LICE again!

[Gizmo]

OK - I admit it, I am paranoid about lice!!!

Since we can go anywhere in Aus - as long as we can find jobs of course, I would like to put the lice-infested areas on the "not a good idea to go to" list.

[MzT]

My kids have been to three schools here, and at each one it's been a problem from time to time. The big thing is that you treat it at home, but other parents don't seem to be as diligent with their kids, and the cycle just keeps continuing. My daughter has stood behind a girl waiting at the tuck shop who's hair was literally crawling with them... It seems to have calmed down lately, but there was a stage at the beginning of the year when I was spending a fortune on the different treatments, and then hours on combing out the hair and checking for lice... ugh, it's a nasty business.

[Enrica]

There are lice problems thruogh out Australia, the is no and hard fast area that you can say is lice free.

You learn to live with it and treat the problem when and if it arises.

[AndreaL]

Sorry, but I don't think there are any lice free areas in the world!

The only hair that lice can not live on is very curly, kinky hair( according to an article I read and I assume this means ethnic types of kinky hair) apparently they need a smooth hair shaft to cling to.

Girls tend to get them more as they sit closer together and often have long hair where lice can hide well.

Boys who use hair gel don't seem to have a problem as the lice can't move through the gel.

I became a bit of an expert earlier this year when my daughter got them for the first time, here in Albany! Yuck.

If you do end up in that unfortunate situation the best treatment is a good old fashioned nit comb, try and add tea tree oil and lavender to shampoos as a maintenance measure.

The eggs are terrible to get rid of, you will see them glued to the hair about one inch from the scalp.

A vinegar rinse did seem to soften the glue, but combing and wiping onto a tissue got the most.

Don't panic and wash all the bedding, lice die if they are 12 hours without a host, if you want to be extra careful, put the bedding and pillows into the drier at 60 degree heat for 10 minutes and any little remaining suckers will fry.

And remember, lice don't care if the head is clean or dirty.

AndreaL

Edited June 15, 2008 by AndreaL

[GraytoAuz]

Both my girls have curly hair and got it! The older one lost her curls and are no longer gets it - now the small one with curls gets it.

Edited June 14, 2008 by GraytoAuz

[Nilo]

Even the British Princes' got them!! Hiar lice are everywhere and part of growing up I suppose!!??

[Mara]

Just makes me wonder, I never had them as a child, but both my son's did, in junior school, mmmmmmmmm. Horrible things!

[Gizmo]

I realize that Hair lice is something which occurs everywhere, but some areas are more prone to it than others -and I'd like to know which areas are worse.

For instance, Cape Town only has outbreaks every now and then, whereas up north in some places, it seems to be a frequent problem.

I never had lice as a child, neither did my brother or our close friends. The idea of parasites living in my childs hair just freaks me out!!!

Funny - re the royal family having lice... when I was in school one of my friends was British. She commented that in SA, having lice was a rare occurrence (at least in our school it was), yet having fleas in your house was par for the course. She said that in SA, fleas were just a part of life (note this was before frontline or advantage), yet lice were considered this awful thing! She said that it was the opposite in England - lice were a common thing, whereas having fleas in ones house was unthinkable!!!

[Eva]

Well it seems to be rife in Toowoomba. There is always some kid at school with lice and then it goes round and round. And because the school can't do much about it it will continue! In RSA the teachers used to check all the kids hair if one child got it, they were sent home and could not return without a clearance certificate from the clinic.

Here the parents say they have treated the kids and the next day they are back at school. For a country that is big on 'policing' this is one area there is no control.

I listen to reading at my son's school and one day, with a kid sitting next to me in the sunshine I could see all the nits in his hair. I mentioned it to the teacher and she kind of shrugged it off and told me they don't jump...

[EricaC]

Yep, Enrica hit the nail on the head with her reply!!!!!!

Erica

[Dax]

Headlice are found everywhere in Oz, same in RSA.

Here in Adelaide they are not seasonal, but there seems to be more infestations in winter, when kids are less inclined to wash their hair.

Dax

[Monica_]

My kids have been "lice free" for 1 year now. Someone on the forum gave the advice of frontline, I use that once a term, but, when I wash my kids hair, I use shampoo, conditioner, and on top of that I put the "leave on" conditioner on as well, and I honestly haven't have a lice problem for just over a year now.

Monica

[Tracy]

My kids have been "lice free" for 1 year now. Someone on the forum gave the advice of frontline, I use that once a term, but, when I wash my kids hair, I use shampoo, conditioner, and on top of that I put the "leave on" conditioner on as well, and I honestly haven't have a lice problem for just over a year now.

Monica

FRONTLINE???

Isn't that for ticks and fleas??

