cmt

I didn't mean to sound like I KNEW that they're easy to kill. As I said, I've had no personal experience with lice. However, I HEARD from teachers and parents that getting rid of them is not the hardest part, but that they're very easy to get again from the same shared items. The children I knew in Princeton, NJ, who had lice seemed very clean. <BR> <BR>I'm so happy to hear about olive oil as a home remedy and would love to share one of the other ways olive oil can save your hair and scalp from a horrible fate. A few months ago I polyurethaned the computer desk that I'm using at this moment. In my zeal to cover every corner, I crawled under the desk, stuck my head into the printer compartment, etc. When I was finished, I found that I must have repeatedly brushed my head against the wet surfaces because I'd thoroughly polyurethaned my hair. It had dried to a crisp, and I could not get a comb through it. Since polyurethane is an oil-based varnish, and since the thought of putting turpentine on my head did not appeal to me, I decided to try pouring olive oil (good quality Sicilian extra-virgin, by the way) all over my hair and rub it in. After letting it soak a while, I washed out the mess with Dawn dish detergent. It worked!!! Of course, I reeked of olive oil for a whole day, carrying the wearing-your-heritage thing a little too far.

Iva Itch

This is a serious posting even though I've given a ficticious name. WARNING: I contracted "crabs" (not the kind you eat) at a B&B in Vermont! Anytime you sleep in a bed that is sold to lots of other people you run the risk of "sharing" something like a parasite. <BR> <BR>It was not a pleasant experience.

Name

OK. Now that we're on to crabs, I have a question. I figured if I wore my underwear to bed at a hotel, I would decrease my risk of getting crabs from hotel beds. <BR> <BR>True or false?

zzz

Crabs, also known as pubic lice, absolutely can be "caught" despite wearing underwear in bed. Direct person-to-person contact (with underwear off) is probably an important route of infestation, but by no means the only way. <BR>

Quicksilver

OK, I'm considering booking a stay in Vermont, and I'd really like to know the name of the place with the crabs (or at very least, what town this was in/near )! <BR> <BR>I realize you can get these nasty infections anywhere, so the name of the place is perhaps beside the point, but it would set my mind at ease to know where it was. <BR> <BR>(Sorry for veering into stateside travel, folks!) <BR> <BR>Mail me privately if you prefer. <BR> <BR>Thanks so much, <BR> <BR> - Quicksilver -

Name

OK, then. Will I be safe if I wear tight jeans to bed?

Crabby

No. They crawl. They even jump. You can catch them from a toilet seat. Happened to me twice. First time was when I was using a dormitory bathroom while at school in Castleton, VERMONT in 1974.

Teacherbear

I've heard Olive oil is good, also. You might also look into Tea Tree Oil. I've heard they don't like the smell of Tea Tree Oil. You could give yourself a scalp massage nightly with TTO. It might keep lice away, AND improve circulation to your scalp thus promoting hair growth (as well as helping with dandriff, etc.) <BR> <BR>Good luck!

lice-o-matic

Thanks to the poster who alerted me to the possibility that this could happen. I looked up an article on about.com (search on lice) and one came up under early childhood education that is worth reading, for those who are interested. <BR> <BR>The article claims that the jury is still out on olive oil treatments. It also posts a link to a Government web site that will confirm there is no surefire commercial treatment for lice. At one time a chemical shampoo did seem to work, but the little beasties have become resistant to it. They are also very democratic and are no respecter of economic class or of cleanliness. <BR> <BR>Best method, apparently, is tedious and labor-intensive. Comb and pick, yup, nit-pick. <BR> <BR>Now to do a search on crabs (oh, joy...) <BR> <BR>

JJR

Hi <BR>I symapathise with the nits problem. My daughter has caught nits a number of times so I am an expert in treatment. Yes nits do like clean hair. We tend to do a weekly hair wash using conditioner and combing with a nit comb. This is the only way to slow the nits down, then they come out on the comb. However this does not get rid of the eggs which you have to pull off the hair by hand. They tend to be located behind the ears or back of the neck. It really is an itchy problem and we find using a chemical from the pharmacy is best for a severe outbreak and keep on top of it after that if it should recurr by using the conditioner. It isn't really a big deal. As others have said - if you have long hair tie it up and if you go on holiday maybe take a nit comb and conditioner. I have never heard of washing clothing although I do change the pillowcase on my daughters bed. Nits are getting to be resistant to the chemicals so in the UK the chemist will rotate the product on sale so as to sell you a product that will hopefully do the trick.

Hmm

I think Iva Itch's partner was playing away from home, and looking for a good excuse to explain Iva's itch.

Jan

One of my kids brought them home from school many years ago. The entire family got them except me and the teenager. She washed and blew dry and curling ironed her hair daily. I had a perm and colored my hair. So the way I finally got them out of my youngest daughters hair was to have it cut and permed. Ouila! No more nits! The chemicals work to a degree but they are hard to use alone(combing with those tiny teeth is tedious). Maybe if you just put a temporary dye on your hair before you go that will do the trick. I leave for Paris/Florence tomorrow, so was glad I had just colored my hair after reading about this problem. Hopefully, this will not be a problem for either of us! Good Luck

fran

To the original poster... <BR>What makes you think you got the head lice at the hotel Villa Malpensa? (I understand there is a lull between exposure and onset of symptoms). When was this? What was their response? <BR> The Hotel Villa Malpensa is very well regarded on this forum, and a place I've stayed several times, with the utmost satisfaction. I'll be there again for 2 separate nights this coming June and would love to hear more details of this most curious story.

Patty

Slather your head with margerine, cover with a plastic bag, heat with a hair dryer, wash with a dish detergent and pick, pick, pick.

Erin

Is it true that lice prefer straight hair? I'm Black American and growing up I was always told that lice won't attach to the extremely, tightly curled hair that most Black people have. In fact, I've never heard of a "lice outbreak" among Black people. Is this an old wives tale or what???

chica

Erin, I have read the same thing from several sources. No one can explain it, but it seems to be accepted by the "experts".

xxx

Could it be that a lot of parents use hair dressings on the hair of black children with very curly hair and maybe the lice or the eggs can't cling to the oil-covered hair? That would be consistent with the stories of olive oil being a rememdy.

xxx

Louse is singular. <BR>Lice is the plural form.

xxx

Dear xxx, <BR>No one has yet written about one single louse. If you have a louse, you generally have lice, I think. Must be social little buggers. <BR> Sincerely, <BR> xxx