I wanted to share a few things I've learned, because now my mission in life is to help everyone I know prevent this or deal with it when it hits. (And I pray for everyone on the planet that it is prevention, and nothing else.)
Lice 101: according to Emily.
What you are looking for
Itching of the scalp may or may not accure. In Daisy's case, it did, which prompted me to check her hair. At first, I didn't know what I was looking for, so I checked on line and even made 2 visits to the pharmacys here in town to ask questions. What I found were tiny, clear, irradesent balls stuck to her hair about an inch from her scalp. These are the eggs that HAVE TO BE REMOVED from the hair. They have about a week life span until they hatch. When these were found, I pulled the entire strand of hair out, instead of combing it out ( I didn't want to risk losing the egg back in the hair, so I felt better removing it completely)
When bugs are found
First, pray. I mean pray like you have never prayed before. Seeing them for the first time is frightening. They vary in size too. The smaller ones are newly hatched, where the larger ones have been in longer feeding off the scalp. The first time I saw the bugs, they were very small. I was able to part the hair, place a piece of scotch tape on the scalp and pull it off with the bug attatched to the piece of tape. For the fast moving suckers, pray even more and keep reading.
Treatments
I'm not judging anyone's prefrence to go chemical or natural when it comes to killing these little guys. I did both, several times, both ways. The first 2 treatments everyone recieved were chemical based. The Walmart brand of shampoo was used. It did kill the bugs! It remained on the scalp for 10 minutes. ( we saw them wash out and land on the bottom of the tub, a horrible image still lodged in my brain)The 3rd treatment was natural based that included shampoo that remained on the head for 4 hours. It included a daily prevention spray as well. We also made 4 batches of homemade shampoo that consists of: 1/3 cup vinigar, 1/3 cup coconut conditioner, 2 teaspoons of tree tea oil & 1/4 cup Dawn liquid dish soap. This could be left on overnight with a shower cap, but we've just used it as normal shampoo and rinsed out after a few minutes- I'm not sure how long is sufficiant.
On the natural side, I also purchased a Robi comb(From Fred Meyer for $ 24.99)It detects & instantly kills any living bugs. It is a battery opperated comb that can be reused over and over. I loved this little guy. Although the buzzing sound was super hard on my sensitive ears, it zapped the bugs and they came off on the comb so I could brush them off and resume combing. (For huge bugs, it killed them, but were not stuck to the comb, they were too big to stick in the teeth of the comb)I thought it was worth the money!
Prevention
Just when you thought you were cured, the fun really begins. Combing for hours and days and weeks searching for more eggs. The awful part is the shampoo kills the living bugs, but does nothing for the eggs! Those have to be manually removed within 7 days or those ugly things hatch and the awfulness starts ALL OVER AGAIN! There are things that help remove them- like dawn dish soap because it breaks down the stickyness and can be combed out easier, but nothing kills the eggs. That's why you have to keep checking the hair for at least a week or two, just to make sure nothing has hatched. Tips for small kids: tape pictures to the shower walls so they have something to look at. Get comfortable- we had a stool they sat on in the tub while we picked the eggs out. Put a lamp near the head for good lightening or go outside. The eggs can be hard to see, but when the light hits them just right, they have a shine to them. The nit combs work great or any small toothed comb should be fine.
Cleaning
I went crazy when this hit. I washed and dryed 110 loads in 3 weeks- most of it done within the first 2. I washed almost every single thing in my entire house. If it could go in the washer- it went. EVERYTHING. Even things that i knew in my mind could not be contaminated- was washed. I even washed the hangers & clothing rods clothes had been on. I washed walls, I sprayed harsh chemicals, I sprayed natural things. I dilluted tea tree oil and sprayed in on hair, pillows, car seats, stuffed animals- you name it. I used hundreds of Lysol wipes and disenfecant spray- just to make me feel better. I froze things, I put things in bags for weeks, I threw things away, I bought new pillows, shampooed carpets, couches and cars. I vacummed EVERYTHING. And then I did it about a 100 more times- litterally!I figured I could never be too clean. After weeks of washing, I started doing several loads on high heat in the dryer. 30 minutes in the dryer will kill them, so instead of washing the same sheets for 3 weeks in a row, I started drying them every other day to reduce half of my work load. That helped. Every single day sheets, blankets, pillow cases, stuffed animals- pj's- were washed or dryed. Things were used 1 time and then thrown in the wash. All combs, hairclips & shower caps were washed every single time. There was no sharing of any kind around here- of just about anything for a few weeks!
Even now being symptom free- We still wear shower caps at home, change our clothes if we go out and the shower cap was removed, put all coats & clothes in the dryer if they were worn for a hour or less. All school stuff is dryed or sprayed and clothes are changed right away & hands are washed.
Things to know
*Lice actually like clean hair! So don't wash it everyday. Use hairspary or other products to cause build up so they have a hard time moving around.
*Lice suck blood from your scalp and can only survive a day or 2 off of your scalp. After that, they dehydrate and die.
*Lice do not jump or fly. They move quickly through the hair and are passed mostly through head-to-head contact. (or through things touching the head like:hats or combs.) But, because they can survive off the head for 24-48 hours- they can be on carseats, stuffed animals, bedding, clothes, carpet or furniture.
*Vacuum A TON.
*Your head may or may not itch, so check all family members regular- just to make sure.
*Keep your child home from school, church,play groups etc... until they are nit free. And after that, have the school nurse check them too. And then keep checking at home for weeks.
*Be respectful and contact those you have been in close contact with. They are the worst phone calls to make, and you will freak a lot of people out- but they have the right to know so they can prevent it as much as possible.
*For the OCD type, there is a grieving cycle, I think it's natural. Work through all the phases and accept any feelings, urges or temptations that come. My handwashing was out of control. I was washing AT LEAST 100 times a day. I'm not joking. Often several times in the same minute depending on what I was touching/cleaning. My hands cracked, peeled and dryed out and I didn't even care. I went through bottles of soap, hand sanitizer and bars too.
* This may cost a lot. We spent well over $ 100.00. Just be prepared.
*Invest in shower caps. I bought my 8 packs at the dollar store (Dollar tree) They even have fun colors to choose from- the highlight of our days! I washed them several times and then hung to dry. Eventually they will tear or the elastic will stretch out- so just buy another pack or 4! i also covered my head with a pillowcase because the showercaps didn't cover my entire head with so much hair.
* After washing everything- just drying items for 30 min. may be sufficant. You can also freeze items)
*Consider cutting your hair to make the egg removal easier & faster. I cut 5 to 6 inches off mine, (and it still took/takes over a hour to go through my hair) 3 off Daisy and gave the boys cuts too- even though they were good.
*Use whatever form of therapy you need too to get through it. I choose to vent to my Mom, G-ma, close friends, write and eat a lot.
*Let it be as big as it is. To some, this won't be so bad. To other's- it will be the Mount Everest in your life. Just accept it, do what you can and hold on. I had so many panic attacks I can't even count. I couldn't sleep. I broke down in the bathroom and driving in the car. Sometimes I could talk about it and other times I was so mortified I couldn't go anywhere or look at anyone. Not even the Office helped very much.
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