kristaphillips I’m gonna make this short and sweet today.
Lice.
That pretty much sums up it all.
And yes, I’m woman enough to tell y’all because we all know that it isn’t about not bathing enough or anything else of that nature. The frustrating thing is that usually you fear this when kiddos are in school, but they haven’t been! But who knows where they picked it up from. *big sigh*
It obviously started with Lacy because hers was…. incredible. There is no other word for it.
The Karalynn and Gabby both have it, as do I. I think hubby found like one on him, and thankfully I haven’t seen any on Annabelle, KNOCK ON WOOD.
Please pray for us. We found it about 9 last night, and I was up till after 2 in the morning cleaning hair and washing sheets and trying to delice as much as humanly possible. I still have a TON to do this morning, and I’m about dead on my feet tired.
I also *gulp* cut my hair. Hubby was already asleep and I couldn’t go through that long mess all by myself, so I took a pair if very dull scissors and chopped it off to chin length.
Oh, and I have no clue how to cut hair, so chop is a very appropriate word. Until I can get myself to a hair cutting place, no comments on my… unique… hairdo okay? Oh, and I also conveneitnly forgot that chinlength wet is much shorter than chin length dry. GRRRRR. NOT PLEASED.
This is not good. Not good at all.
I hate lice.
And I think I might seriously go insane today. I don’t drink alcohol… and today is an example of why I don’t. I’d be chugging it back big time if I did! (Instead, my Pepsi and I are keeping close to each other…)
PRAISE: I have to think of a positive, right?!?!?
I’m SO SO SO thankful we caught it when we did… we are going on a mini vacation next week to see my inlaws in NC and celebrate annabelle’s birthday. If we’d found this right before we were to leave…. I probably would have given into the whole alcohol thing.
Oh, Krista!!! I'm sooooo sorry!!! Praying for your sanity.
Krista we have all been there…it totally sucks and takes forever to finally get completely rid of them. We went through it with my youngest this year and had to go through 2 or 3 treatments for her. I've heard that it helps to deter it by using hair products like gel and hairspray…..don't know if that's true or not…..
Yeah… don't care how bad it is on our hair, we're shampooing every day just in case for a few days.
Load your car up with the stuffed animals, pillows, ect and let them sit in the HOT sun with all the widows closed for 2 hours. It will kill the lice if it gets over 130 degrees and that's easy to do in the south!
GOOD IDEA!!!!! The kit we got said to put them in a plastic bag, seal, and set them aside for FOUR WEEKS! YIKES!
I'm a school nurse and see lice a lot. Often it is a month or two before they become numerous enough that you notice them. A suggestion is to get a lice comb or a flea comb (they are usually cheaper) and comb your daughters' hair every few weeks especially while school is in session. That way if they do have lice you will catch them early. If you do find lice, comb every day for a couple of weeks and you won't have a problem. I always comb my hair with a flea comb for a couple of weeks after I have combed lice out of a kid's hair.
This was SO INCREDIBLY helpful!!!! We will be buying a flea comb tomorrow!!!!
I'm with you. I hate lice. My daughter had it and she has the thickest and longest hair and she didn't want it cut. She was twelve….so we combed and shampooed. They had to call in a script and have the shampoo compounded that finally worked for her. Then Logan got it last year at 1 1/2 not fun. I was itching and shampooing my hair with the lice shampoo every other day…..and I never found any on me so call that crazy. I didn't care if the shampoo made my hair fall out or if I chopped my off I just didn't want to deal with them. Praying for you guys.
I am TOTALLY with you. I begged my kids to let me just cut their hair… no go. but I wacked my own off no problem. MUCH preferred to hours upon hours of combing through that mess!!!
So sorry to hear that! Bless your heart. Praying for energy and for rest. It can be so hard to be mommy–shouldering it all for your little ones.
Yes it can be… They're worth it though:-)
I HATE lice too…had the worst experience in high school and have been paranoid ever since. I'm so glad you found it and I'm sure you'll look very chic with your new haircut. 🙂 Take care of yourself though…I hope you have some friends to help somehow? *hugs*
HA! No one offered… but I don't blame them for a second! I wouldn't offer for them either, I don't believe! Lice is kinda like having the flu… you might drop off a meal or something but you leave it on the doorstep and run! (Maybe that isn't quite christian.. but a Momma's gotta protect her cubs… and her sanity!)
