places that uses the AirAlle machine? If not, try it. https://www.liceclinicsofamerica.com/guaranteed-professional-lice-removal/?gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADwfbJyPpBvN3WvS92m6AB3Be4KaA&gclid=Cj0KCQjw28W2BhC7ARIsAPerrcL54BDTVpL32qIIK9JxUDW0D3KYZ0NJa1BK7GJDoGEB_FFeVZks6ioaAmTfEALw_wcB

This worked for us, but it is pricey. I’d do it again in a heartbeat, though!

OP, there is a dimethicone (non-pesticide) treatment that immediately smothers the live bugs, which just leaves you with nits. Lice can’t reproduce until they are 10 days old, so you reapply the treatment around day 10 (can do one around day 5 just to be extra careful) to catch all the immature bugs that have since hatched. I have not tried this, but it’s popular on the lice subreddit. Most of the sub is just neurotic people thinking every little speck is lice, but between that there is some helpful info. The idea is that you catch the bugs between cycles so you don’t have to pick out 100s if nits.

This is the treatment:

https://licecenterswi.com/shop/

[Anonymous]

Someone they know has untreated lice. Shampoos don’t work and you don’t need to wash anything.

http://thenicelicelady.blogspot.com/2016/04/no-cleaning-no-cry.html

Your kid is getting reinfected by someone with an active infection. And the only effective treatment is a proper comb and combing method. There are no short cuts (other than paying someone else to do this method for you.)

[Anonymous]

You comb twice a week. Period. Don't stop. Don't use poison. Don't outsource. Just put in the work. If it keeps coming back, you aren't doing it enough. It sounds like you do it for a couple weeks and then stop. The problem is you.

[Anonymous]

Honestly, if you have three kids and they keep getting it it's probably them passing it among each other, not someone outside the family. You say in your responses that you are not getting out every not on the one kid. That is our issue. I would take her to lice clinics of America and watch closely how they comb. This has nothing to do w how clean your house and hair is. We have had it a couple of times and do the following:

- my DD wears her hair back every single day. I go for braids or buns. No hair hanging around her face. I said no to curtain bangs.

- at least one weekend a month I do the full treatment. Once a week, I do a comb out. If I find anything (haven't since this regime), off to the pros. Lice clinics of America is worth every penny.

- I am in her hair often because of the above so the two times she had it, I caught it super early and no one else in the family had it.

- this is a big one -- I immediately told the people we see often and they got their kids checked so it is on everyone's radar.

This is a big time to get it as everyone is coming back from camps, vacations, etc. all it takes is one loose transmitted via a hug! It is rampant in public school and camps.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly, if you have three kids and they keep getting it it's probably them passing it among each other, not someone outside the family. You say in your responses that you are not getting out every night on the one kid. That is your issue. I would take her to lice clinics of America and watch closely how they comb. This has nothing to do w how clean your house and hair is. We have had it a couple of times and do the following:

- my DD wears her hair back every single day. I go for braids or buns. No hair hanging around her face. I said no to curtain bangs. I had done this since kindergarten when I realized lice were around.

- at least one weekend a month I do the full treatment. Once a week, I do a comb out. If I find anything (haven't since this regime), off to the pros. Lice clinics of America is worth every penny.

- I am in her hair often because of the above so the two times she had it, I caught it super early and no one else in the family had it.

- this is a big one -- I immediately told the people we see often and they got their kids checked so it is on everyone's radar.

This is a big time to get it as everyone is coming back from camps, vacations, etc. all it takes is one loose transmitted via a hug! It is rampant in public school and camps.

Fixed some typos.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not some random kid in their classes. It's one of their best friends. Someone who is in close contact with one of your kids.

Are you braiding your girls' hair every day? It needs to be up tied up close to their heads.

I'm really sorry, this is a terrible thing to deal with.

