[missylaw]

Ok, I am in home care and I visit an 82 year old woman (saw her Tues) to change a dressing to her arm. Checked BP/all Vital signs listened to lungs...all the usuals. Yesterday the home health aide called and said that Mrs....has bugs in her hair...now picture an 82 y/o woman who rarely laves her home and has probably 15 white hairs left on her head having lice. I honestly told the office, "there is no way, I didn't notice anything but I didn't look at her scalp" she has only left the house once 2 weeks ago to go to the ER for her skin tear and the only other person coming in is the HHA. So, the other nurse went this morning and called me at 7:45 to say "Yep, she has lice". I know I am a nurse, but since I deal with people over 70 this has NEVER come up. Her sister is getting the wash/cream to take care of her and all her sheets and stuff, but curious what my chances are that I could have gotton them while I was there? Like I said I was "near" her for about 1/2 hour either working on her or sitting next to her. I can't remember how long it takes for them to hatch or lay eggs. I have this picture in my mind that I am going to wake up tomorrow with lice and my garage sale starts at 9....I'll sell Lots This poor woman, I can't imagine having lice at 82 especially with the "stigma" that her generations still has about it. Ok, got that off my chest can anyone tell me what they think my chances are? I figured it probably wouldn't hurt to use the rinse tonight.
thanks

[connorsmommy1999]

dont worry too much. You would have needed to have contact with her head...they dont fly. when you say "sitting next to her" what do you mean by that? sitting in a chair next to her ?

There were three lice outbreaks in our school last year and during two of them we had kids over for playdates who had them but didnt know and we never got them. I even went to someone's house and rode in their car the day before they found them and we never got them.

even in daycares...and you KNOW how kids play!!...not every kid gets them.

just watch your head for the next few weeks.

[connorsmommy1999]

by the way...the rinses may not work.

I called our public health dept and they sent me some info and in the packet it mentioned over and over that lice are more and more resistant to the drugs.

if you're REALLY worried about it then do a mayonaise wrap on your head tonight and watch for nits for a while. I've also heard that listerine works.

[Justhavfaith]

Joshua came home from Guatemala with Lice. It was a real battle to get rid of the little guys. I can tell you that you are probably fine and will not get lice. You will most certainly know if you have them. They are itchy and you will be itchy BEFORE you see bugs. Also, their eggs, nits typically are attached to the hair near the scalp until hatched. They sell nit comb sets if you are really concerned you could use one of these combs after washing your hair with a regular shampoo (not condiitioner) for a few weeks. I would doubt that any nit or lice will survive that. The other poster was correct in that the rinses do not always work so the combs are a good option. All that said, you are probably fine - a bug would have had to crawl on you OR you would have had to have contact with unhatched nits typically attached to hair.

[EZ2Luv]

One thing about lice, if you color your hair they will not thrive so even if one did get one somoene with clored hair(permanant hair coloring) they would die. They can jump as close as 3 feet away.
I am curious how this loder wman got them. Is it possibel that she had grandchildren or some children visit her. I mean they had to come from somewhere right?

I am itching just thinking about it.

Good luck

EZ

[angel_bayou]

Hoping you don't get them because they're a miss to get rid of from what I have heard!!! I have two girls and keep their hair long so I am NOT looking forward to the day I get that dreaded call!! Oh I'm itching now!!

[Niclayson]

OK. Just a few comments. I have recently learned more about head lice then I have ever wanted to know. Part of the PhD process is actually participating in research. I was assigned to a professor whose research trajectory is social stigma...so she got involved with studying head lice.

Adult lice lay eggs called nits. Nits hatch in about 6-9 days and grow into nymphs which grow into adults. Adults live about 30 days. If you do not remove the nits, you will probably have issues with persistant head lice.

Lice can NOT jump. This is a myth. Lice are spread from direct head to head contact which is why it is prevelant in kids. Did you ever watch little ones play? They are on the floor and their heads touch! Lice are frequently spread in families during sleep. This is a very common way that kids and grandparents spread them to each other. They spend the night with Grandma and share a bedtime story or actually share the bed all night. By morning, Grandma has head lice too.

Lice can also live for a short time on objects so they may be found on hats, combs, brushes, and bedding. They are not like fleas so fumigating your whole house is overkill and not necessary. Just wash the above objcts well in hot water.

The most effective treatment for lice (which is well used by our primate friends, the monkeys) is manual nit removal. A nit comb can be purchased at a pharmacy...they are usually only about $10. Yes, it is time consuming to comb through hair section by section but it is the best way. There are companies that actually do this for you for a fee if your family suffers from persistant head lice.

