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Our new kids came four weeks ago today! The 9yo girl has had an itchy head most of that time. I've checked her head many times and found nothing. Today I found what could be a nit. I searched my other girls and found similar things on two of them. They are not at the scalp. They are probably 1 - 1 1/2 inches from the root. I don't see anything on any of their scalps.
I read up on lice. It seems that she should be crawling with lice if she is that itchy. Is this lice? Should I treat? Help.
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Sounds like lice. The nit is a tiny thing that is usually found 1 inch or so from the scalp. Sometimes you won't see the live lice because they are small and they move fast. I would treat them and comb with the lice comb. You will see instantly if the comb is removing anything from their hair.
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CaddoRose
Sounds like lice. The nit is a tiny thing that is usually found 1 inch or so from the scalp. Sometimes you won't see the live lice because they are small and they move fast. I would treat them and comb with the lice comb. You will see instantly if the comb is removing anything from their hair.
Curious what your plan is. I don't have that problem now, but I have had in the past when I had daycare kids and I'm ALWAYS so paranoid. I have a 9 yo girl with waist length hair and make her wear it braided all the time, but 'just in case'...what is your plan? I would love to know something besides the standard treatment that you can never be sure worked until days, to weeks later and then you have to start all over again. I fear the thought of head lice....
I bought a Robi Comb ([url=http://www.amazon.com/LiceGuard-Robi-Comb-Electronic-Lice/dp/B000P6TF8W/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1349092680&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=robicomband]Amazon.com: LiceGuard Robi Comb Electronic Lice Comb: Health & Personal Care[/url]) and used that on the chief suspect. Then I put on lots conditioner with lots of Melalueca oil added. I did this to all seven kids. I put shower caps on them, and they hung out for about 3 hours. I combed them out with a lice comb before they washed their hair. I repeated this two weeks later.
I also washed all their bedding, blankets, hair things, etc. Anything I couldn't wash like stuffed animals and pillows, I put in the attic for 2 weeks. I also did some spot checking with the Robi Comb here and there. I should probably do some more!
I'm still nervous, but it seems like they are gone. I used the Melalueca oil and conditioner because, from my research, people had better luck with this than the typical pharmacy remedies, and I had some on hand. The Robi Comb seemed like a good second line of defense.
Does the oil kill the live lice?
I just got 3 new placements, tonight, and they all had lice. One of them (an 8 yr old girl with very long hair) had so many :eek: that when I was applying the shampoo it looked almost like someone had 'peppered' her scalp---that's how thick the lice were!!!!
After rinsing her hair, in the tub, the bottom of the tub was covered with dead lice. In all my years of doing daycare and foster care this is by far the worst case of lice I have ever seen. Tomorrow I will be spending a good amount of time nit-picking. :woohoo:
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Oh that is so gross! I would definitely invest in a Robi Comb. I think the oil kills them. It is pretty strong. I could still smell it vaguely 1-2 weeks later. They also recommend putting a little in the shampoo or conditioner that you use all the time to keep them from coming back.
We definitely had a light case. I found nits on three of the girls, but I never saw any live or dead except for one on the Robi Comb. There were a lot of white specks on her shirt after I used the Robi Comb. It might have been cooked lice or eggs. I didn't inspect her shirt before I started so I wasn't sure it if was already there.
A lot of the people who recommended the oil lived overseas where lice were more common so they had lots of experience treating it.
Good luck! You definitely have your work cut out for you.