Lice

i think you have to like actually COMB THROUGH the hair and pick them out after you shampoo. and are you treating all your linens and everything?

this isn't just a spray 'n go situation, my love

Yeah the eggs are real difficult to shift and there's no substitute that I'm aware of for a thorough combing.

also Lice is not just for dirty people.

it's just for unlucky people

It's definitely for kids of school age.

They prefer clean hair! (so we were always told)

This is why I'm glad to have boys -- can keep short hair til they're out of the lice danger age

Clean hair? Shit, so I should stop washing my hair so often. :-(

I've been combing like mad - something my pharmacist recommended. Haven't probably washed linens enough (I forgot the first night). :-( But I also used a balsem which untangles the hair and you can comb out the eggs quicker this way. I just have to persevere I guess. :-(

yes ma'am, i know you can do it. but the linens are VERY VERY important. it almost doesn't matter if you clean the hair, if you don't wash the linens.

and supposedly it's not just like the bed either, you have to be real aggressive (i think, i would do more research on this tho)

I think the clean hair thing is a myth, probably to make people feel better about getting headlice - I believe they don't have a preference, unless it's for people who don't bother getting rid of them.

actually i dunno, now i'm reading that they don't live for long when they're off the scalp, like no more than 48 hours. still...

Yeah my pharmacist didn't mention linens. She just kept banging on about combing the hair and at the end of the week washing the hair again.

LE SIGH
LE LICE

Pillows, soft toys, towels, linens - all those things have to be treated. What you can wash, wash in hot water and dry on high heat. What you can't wash/dry, seal in plastic bags for 1 week - that gives any eggs time to hatch and die. You have to use a nit comb that has extra-fine teeth to comb out the eggs - they are cemented onto the hair.

Found some small lice. Very tiny. almost didn't notice but kept combing and found the evil things. Argh! Feel like a failure. Sprayed so those will die but the EGGS. urgh

Don't feel like a failure. You're doing all the right things. When the Kiddo was kindergarten age, she brought home a raging case of head lice. God, it was wretched. She has (and had) very thick, very curly hair, and nothing seemed to work. Ultimately, we ended up with this homemade concoction her doctor made, involving (I don't remember exactly - something weird and awful like kerosene or creosote or tar or something.) Had to scrub it into the poor kid's hair, then (believe it or not) the WORST part was getting it out. I washed her head over and over and over with harsh laundry detergent.

It was awful. And yeah, I felt like a failure and a bad mom, too. Poor kid has a nickel-sized bare spot on her scalp to this day, and I feel a little bit guilty every time I catch a glimpse of it.

Bottom line, though: Lice happen. They happen to clean families and dirty families. They're not some moral judgment, however much it may seem like it. They're just bugs. Icky, nasty, horrible bugs, but just bugs.

Hang in there. This, too, shall pass.

Oh, and I second Jaq's advice. Wash everything. Everything.

it really will and it happens to evverrrybody. also just bc you found small eggs doesn't mean the problem is back 100%.

HUGS.

wait til worms happen.

How to spend £414 on getting rid of head lice.

pic is classic
http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/About/General/2009/10/21/1256137407630/head-lice-treatment-001.jpg

Our boy had it really bad when he was about 4 or 5, really bad. And it took a lot of patience and combing from Mrs.T to rid him of the bastids. We did virtually shave his head (a no.1 skinhead cut anyway) which made it easier to see the blighters. He loved his (virtually) bald pate but later reacted vs.it (see picture thread for info). There's just no easy solution, at least not one that works for everyone.

Oh, and I second Jaq's advice. Wash everything. Everything.

Apparently it's not necessary. I change clothes every day (and they do get washed).

Yesterday I found a small one. So that's not as bad as an adult lice as the tiny ones can't lay eggs (yet. -> Proof I'm rapidly becoming an expest on the bastards.

I'll go to the pharmacy to get my hair checked again. (Husband has major visual handicap, so he can't see and is thus pretty relaxed about it. har).

What I did wrong was the haircondictionar method. Basically you use tons of that shit and not wash it out: you comb the lice, eggs and conditioner out. Then and only then you wash the hair. And comb again.

LE FUCKING SIGH.

The only funny thing: Ophelia keeps saying she has MICE in her hair. If only! Would be tons easier. ;-)

Ugh -- daughter was just sent home from school with them. THis weekend is going to suck.

Hah! After all's said and done, I realize it ain't such a big deal. Saying this cause the lice have gone away. As soon as they reappear, I'm gonna go mental again. hah My husband went bananas cause I was constantly hovering around O's head all the time.

They suck badly but kids at a certain age just seem to pick them up on the regular, basically cos there must be some parents out there who don't give a fuck

Yeah, friend of mine works in this centre for abused/mentally handicapped kids. Apparently some kids have it the whole flipping year cause the parents don't give a shit! (This isn't as bad as the abuse she told me about: some kids are physically behind because of the abuse. How sad is that? And also the mental abuse which fucks'em up just as badly. I... words fail me.)

wait til worms happen.

LOL. Rereading the thread, I realize I didn't notice this line... and it did happen! Like a week after the lice. Worms are just god damn awful. Make lice appear like a trivial thing.