No, no, no!

[pegkerr]

Both girls have lice. This is what, the fifth or sixth time we've had them? I've lost count.

Shit.

Edited to add: This is not an April's Fools Day joke. I wish.

Comments

[folk.livejournal.com]

*hugs* Oh, Peg, that sucks. I hope they're cleared of it quickly.

[tropes.livejournal.com]

Shit, dude.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

You don't want to know how often Zorinth has had them, nor how often I've caught them from him, not to mention the time his father picked them up and went back and gave them to his entire commune of hippies who don't believe in using poisons -- well, they started off not believing in using them!

Do you want practical advice, or just sympathy? I have plenty of both.

[pegkerr.livejournal.com]

Both would be very welcome. We've battled them before. We'll be putting the nasty stuff on their heads to zap them, of course, but as I understand it, nowadays they tell you to really concentrate your energy on combing and nit removal, rather than spending hours vacumming and bagging and washing every scrap of clothing in the house.

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm extremely sympathetic, I just wish that helped.

What I'd suggest is that you do the poison twice, two weeks apart. You can't get all the eggs out of long hair, it isn't going to happen -- I almost shaved my head, no, really, I almost did -- but if you do it again after two weeks, any eggs will have hatched but not got old enough to lay more eggs of their own. Comb and comb, of course, and get the kids to comb themselves. Nothing will stop them rubbing heads with other kids in school and catching them again that way, so try asking if they'd like really short hair. That worked with Z for a little while, but he is a boy.

Do wash everything, I think telling you not to is a ploy of the poison-makers, who want you to keep buying more. Also, put unwashable toys into purdah for three weeks, even if this means buying one small new one each.

And don't forget to do yourself, even if you don't think you have them, because if you've hugged them you easily can have.

Ugh, nits, ugh, I really hope Zorinth is too old to get them again, but I wouldn't count on it.

At least you only have four people and not an entire commune of shaggy and bearded eco-friendly hippies.

[snippy]

All excellent advice and exactly what I did with my two sons every time they had it (and five or six times is probably in the ballpark, but at least twice they got it again within a month because their *dad* didn't clean his house and car thoroughly).

The other thing I did (only for my kids, though, not me) was to go through their hair every day for the two weeks between poison use, using my fingernails to pull the nits off the hair.

[rabican.livejournal.com]

The other thing I did (only for my kids, though, not me) was to go through their hair every day for the two weeks between poison use, using my fingernails to pull the nits off the hair.

Isn't that where the phrase "nit-picking" came from?

Sorry, that was a little random. Good luck and my sympathies, Peg.

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

What I'd suggest is that you do the poison twice, two weeks apart.

I heartily endorse this suggestion!

[porphyrin.livejournal.com]

Sorry to hear it. :(

What a pain-- especially the bagging up the blankets & cushions and suchlike.

[sleigh.livejournal.com]

I think it's a rare kid who doesn't pick up lice from school at one point or another. Both of our kids did... *hugs*

[malinaldarose.livejournal.com]

Ugh. What a pain. My brother's kids keep picking them up at school -- they've had them several times, now.

[lizardek.livejournal.com]

Ugh, what a nightmare! My sister's daughter went through this, and it took them FOREVER to get rid of them. :( The whole family and the house had to be practically firebombed. I hope you've gotten some good advice on how to be rid of them. Good luck!

[misia.livejournal.com]

Ugh, ugh, what a total pain in the arse. I vividly remember getting sent home from school by the school nurse when I was in the second grade, and not even knowing what lice were at the time.

Set washer on HOT, Mr. Chekov!

[cakmpls.livejournal.com]

Would it cheer you up if I remind you that you have only two kids? No, I didn't think so.

We went through it countless times, with four kids in day care, then school. Yuck times many. But they do get to an age when this doesn't seem to happen anymore--change of behavior? I don't know, but something. At least yours are fairly close in age, so once the first one gets past it, the second soon will. Imagine having to tell your teenager that he/she must go through the treatment because a 5-year-old sister has lice . . .

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

K went through this over and over, and she has these masses of fine, tangley hair that go almost to her waist. Mine is down to my knees. It was a major issue every single time. We never shaved our heads, but there were times it sounded like a great idea.

We used spray on the couch cushions instead of bagging them, and that worked pretty well. Bagging up all the stuffed animals was traumatic every single time.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this. It makes me itch just thinking about it.

[penmage.livejournal.com]

Major sympathies. We've had a few infestations over the years, and it's never pretty. Here's a bit of advice that works really well, if it isn't really pretty.

My mom hates the poisons - she thinks they don't work and are bad for you - so she discovered a new, poison-free method. The method? Margarine. You lather the kid's hair with margarine, wrap it in seran wrap and cover it with a shower cap so it doesn't leak all over everything - and then leave it in for a few hours. This suffocates the lice, and afterwards, when you comb it out, they are all dead. You then wash your hair and have nice, clean, shiny, lice-free hair (as disgusting as the margarine is, it's really good for your hair.)

It's nasty, but it works. It worked in our house (six kids with long hair!) when nothing else did.

Also, this goes without saying, but put stuffed animals/clothes that might be infested in the dryer to kill the lice on them.

Good luck, and major symapthies again.

[sundancekid.livejournal.com]

Ugh. I've had it before too - whole family came back from Disney World with it - so I sympathize. Nix worked for us, but I know people who said that if nothing else will kill them, mayo will. But since that's pretty messy, I think it's generally left as a last resort.

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

Yup, we went through it when my kids were small, too. Huge bummer.

K.

[morganmalfoy.livejournal.com]

I feel so lucky to have never had lice, or have an outbreak with my kids at camp. I've seen how long and frustrating it can be, so you definitely have my sympathy.

-M

[ame-chan.livejournal.com]

the licemeister comb is a godsend - if you don't already have one, google it and order one. I swear, it's the best thing we ever got during our "lice years" when the kids were younger and dealing with this stuff.

[ceilidh]

Grrr, as an elementary teacher I encounter this problem ALL the time. Grr. What infuriates me is that some parents DON'T do all the steps and get everyone else reinfested all over again. *tears hair out*

[kishmish.livejournal.com]

*hug* Ugh I had them when I was little..all I can say is that my mother used to oil my hair and then comb through to pick them all out. Good luck.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Oh, argh. I'm so sorry.

I had lice a bunch of times when I was a kid, and a couple more times as an adult. I remember vividly how awful it was.

Poor Peg. Poor kids. Argh, argh, argh.

[sheryll.livejournal.com]

I *so* know this nightmare. Nyssa got them a week or so before Andy's and my wedding. And gave them to me. We spent every night combing each other's hair. Not fun.

*hugs*