The "medicines" to kill head lice are NOT medicines. These chemicals are indeed pesticides. If you choose to use these products particularly on children...follow directions and ONLY wash and rinse your child's hair in the sink. Do NOT wash your child in the bathtub or shower with these products because essentially you are either soaking your child (in a bath) or exposing most of their skin (in a shower) to pesticides!

The current issue with lice is that they have developed a resistance to the pesticides...so they frequently don't work. Then parents get desparate and try ineffective things such as mayo, olive oil, etc...or they do scary things like soak their child's hair in gasoline. Some of the things my professor discovered in her last research study were quite scary.

If you did not have head to head contact with this woman it is unlikely that you have been exposed. I have literally spent hours at a lice treatment facility with my hands in people's hair counting lice, picking nits, and photographing scalps for her research. I haven't gotten a single louse in my own hair but I can tell you I've taken some very cool pictures of these little critters.

Oh and by the way...lice LOVE clean hair. It is also a myth that dirty people get lice...it is often the exact opposite in reality.

[connorsmommy1999]

"Then parents get desparate and try ineffective things such as mayo, olive oil, etc"

Natalie, I hope you dont take offense to this but I'm having a hard time with that comment.

Our public health dept and our Dr's office both said that mayo IS effective in killing the adult lice. It doesnt kill the eggs but it does kill the adults People in our school (and I witnessed it with my own eyes) used it when they had adult lice so bad that you didnt have to look very hard to see them --- and they washed dead lice out when the mayo was rinsed out. So while it's not a "complete" treatment course (because it doesnt kill the eggs) it IS a good piece of the puzzle and a good way to kill the hatched lice.

[Niclayson]

Originally Posted by connorsmommy1999

"Then parents get desparate and try ineffective things such as mayo, olive oil, etc"

Natalie, I hope you dont take offense to this but I'm having a hard time with that comment.

Our public health dept and our Dr's office both said that mayo IS effective in killing the adult lice. It doesnt kill the eggs but it does kill the adults People in our school (and I witnessed it with my own eyes) used it when they had adult lice so bad that you didnt have to look very hard to see them --- and they washed dead lice out when the mayo was rinsed out. So while it's not a "complete" treatment course (because it doesnt kill the eggs) it IS a good piece of the puzzle and a good way to kill the hatched lice.

No offense taken. The key though is mayo is not effective treatment because if you don't get rid of the nits you really won't get rid of the lice...and so 6-9 days later you'll be back at square one. Simple cream-rinse conditioner will drown the live lice just as well and is much less mess but neither should be used before treatment with the over the counter or prescription treatments because they coat the hair shaft and prevent the treatment from working well. Most of the pesticides do treat the nits...the problem is the growing resistance issue.

When I was typing I really was thinking more about the people in her study that poured gasoline, kerosine, fire ant killer, Raid, insect products for lawns etc. on the lice. There really is such a stigma with lice and people who experience persistent lice (months and years) are so stressed they will try anything. They aren't crazy...they're stressed, often depressed, have often literally lost jobs because they've been unable to get to work because their kids were excluded from school so much. It's awful.

There is some evidence that mint-scented shampoos might help...and they're doing research right now on a treatment that involves blowing the head with hot air to remove nits...it's a mess though.

[Aveasmom]

Okay, in my experience as a beautician. Yeah I see them once in while. I find myself in the middle of the night checking my own scalp, behind my ears, nape of the neck are favorite spots as it is warmest there. Yeah it is hard to check yourself at 3 am because your mind is making you ich like crazy.

This is what you have to remember. Lice DO NOT JUMP!! They crawl. They will not see you and think you look like you have better hair to get on. You definately need some contact. Believe me your mind is going to drive you crazy though. The best treatment that I have found in 18 years of doing hair is some kind of oil, bagged over night. This definately kills the live ones. I really truly think it suffocates the eggs also. It also makes it really easy for the eggs to slide off the hair shaft with the nit comb. Usually you need to pull each one off, one by one between the finger nails. (PAIN IN THE BUTT) So definately if they slide easily, you will have a better time.
The main thing is getting all the sheets washed, stuffed animals put in garbage bag for around seven days, couches sprayed.

If a family catches this, it is a nightmare, but fixable with alot of time.

Getting the oil out of your hair is the next step. I always say use dawn dish soap. (CUTS THE GREASE)

Good luck, but unless you used her brush, or rubbed your head on hers, you should be alright.

[guatparents2be]

OMG I am having crazy flashbacks to jr high when my (momentarily saintly) mom combed every last nit out of my waist length hair.

