nits on a baby HELP

My 4 month old has nits in her hair. Her big sister (22 mo) has lice
and nits. I'm brushing DD1's hair with a fine comb every day and get
them out still they persist. I haven't tried any household or OTC cure
yet. Please suggest what I can try on an almost two year old and a 4
month old.

Thanks.

wrote:

My 4 month old has nits in her hair. Her big sister (22 mo) has lice
and nits. I'm brushing DD1's hair with a fine comb every day and get
them out still they persist. I haven't tried any household or OTC cure
yet. Please suggest what I can try on an almost two year old and a 4
month old.

Thanks.


For your older child - are you just combing? I don't think that's
likely to do any good. (I went through a long-drawn-out lice episode
when my daughter was 6.) If I were you, I'd use Nix (OTC) and then
daily comb-outs; or, if you really want to avoid the OTC treatments,
saturate your child's hair with olive oil, leave it overnight, then
shampoo and comb out. For the 4-month-old - to be truthful, I'd
probably shave the baby's head. Otherwise, you could try the oil
treatment there, too.

Clisby

Ick.

Use a nit-comb or use your hands to get ALL the nits off them, every
day. Oil their hair after the daily de-nitting. (Any oil will do.
Canola oil smells pretty neutral.) Check yourself and daddy, too, as
nits have a nasty habit of travelling. Wash ALL places where the kids'
hair may have been. Winter jackets. Clothing. Scrub the playroom.
The whole nine yards.

Wash their sheets and blankets etc .... I think hot water with bleach is
sufficient? A dry cleaner for things that can't be washed.

Stuffed items that can't be washed I THINK can be put in sealed bags in
the freezer for a few days to kill the nits, but I'm not 100% certain
about that.

Good luck.
--Beth Kevles

http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html -- a page for the milk-allergic
Disclaimer: Nothing in this message should be construed as medical
advice. Please consult with your own medical practicioner.

NOTE: No email is read at my MIT address. Use the AOL one if you would
like me to reply.

"Beth Kevles" wrote in message
...


Wash ALL places where the kids'
hair may have been. Winter jackets. Clothing. Scrub the playroom.
The whole nine yards.


And don't forget the carseats, car, all furniture, pillows, rugs, etc.

HD

Clisby wrote:
wrote:

My 4 month old has nits in her hair. Her big sister (22 mo) has
lice
and nits. I'm brushing DD1's hair with a fine comb every day and
get
them out still they persist. I haven't tried any household or OTC
cure
yet. Please suggest what I can try on an almost two year old and a
4
month old.

Thanks.


For your older child - are you just combing? I don't think that's
likely to do any good. (I went through a long-drawn-out lice
episode
when my daughter was 6.) If I were you, I'd use Nix (OTC) and then
daily comb-outs; or, if you really want to avoid the OTC treatments,
saturate your child's hair with olive oil, leave it overnight, then
shampoo and comb out. For the 4-month-old - to be truthful, I'd
probably shave the baby's head. Otherwise, you could try the oil
treatment there, too.

Clisby

I would not use chemical headlice treatments on kids that young -- no
way. We recently had lice on a 9 YO and a 6 YO; I cannot imagine having
them on babies (I also have a baby, but luckily, she never got them). I
think you really need to clean clean clean and then be persistent with
the combing out. Do you have an excellent lice comb? Search the web for
products; try www.headlice.org

FWIW, we did use the chemicals on our older kids and my son was cured
with that but my DD, who has a lot more to start, was not. Rather than
repeatedly chemical-izing her, we moved on to the olive oil tretament
regimen (saturate head with the oil, cover with saran and then a towel,
send to bed. Next a.m., comb out with lice comb, wash. Repeat every 4
days for 3 weeks. The oil smothers the live lice. Nothing kills the
eggs, so you do it over every 4 days to smother any newly hatched live
before they can lay eggs.

However, this metghod would not seem do-able for kids the OP's kids'
ages. They could choke on the saran, and it's incredibly messy. Combing
out is a HUGE pain, but supposedly it works. I agree with Clisby about
eliminating the baby's hair; I'd even cut the toddler's extremely
short.

Good luck!!

Clisby wrote:
[snip]
For your older child - are you just combing? I don't think that's
likely to do any good. (I went through a long-drawn-out lice episode
when my daughter was 6.) If I were you, I'd use Nix (OTC) and then
daily comb-outs; or, if you really want to avoid the OTC treatments,
saturate your child's hair with olive oil, leave it overnight, then
shampoo and comb out. For the 4-month-old - to be truthful, I'd
probably shave the baby's head. Otherwise, you could try the oil
treatment there, too.

In the UK, head lice have become so resistant to the OTC chemicals
that they are no longer recommended.

What I would do in your situation is to wash kiddo's heads, and apply
hair conditioner lavishly. Then comb, then rinse. I'd repeat that
daily, until two days after you see no adult headlice. Then repeat every
three or four days, until they have been clear of lice for at least three
combs (ie at least ten days).

