| Author | Message | ||
     shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1994 Registered: 5-2001 |
It's going around everyone, so check your kids. 10 days after vacation started I found it on two of my kids. (The third had some eggs but nothing live.) Coincidentally, they all got haircuts on Dec. 23 (at different places). I'm not about to blame anyone, because they very easily could have gotten it from school, but how well are brushes cleaned? It didn't even dawn on me to think about it at the time. I read some preventative tips online. Every night, I'm combing through the girls' hair very carefully. I made a spray with tea tree, lemon & thyme oils in a base of olive oil and water and I spritz it on before I comb through—this supposedly repels the lice. (I read a few different recipes online and in some herbal remedy books.) I'm lucky we caught it very early, so it was a minimal infestation, but I'm curious to know if anyone has any other tips. | ||
| snshirsch Citizen Username: Snshirsch Post Number: 311 Registered: 1-2003 |
Which school do your kids attend? This might help narrow down who should be keeping an extra eye out. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1995 Registered: 5-2001 |
Tuscan, but I've heard from friends of friends about kids at other schools too. It happens, nothing new about that, but I had no idea about the less toxic remedies and wish I had known there are other ways of dealing with it. (Of course seeing little bugs in my baby's hair totally freaked me out and I wasn't thinking very clearly!) | ||
| Brett Citizen Username: Bmalibashksa Post Number: 1390 Registered: 7-2003 |
you took your kids to three different hair places? On the same day? I was lucky my mom just didn't yank it out to save time. | ||
| Lydia Citizen Username: Lydial Post Number: 822 Registered: 5-2001 |
Shh - Rosemary and Lavender oils work to repel lice too - sometimes citrus oils like Lemon can irritate skin and cause photosensitivity (mostly thinking about the baby's head) Lavender oil is one of a great all-purpose essential oils that can be applied undiluted onto skin. A bonus is that it's calming and encourages restful sleep (that may be what you need now!) Tea Tree oil and Lemon oil are great - I would omit the Thyme oil though - you have to know if the thyme oil you're using is within a certain chemo-type (linalol) if you're using it on children. It can over-stimulate the lymphatic system. I'm sure you're fine if you just started using it, but for future applications, I'd leave it out. Another hint - the carrier oil (olive oil) should be cold-pressed if possible. Some other nice carrier oils you can use are Sweet Almond oil or Apricot Kernel oil. I love jojoba oil for anything that goes on the hair too. You can get all those oils at Whole Foods. Good luck Shh! And thanks for the (ahem) heads up. Lydia | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1996 Registered: 5-2001 |
Brett, 2 different hair places (the 2 year old went to one and then I took the two older girls elsewhere). Lydia, I did use a little lavender and rosemary oil in my initial mixture, but then this Herbal Remedy book I have said thyme and lemon (very little, like 5ml) either as a rinse or with shampoo. So, I added some water in and then rinsed the solution out after shampooing. Thanks for the info. I actually just used regualr olive oil (extra virgin, lol) but got the thyme, lemon and tea tree oil at Whole Foods. They were out of their Lice Kit, so I guess it really has been going around. Luckily we're all nit free here. | ||
| emmie Supporter Username: Emmie Post Number: 407 Registered: 3-2002 |
Shh, It is important that you report this to your school nurse so she can check your kid's friends. She has a special light that makes it very easy to pick up cases. She also needs to check the other kids in your kids' classrooms as well. You don't want your kids reinfested. | ||
| Lydia Citizen Username: Lydial Post Number: 823 Registered: 5-2001 |
Shh - I'm sure your mixture is fine - whatever works, it's certainly less toxic than the Rid stuff. When my 10-year-old was in nursery school me and a bunch of Moms made preventative lice potions when there was an alert. So far we've never had an outbreak -- my kids have gone to bed with their heads loaded with so many pungent essential oils the wallpaper was almost puckering. Try the straight lavender oil - it is strong and makes your hair shiny when you rinse it out in the morning. Also, you and Mr. Shh should put something in your hair as a preventative until you're sure you've vanquished the liceage in the House of Shh. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1997 Registered: 5-2001 |
Mr. Shh has about an right of an inch of hair and mine is not much longer.  I have been using the same mixture on my head to be sure. Where was the lavender oil connection you mentioned? I remember there was a number in the city. Emmie, you're right. I seriously doubt they got it in school, but I did tell all the friends they saw over the break and are close with. Of course I told the preschool too. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1998 Registered: 5-2001 |