I'm itching as I read...

[mommytoEli]

in my many years as a teacher, i learned more than i ever wanted to know about lice, too. i diagnosed myeslf with pediculophobia. fear of lice. lol. it was so bad...i checked my students everyday. at least once a week i sent at least one student home after finding nits or lice. (self made class sized reducation...lol ) in all of those years, i never got it. yes, there are some old wives tale things people like to try...and i totally did some. i always showered and blew out my hair upon arriving home, and threw my clothes in the washer. i always used lots of product in my hair, and a shampoo with a coconut oil. all things some people say help. i don't know if it worked, or i lucked out, but i would do all the crazy stuff again. lol! i also did have a student who stayed home for 2 days with olive oil in her hair under a cap, then her mom picked out all the nits, and she was fine. some of this crazy stuff will work to kill the lice, but the nits absolutely have to be picked out...that is the part i w ould not look forward to! i actually had a mom of a 5th grade girl who didn't want to either, and she shaved her dd's head! yikes!


anyway...if you don't have lice yet from this situation, you won't get it. if you are concerned, have someone checked the nape of your neck and behind your ears for nits. check online to see what they look like, but i think they look like tiny tear drops. appropriately enough.....bc getting lice would make me cry. lol!

[dance_muffin]

My older son (who now is college) got it when he was around 3. He was at a babysitter house, her kids came home from school with it and low and behold he got it too.

They need to be on a live host to survive. So they can't live on your furniture or your floors etc for any length of time.

We used Rid which is an over the counter treatment. It didn't work so we then got a scrip for Quell Shampoo which cleared it up. Quell cannot be used on infants.

When the eggs are laid on the hair shaft they are light in color. It is harder to see the eggs on light/blond hair. The adult lice are dark and are harder to see on dark/black hair. You have to shampoo the hair and then in a very well lit area; sit with a nit comb and carefully comb out each strand of hair. You are pulling out the unhatched eggs. You repeat this until the comb comes out without any nits on it. All bedding has to be washed in hot water and then put into the dryer on high. Throw out pillows. Also vaccumed the entire room and immediately emptied the vaccum into a garbage bag OUTSIDE the house. At the time, I threw out all stuffed animals and did "bomb" with a insectide that I got at the vet's office. It just takes one to keep the cycle going.

Have someone check your head; they will show up relatively quickly if you have them. Of course if you have scalp itching regularly within the next day or two; see your doctor.

Hoping you are lice free.

[sak9645]

My daughter acquired head lice when in fourth grade in a rather exclusive private school. Lice outbreaks were fairly common there, as they are anywhere where people live, work, or play in close proximity to each other -- day care centers, schools/colleges, army barracks, nursing homes, etc.

Lice do not understand race, nationality, income, social class, etc. Lice just want a good meal and a place to lay their eggs.

Elderly people in nursing homes get lice, just like kids in day care. The elderly can get them from visiting grandkids, from other nursing home residents if an attendant uses the same comb on several people, at the hairdresser, from the nursing home bed linens, from borrowing a hat or head scarf, etc. Some elderly people sit in tall armchairs in the lobby of their nursing home, assisted living facility, or apartment building and put their heads back -- right against a surface where someone with lice has put his/her head.

In terms of health, lice are no big deal. If you have a severe and long lasting infestation, you could scratch your head with dirty fingernails and get a skin infection. But that's about it.

While lice are said to cause itching, many people get lice and don't even know it. When my daughter got lice, she didn't itch at all. Lice aren't as bad as scabies, burrowing mites that release a highly allergenic secretion. A scabies infestation can be so itchy that you feel like jumping out of your skin.

There are two steps to getting rid of lice. The first step is an easy one -- killing the live lice. There are two ways to proceed, and both are effective.

Most people use an over-the-counter pediculocide (insecticide specific to lice) like Nix. Follow the directions on the bottle to shampoo with this product. The advantage of the product is that it is very easy and pleasant to use. It doesn't make the hair look or smell bad, and you can use it in just a few minutes.

The drawback to Nix is that it contains a toxic pesticide. You don't want to use it on babies. While it has been found safe for people who follow the directions, you should be careful to use it only ONCE, unless your doctor recommends a second application about 7-10 days later. Never use it repeatedly. And ask your doctor about using it if you have open sores on your scalp caused by psoriasis or some other medical condition.

The second approach to killing live lice is the suffocation method. Mayonnaise is the weapon of choice. You get a small bottle of the full-fat kind (like Hellman's) in the supermarket and dump on the head before bedtime. Spread it around so that it coats every hair well. Then put on a shower cap so you don't grease up your bed linens and sleep that way.