--
Penny Gaines
UK mum to three

wrote:
My 4 month old has nits in her hair. Her big sister (22 mo) has lice
and nits. I'm brushing DD1's hair with a fine comb every day and get
them out still they persist. I haven't tried any household or OTC
cure
yet. Please suggest what I can try on an almost two year old and a 4
month old.

Thanks.

How long have they persisted? This could make a difference, because
lice go through a cycle. If it's only been a week or two, for example,
you may just have to keep combing and picking on a daily basis for a
few more weeks.

Note that combing is not enough, or at least, it wasn't in our case. My
girls have very fine hair. Combing helped to separate the strands for
inspection, but the only way to get the nit off the hair was to use my
fingernails.

When my kids went through this (we had nasty outbreaks of
chemical-resistant lice in their school), I noticed that I'd think I
had gotten all the nits out, then a few days later, new ones showed up.
But the lice was all gone - these weren't new eggs. It's just that when
the eggs are laid, they are laid very close to the root of the hair. It
takes a few days for the hair to grow out and the nits to become
evident. So don't despair right away - if it's only been a week or so
and you've noted new nits but don't see live lice, you may not be
dealing with a new infection, but rather the old infection is more
apparent due to hair growth.

Of course, if you don't get all the live lice (and they are tricky
critters good at hiding) then they will lay more eggs. Or if you don't
get all the nits out, weeks later, you'll have new lice laying more
eggs.

We tried everything - OTC treatments, olive oil, etc - but ultimately
the only thing that worked was consistent and daily comb-out sessions
for weeks on end. If you don't have the patience for that, I also agree
that it may be best to shave the baby's head, *especially* if you are
still seeing live lice. That's a sure-fire way of eliminating the
critters and their nits, quickly and easily.

As others suggested, definetly take the trouble of washing all clothes,
carseat covers, stuffed animals, bedding, etc. Also, since your kids
are probably still at the age to be rolling around on the floor, it's
important to vacuum the house thoroughly. And vacuum the furniture,
too. There are sprays but I wouldn't recommend them with children this
age. A thorough and regular vacuuming should be sufficient.

And check your own hair too!

Sorry you're having to go through this. Are your kids in daycare? If
so, contact the daycare because they may be picking it right back up as
soon as you have them de-loused. Also, contact any other children
they've played with recently. This was the big issue in our town -
initially, the parents were too embarrassed to admit their kid had
lice, and the silence led to repeated reinfestations. It went on for a
couple of years before we finally seemed to have licked it - no new
outbreak in two years. In addition to routine lice checks, the school
took active steps to educate the parents to break the silence.

jen

Nevermind wrote:



However, this metghod would not seem do-able for kids the OP's kids'
ages. They could choke on the saran, and it's incredibly messy. Combing
out is a HUGE pain, but supposedly it works. I agree with Clisby about
eliminating the baby's hair; I'd even cut the toddler's extremely
short.


You don't have to use saran wrap, though - you can use a shower cap.
Or, for that matter, you can put down towels in the kid's bed and not
"wrap" the head at all. It's just messier to clean up.

Clisby

On 07 Jan 2005 00:40:37 GMT, (Beth Kevles) wrote:

Wash their sheets and blankets etc .... I think hot water with bleach is
sufficient? A dry cleaner for things that can't be washed.

Stuffed items that can't be washed I THINK can be put in sealed bags in
the freezer for a few days to kill the nits, but I'm not 100% certain
about that.

Yes, I did extensive reading on nits a couple of months ago when we
had it... excessive cold or heat will kill them, so you can put in the
freezer for a day (enough for them to reach a a very cold temp) or in
the tumble drier for 20 mins, which we found easier.

--Lisa bell
Mom to Gabriella (6) and Michaela (almost 5)

Rather than
repeatedly chemical-izing her, we moved on to the olive oil tretament
regimen (saturate head with the oil, cover with saran and then a towel,
send to bed. Next a.m., comb out with lice comb, wash. Repeat every 4
days for 3 weeks. The oil smothers the live lice. Nothing kills the
eggs, so you do it over every 4 days to smother any newly hatched live
before they can lay eggs.

However, this metghod would not seem do-able for kids the OP's kids'
ages. They could choke on the saran, and it's incredibly messy.

Shower caps work, but I think you could get away with an old, regular newborn
cap
for the baby, and an old bandana on the toddler. This is also a good send-off
for any crib bedding you got as gifts that you didn't like the pattern of, as
well as your oldest pillow cases/sheets for the toddler.

Clarifying shampoo (used 3 or 4 times while washing up in the morning) helps
get rid of most of the excess oil.

Combing out is a HUGE pain, but supposedly it works.

l wouldn't stress over the comb-outs with kids these age; you won't get
cooperation for long enough to see every hair anyway. But if you're doing the
every 4 nights for 3 weeks straight faithfully, you'll smother all live lice
initially and then each new crop of
live bugs as they hatch, before they have time to mature and reproduce.
(shudder)

I agree with Clisby about
eliminating the baby's hair; I'd even cut the toddler's extremely
short.

Me, too.

Good luck,
Lori G.
Milwaukee, WI