(sorry, but I'm chuckling at this one.... )

[Nicki G]

Urgh my head started itching just reading this post - hmm the mind is very powerful. My boys got lice for the first time ever last year - it is worse here in the hotter months, I treated them with lice shampoo and sat with the comb, I now check regulary - I am certiainly going to try the tea tree oil in the shampoo trick though - spot on idea

Happy itching

[sa2auz]

Hi

We had a outbreak in my sons class beginning of the year and now about a month ago so the weather didn't seem to make any difference. We used the lice shampoo etc but the only thing that worked was combing out the eggs. My eldest son never got it but he uses more gel than you can imagine and I am pretty sure a mouse would get stuck to his head if it got near. I have a bottle of water with a few drops of Teatree in it and I spray the kids hats and heads every so often with it. I think I will be putting a few drops in the shampoo also, it is not an easy thing to get rid of and its pretty common. Also apparently they don't like coloured hair and the hairdrier so thats worth a try. I think for boys cutting it really short also helps as there is less hair to stick to and comb through for eggs.

Yuck

[Michele R]

I got it when I was in primary school one year many many many moons ago. I had long hair and had to wash it with that horrible stuff they gave you back then and then sit outside in the sun while my mom painstakingly combed through my hair with that fine comb. It took forever and I didn't dare moan! Since then I am terrified of lice!

[Jill]

Oh Boy, the time I have sat getting lice out of my daughters hair, who has beautiful thick long hair, please let her not get any in her last 4 months of school. We haven't had any in Australia yet and we have been here almost two years, now I am really tempting fate!

Jill

[rozellem]

Hi, I'm a hairdresser and have worked in SA, UK and now in Aus. In SA my own school had in once and I got it when I was 8. I only saw it once as a working hairdresser in SA and I worked in a salon in Stellenbosch for 4 years. Then over my 11year career in London it was absolutely rife, and I worked in very smart areas. Even famous peoples kids had them! People said that it was because teachers were not allowed to inspect the kids and send a letter home with the child with the lice. Rather, if they see it, or a parent tells them their kids got it, they have to send letters out to the whole school asking parents to inspect voluntarily and act if they want to. This way, if they dont get the letter or cant be bothered to check their kids, the chain never gets broken. In Aus it looks like there is more than SA but less than the UK. Parents seem to be quite vigilant and come in to our salon to purchase the organic range of treatments and preventative sprays called Ecokids. Its biodegradable and 100% natural versus the extremely chemical and harmful stuff you get at the chemist. It apparently stays in your system for years. The European Union has just banned one of the active ingredients in lice preparation over there that is still in normal Aussie lice treatments. The lice likes sitting in the area behind the ears going down to the neck. Use the fine tooth comb when the kids sit and watch a video or something on TV, but do comb it properly, before the fine tooth comb, with a big normal brush to get tangles out. With girls, keep their hair plaited and tied to school. Remember that you want to make the surface catchment area of the hair as small as possible for lice to land on. And if your head starts itching, let your partner check the areas I mentioned, the worst cases I have ever seen had been on moms. They are parasites and suck your blood, and are not fussy at all. They like clean, dirty, straight, curly, blonde, dark,.......hair. An egg takes about a week to hatch, 8days to become mature and will then lay eggs again. Not much of a life hey. Your head itch from something in their saliva. Need I say more.

[Monica_]

FRONTLINE???

Isn't that for ticks and fleas??

(sorry, but I'm chuckling at this one.... )

Yip, same one. I read about it on the forum, a doctor (not vet ) gave this formulite the advise, I tried it on my own head first, to see if I got any reaction. I sprayed my hands and wiped my fingers through my hair. When I had no reaction, I used it on my children, only about 3 sprays on the hands, and with the "leave on conditioner" I honestly have had NO headlice on the kids for just over a year now. Like I said before I use the Frontline only every 3 months.

Here is the link to the original post where I read about frontline:

http://www.saaustralia.org/index.php?showt...mp;hl=frontline

(page 2 of the threat)

Monica

(Edit: to add link)

Edited July 22, 2009 by Monica_v_R

[Goldie]

We too have had a hard time with lice in the past year and a half. My girls have been to 3 schools in 2 different states and it seems to be a problem everywhere. The strange thing is that my younger daughter is the one who they seem to love. The older one had a couple of times in the beginning, but now nothing. I spend hours every few weeks coming through with tea tree, lavender and conditioner, but they always seem to find her again. Will definitely try the frontline.

Went to a class concert recently and my daughter was sitting behind a girl who was scratching furiously. Her hair actually looked like a bird's nest from scratching so much. I was making eyes at my daughter and trying to mouth for her to move back, without anyone seeing me. She thought I was telling her to move forward and moved even closer to the girl. By the end, their heads were nearly touching and I was nearly having a fit imagining the little creatures hopping over to fresh blood. I tried to show my daughter by scratching my own head, thinking she'd get the message, but in the end I think I only managed to convince any parents around me that I had lice....lol. Have no idea what the play was about

[Eva]

I tried to show my daughter by scratching my own head, thinking she'd get the message, but in the end I think I only managed to convince any parents around me that I had lice....lol. Have no idea what the play was about

I can just picture you... scratching away!