So sorry to hear that 🙁 The only way to get rid of them is comb, comb and comb some more. Praying you eradicate every single one of them quickly!
I. HATE. COMBING.
Sorry. Had to get that off my chest.
I would put tea tree oil in your shampoo, it kills them, mayp haor treatments work well too and leave your hair nice and refreshed once you get the mayo out.
But really tea tree oil works very well
yeah, i'm going to try the tea tree oil… I think we killed them all but just in case, I thought we'd do that for a few days as "preventative" measures.
Yep, after shampooing and combing, suffocate them with mayonnaise. Saturate hair and let it sit for several hours. Also, they do not like coconut or blow dryers. Good-luck! Darla
Thanks! I was thinking about trying to blow dry… a ltitle nervous that I'd "blow" them different places, but I think the heat would help!
Oh no! As if you needed something else to do. I put a few drops of tea tree oil in all of our shampoo bottles and use it year round. A school nurse gave us this suggestion. So far no one has ever had lice, so I guess it works. Good luck!
Krista, I posted this on FB but I wanted to put it here too just to make sure you see it.
As a teacher I have to deal with lice scares all the time (and the word still makes my skin crawl!), but the parents in my school turned me on to a really great preventative.
http://www.fairytaleshaircare.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=107
We had one student with lice and everyone else started spraying this in their hair. Thank the Lord no one else got them.
My poor girls used to go to school every.single.day with tea tree oil in their hair. They're in their 20s now and I'm not sure they've forgiven me yet. The Fairy Tale stuff smells better. It has tea tree oil but it has rosemary and some other stuff too that are also supposed to repel the lice.
Good luck. I'm praying for your sanity.
I saw your comment! Thanks! I'm totally going to get some of that spray stuff too!!!
Oh you poor, sweet, dear. But I just bet once you find that beautician, you're going to come away with the cutest hair style EVER. Just you wait and see. There's always a silver lining. Hugs!!
HA! I'm kinda dreading it… they're gonna be like, "WHAT IN THE WORLD DID YOU DO?????" It's bad… very bad…
Krista, you have NO idea what a blessing your sharing is. My boys had their first experience with lice earlier this week and–no kidding–I felt like the world was ending. I went crazy washing and vacuuming everything in sight. I may have traumatized my kids by my obsessiveness. 🙂 I also condemned myself as a horrible Mom. Obviously, I didn't have all the facts.
Their heads are pretty much shaved now, and I think we're deliced. lol I did buy a green Herbal Essence shampoo with tea tree oil because my mom said it killed fleas. It was a lot cheaper than some of the specialty shampoos. I think it's working.
Anyway, just wanted to thank you for sharing. I know I'm not alone and not a horrible mom. Thanks!
Ugh lice…I've never had lice before and never wish to! Hope you get those creepy itchy critters off you all soon!! 🙂
I got it for the FIRST time when I was nursing my youngest son, so we could do nothing harsh chemical wise. I learned a TON. Got rid of them fairly easily with lots of attention.
1 – Tea Tree oil works – put it in shampoo/conditioner and they'll stay away.
2 – hair shorter than an inch will NOT have lice because it is too short to hide in – thus your husband and baby don't have any if at all. 😉
3 – Olive oil – soak your hair, and wait as long as you can with it in a PLASTIC shower cap…with an old towel around your shoulders to catch drips, and NO leaning back on couches you want to keep. 😉
4 – bag stuffed animaly/sheets/pillows that can not be washed on hot and dried on hot and put in garage for 2 weeks (or 6 like I did). 😉
5 – comb hair daily, while sitting on an old sheet AFTER the olive oil treatment. Dh had to do this for me as I have long curly hair. Do daily for a week, then every other day for another week. Repeat any time you feel itchy on the scalp (like I did for months). 😉
Read the labels CAREFULLY if you used the chemicals, the time between treatments needs to be strictly adhered to.
Oh…and the sprays for things like your couch – don't leave near your dishes on the counter where little hands can spray. It results in a phone call to poison control. 😉