+1

Disagree!!! It is probably the OP! If the kids best friends have it, maybe they are getting it from her. She plainly says she isn't getting it all out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You comb twice a week. Period. Don't stop. Don't use poison. Don't outsource. Just put in the work. If it keeps coming back, you aren't doing it enough. It sounds like you do it for a couple weeks and then stop. The problem is you.

Upthread PP here. Disagree. Outsource if you have the funds. It is SUCH a relief. The heat treatment is one and done. No repeated combing needed. Then OP can be more diligent about prevention/weekly checks.

[Anonymous]

I found that soaking hair in vinegar and then wrapping a towel around the head for awhile kills all the nits. It doesn't harm the hair and actually makes it very nice and soft.

[Anonymous]

Here is the specific comb you need OP.
https://www.amazon.com/Nit-Free-Terminator-Lice-Comb/dp/B000HIBPV8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?crid=2LYUQWX8ZHTRI&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.BqtDpLNRtl-L6WrXiBOI1RL3wrbW0BBLq3Z7HtNjKtqY-yMBkHBDAd_6vYd53WlzFZrBRdJ0WRY08CiYOCF2pcpSZ7MpcDxnHg24QzzoCje-mhVzWmbrLoRg9ubczWnjSXrEdjWEaNm7Fcqbx8yxJ7Dy_B-gnEXnNBBQt-iHcSraet86ln7WgVWUKgN5-AWXnz1PjOjhcYwu--8TkBPrgg.WVEQtK8JJ05KJQAy5bES6ZU4bjNfew4p-4KjObxpwCs&dib_tag=se&keywords=lice+comb&qid=1725031883&sprefix=loce+comb%2Caps%2C128&sr=8-3

The instructions on this page are all you need, especially the link to the actual combing procedure.

Read first:
http://thenicelicelady.blogspot.com/2011/09/help-i-just-found-out-we-have-head-lice.html

How to comb:
http://thenicelicelady.blogspot.com/2010/04/how-to-remove-head-lice-from-someone.html

I have no affiliation with this lady. But she saved me. Everything she said was spot on.

[Anonymous]

It does seem clear that your kids keep getting reinfected, not that you aren't finding the lice (especially if you've gone to a good lice clinic).

My daughter just had lice and we have a 60 day guarantee to be lice free, but she has to have her hair in buns or braids the whole time and they recommend spraying with the lice prevention spray before putting the hair up. If the bugs can't crawl between heads, then the kid can't get lice.

[Anonymous]

Op - I did go to the lice clinic. I paid the money. The lice was gone. I don’t think they reinfected each other since it was gone from the problem kid for over 2 months.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op - I did go to the lice clinic. I paid the money. The lice was gone. I don’t think they reinfected each other since it was gone from the problem kid for over 2 months.

Someone your kids are in CLOSE contact with (like literally head to head watching an iPad or something) is reinfecting your kids. It is a myth that it is spread through casual contact. It’s a close school friend or cousin or neighbor or someone.

If you don’t want to keep paying the live clinic, you need to learn to comb them yourself. See the blog posts I shared above.

[Anonymous]

Was the kid in daycare all summer? If not my money is on daycare.

[Anonymous]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Ivernectin. That is what is effective. You can use any generic Ivernectin (cvs, etc). You do not have to do a perfect comb out with Ivernectin, as if used according to directions, it will kill lice eggs/nits.

To the Ivernectin, I also added an all-natural lice prevention detangler. It can help with girls to keep their hair up in a bun. Kids didn't want to be told not to hug eachother.

The home lice kits (Rid, etc) are not effective in killing the lice eggs - for those to be effective you would need to do a 100% perfect comb out.

I also went to Lice Centers of America. I got better at the comb out by seeing what they did. They were also helpful in countering some of the non-fact-based information out there, there is a lot of it for lice. It was a good experience, just cannot afford $200 and the time involved each time my kid got re-infected with lice. (It was going around a while at our school with siblings in different classes.)