The benefit to this approach is that no toxic chemicals are used. Mayonnaise contains things like eggs and oil, which are actually GOOD for the hair! The drawback, however, is that it will take at least three thorough shampoos before you stop looking like a greased pig. You will look simply awful until you get rid of most of the mayo.

My daughter's pediatrician says that he recommends mayo only as a last resort. It works just as well as Nix, but it is so unpleasant to use that most Moms and kids object to it and prefer the Nix, despite the chemicals.

But getting rid of live lice is the easy part. Whether you use Nix or mayo, you can get rid of live lice with one application, in most cases.

NEITHER Nix or mayo will get rid of louse eggs, which are called nits. And if you don't get rid of the eggs, you will simply get more and more live lice, which will lay more eggs and hatch more live lice.

When you try to get rid of louse eggs, you will develop an appreciation for the term "nit-picking", for manual removal of nits is the ONLY way to get rid of louse eggs. They do NOT shampoo out, because they are attached very tightly to hair strands.

What you need to do, once or twice a day, is to take the person into a room with a strong light. Get a nit comb -- a special comb with fine teeth set very close together. Section the hair with clips -- remember to wash them thoroughly afterwards (I washed them in rubbing alcohol) -- and then go through each section, strand by strand, with the nit comb.

Nits look like whitish ovals. They may be mistaken for dandruff, except that dandruff tends to have irregular borders, while nits have smooth borders. Dandruff also combs out easily, while nits don't. Nits can be anywhere on the hair strand, from the scalp to the ends of the hair.

When you comb out a nit, take a piece of tissue, wipe the comb, and throw the tissue in the toilet. And keep going. If the person has medium length hair, it could take you 30-45 minutes to do a good job. Very thick or long hair could take much longer.

Kids hate nit combing, especially if they have thick or long hair. Aside from the fact that they have to sit still for a long time, while someone goes through their hair, it's almost impossible to nit comb without pulling the hair. My poor daughter, who was very cooperative and tried to read during combing sessions, was reduced to tears several times when I unexpectedly hit a tiny knot and pulled her hair.

Unfortunately, nit combing must be done EVERY DAY until no more nits are found. This may take a week or so. Many people who think that they are simply very susceptible to lice, or that they have Nix-resistant lice, actually have failed to remove a nit or two, and wound up reinfected.

It is important to wash bed linen, towels, etc. in hot water and dry them in a hot dryer if they have been used by someone with lice. Lice don't live long when off a living host, but you don't want to take the chance of reinfestation. If the person has put her head against upholstered furniture, rugs, etc., those items can simply be vacuumed very thoroughly. The furniture sprays for lice are believed not to be that effective. If the person has used throw pillows, stuffed animals, etc., you can put those items in a plastic bag, tie the bag tightly, and put it away in the garage or basement for a week; the lice will usually die.

Kids are often sent home from preschool or school if they have lice, and not readmitted until all nits are gone. However, the thinking seems to be changing, and some schools now let kids attend as long as their parents have killed the live lice with Nix or mayo and are starting nit-combing.

With an elderly person whose hair is fairly short and sparse, getting rid of lice should be easy. One Nix shampoo and a few days of nit combing should do the trick, as long as he/she is not exposed to a continuing source of infestation.

If a nursing home has an outbreak of lice, ALL patients should be checked and treated, if indicated, linen and blankets should be washed in hot water, and upholstered furniture should be vacuumed thoroughly. Caregivers should receive instruction so that they don't use combs and brushes on multiple patients. Patient laundry should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer.

With kids, a short haircut will reduce the frequency of lice infestations and make treatment of lice much easier. Long haired girls should try to braid their hair or wear it in pony tails, when they go to school or play with other kids, simply to reduce by a little the likelihood of contact with another child's hair. And all children should be taught to avoid borrowing combs, brushes, hair ornaments, headbands, hats, scarves, etc. from other kids. Where possible, children should not store headgear with the headgear of others.

All in all, lice are a pain in the neck. They are easy to acquire and hard to get rid of. But in the grand scheme of things, they aren't terribly serious.

Sharon

[annaguat]

Buy tea tree oil and spike your regualr shampoo with it. Latter and let it sit for about 5 minutes. Do this for about a week. if you got any eggs the lice will die as soon as they hatch. I am already itching reading about it. Also blow drying your hair will help. I had a friend who worked with a group of people that was prone to head lice and she just always rubbed a little tea tree oil behind her ear. I think you probably did not get them though. Anna