Oops. That should have said an EIGHTH of an inch of hair. | ||
| sac Supporter Username: Sac Post Number: 1747 Registered: 5-2001 |
There was a letter home from the Seth Boyden nurse about head lice a few weeks before the holidays ... I haven't heard anything more recently. In our family, camp has been the culprit rather than school, on a couple of separate occasions. We have used the nasty Lice Shampoos, but only sparingly and I'm hopeful that we won't have to do that again, as they sound more hazardous than the bugs. Shh's "potion" sounds appealing so, although I hope I'll never need it, I'm going to take note. One suggestion for the chemical shampoos is to use them to soak/cleanse all the brushes and combs. Then run them through the dishwasher to sanitize (if you think that the brushes and combs will stand the heat ... ours did.) This was one of the suggestions in the letter we received from the school nurse. Even though we didn't get infested that time, I decided it was a good time to clean all the brushes and combs, so I tried that out with the leftover shampoo we had in our medicine cabinet. | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 1999 Registered: 5-2001 |
Lydia, perhaps you can post your preventative lice potion here. You seem to have more knowledge and experience with the essential oils. As a preventive measure it can't hurt. If I use it as I comb through the girls' hair every night (or so) maybe spritz it on the brushes, why not. Perhaps others might be compelled to do the same. I read a story online about a woman whose family got hit every three months for a year with lice, so now she takes great preventative measures against it. Sounded like a lot of work to me (stripping beds every single day, all coats in the dryer the minute the kids get home, yikes!). | ||
| kmk Supporter Username: Kmk Post Number: 370 Registered: 5-2001 |
Every time our school gets a couple of cases of head lice they call in the professional "nit pickers" - literally. There are a number of skilled Orthodox Jewish ladies in Brooklyn who will, for a fee, pick every last nit! They even went through the classmates and checked for nits on every last head. Once the ladies have done their work, infestation in the school is over. | ||
| Wilkanoid Citizen Username: Cseleosida Post Number: 296 Registered: 10-2002 |
The kids at Jefferson school got checked for lice this week, too. | ||
| kevin Supporter Username: Kevin Post Number: 407 Registered: 2-2002 |
Reading this thread makes my head itch... | ||
| mrosner Citizen Username: Mrosner Post Number: 1626 Registered: 4-2002 |
The advantages of being bald... | ||
| Lydia Citizen Username: Lydial Post Number: 824 Registered: 5-2001 |
Shh - I basically make my potions with whatever oils I have around -- Last night I checked the kids' hair (all clear) and applied app. a teaspoon of straight lavender to their scalps as a preventative. I was going to rinse out the oil in the morning, but both girls said they liked the way their hair smelled, so I figure it's probably good to leave it in. I like to base the mixtures with lavender oil. Lavender is an all-purpose oil that bugs hate - it's anti-bacterial (I disinfect cuts with it), anti-fungal and antiviral. Besides being useful for the head lice formula, I make a room spray with water and lavender and use it liberally this time of year - we rarely get sick around here, and I think the lavender helps. Here's a good recipe for a lice deterrent potion: blend equal amounts Rosemary, Lavender and Lemon (if you want.) Rub 2-4 drops into your child's scalp after shampooing. If you already have lice - here's a remedy that should be rubbed into the scalp and left on overnight: Rosemary, Rose Geranium, Lavender - mix equal parts, 30 drops each Add to 1 ounce white beeswax, melted a little double boiler (improvise with a little pan/ 1 c.metal measuring scoop inside a pan with water) Add 2 ounces castor oil to the melted wax stirring until it's nice and creamy - let it cool and add the essential oils - stir it and put it in a little containter with a top until you need to use it. Sounds like a lot of work, but it will take about 5 minutes to whip up a batch. Because you added castor oil to the wax, it will riinse out easily in the morning - and I promise it smells good! Good luck! | ||
| shh Citizen Username: Shh Post Number: 2000 Registered: 5-2001 |
Thanks Lydia. That sounds easy enough. Where do I buy white beeswax? And the lavender oil in quantity? (Ok, I could probably seach the archives for that but I'm being lazy. I still have a lot of laundry to do!) | ||
| tulip Citizen Username: Braveheart Post Number: 1925 Registered: 3-2004 |
The sell it at Monkey Hill in Lambertville. (gift shop) | ||
| trapper Citizen Username: Trapper Post Number: 115 Registered: 8-2002 |
tulip, mind your own beeswax  |
