Head Lice??

[MiasMum]

I think my Mia has head lice!!!! I guess that goes hand in hand with starting prep. The thing is ...I dont know what it looks like.
She is scratching her head, and when I check it looks like there is heaD LICE THERE BUT i'M NOT SURE IF ITS DANDRUFF OR NOT. (sorry caps lock on ) In my opinion it looks like it mayby eggs but I did find 1 'thing' crawling in her hair and pulled it out...Not sure if it was just a 'bug' of some sort...Oh this sounds realy discusting, we are clean people..REALY!! I have never had to deal with this as a parent so not too sure what I'm looking for.
H~E~L~P!!

[moneypenny]

sorry, cant help but laugh. Its ok, there is nothing wrong with your hygine!

Lice LOVE clean hair. Just adore it. What you need to do is get a fine tooth comb and some conditioner. Cover all the hair with the conditioner, it will stun any lice. Then comb out from the roots with the comb right up against the hair. Wipe on a tissue or paper towel. You should be able to see lice.

You should see any eggs usualy around the nape of the neck, fringe and behind the ears. They should be a bit like dark flecks stuck on the hair about 1cm from the head. Try to use two finger nails to pull them along and off the hair shaft. This is what takes the time. If you dont get all the eggs, you will have to do this every couple of days. Even if you think you have all the eggs, you need to repeat it in 7 and then 10 days. That way any eggs will have hatched.

Always tie her hair up for school. I use a spray bottle with water and a mix of rosemary, lavender and tea tree essential oils in my daughters hair every morning. I also put the same oils in a bottle of conditioner that I use on her hair every 2 weeks or so.....

All I can think of right now, I hope that helps

[moneypenny]

Here are some pics to help you

These are eggs


A close up of nits

[Marmee]

I also had to giggle at the comment that you are clean people. Yep - lice are gunna love you then

Moneypenny - when using that essential oil mix, have you ever had lice?

[Marmee]

Oh bugger! Thanks for those photos, S! Now I'm scratching my head!!!

[moneypenny]

hehehehe, glad to be of help
We have only had the odd nit here and there when I get slack about using it. K has blonde hair down to her bum so you can imagine that I am pretty vigilant about it. We brush her hair and plait it after a spot check in the spots I mentioned every morning. We havent had a real outbreak for about 18months. For some reason though, the boys just dont seem to get them

[MiasMum]

HeeHee...Glad I could bring a smile to your faces, LOL!
Well, Looking at the pics it does kinda look like it...just not as many. Hmmmm.....I might to the conditioner thing and see, have to do it tomorrow tho cos Mimi is in bed already.
I like the sound of the essential oil mix...I am so big on essential oils, I'll have to mix it up and use everyday. Mia has LOOOOOONNNG beautiful hair that I usually tie up very tightly becuse if the nit thing, heehee, arrh well as I said, it goes hand in hand with prep I guess.

Oh, yeah...and I too am scratching my head from the pics as well, thanks for that...LOL!

[Marmee]

Make sure you strip her bed tomorrow and hot wash the sheets - throw in some of the essential oils that MP suggested Important to kill any lice that may be in her bed now. Ewwwwww - sounds devine, heh!

[moneypenny]

Ahhh, that was one thing that I forgot. You do NOT need to strip the bed and hot wash. Lice cant live for more than 24hours off the host and really get dehydrated after about 6 hours. They just dont leave the head unless it is for another head. You can do it if you would feel better, but they are sticky little buggers and it is just a wasted effort really. Hats, brushes, combs and hairbands, yes. Make really sure they are hot washed and free of hair

[Marmee]

Well, there is debunked another myth

So - they can live on dead hair, but not cotton or other materials? Correct?