My son has never had lice but we just moved to an area where most kids get them. I used to have them when I was little and it was a pain getting rid of them. It would take hours for my mom to pull them out and the medication never really worked. It killed some but not all of them. I don't know what happened but they eventually went away (thank GOD). It was a nightmare for me.
My son has long hair (not super long but it's a little bit above his shoulders) so I have been so afraid that he's going to get them one day. And bring them home to me! Is there a way to prevent them? Maybe putting oil on his hair? And if he gets them, is that any kind of medication that you'd recommend?

    

Hi,
Lice can be a big pain and yup, they are so mighty contagious that you cna be sure that your son will get them if he's around kids who have them. Here are some ways to get rid of them. I've heard lindane-based shampoos work well to rid hair of lice. Plus, there are things that you can do if he gets them- disinfect everything-combs, sheets, clothes in hot water and shampoo.. rinse hair with equal parts of vinegar pls plain water after a shampoo.. hopefully, these will help.

Oh gosh-I would love to give you advice that saved us tons of money and kept me from pulling my own hair out! I have 2 girls with long hair and dealt with it with both of them-every year! It was a flashback to my childhood days-I was always the kid going home with lice! I too had long, curly hair and no matter what we did-I always caught it.

We spent tons of money, lice shampoo, gels, foams, sprays-EVERYTHING. I even bought a Robi Comb-nothing worked. The kids missed so much school...let's just say it was a nightmare! My girls were so desperate to get rid of them too-they told me to just cut all their hair off...no way! That would not be right.

Someone told us to try putting coconut oil on their hair but I thought nothing of it. Coconut-yeah right. So in desperation, I tried it. I bought 2 bottles of cheap coconut shampoo and conditioner and washed their hair with it. Nothing. Over the next few days we washed with the coconut shampoo/conditioner...surprise. GONE. Even the eggs were loosened up by the coconut. Gone were the days of sitting there with little lice combs and vinegar picking those suckers out.

I took it a step further and bought some cheap coconut oil and rubbed a little in their hair throughout the year. It sure helped and they never caught it again.

I don't know why, how, what...but it worked! Again, it wont happen overnight but it will work. Don't spend a lot of money getting rid of them. I bought the Suave shampoo-I think it is like $1 a bottle and that worked fine. When you use it, just leave it on his head for a few minutes and then rinse. Nothing to it. If you want to keep them away-just use it regularly as you would any other shampoo. The smell of it is wonderful.

Good luck!

I don't know if you have access to an herb garden, but one remedy that thankfully I have not had to use for myself is tansy. You can make a regular strength tea out of the leaves and blossoms and then rinse your child's hair with it and supposedly it can penetrate the nits shell and kill it.

Get the local shampoo treatment at Target or Walmart and use that to kill all the adult lice. They work good to kill the lice. Forget about the comb because the eggs are like tiny bits of glue that just will not come out. That's the problem! The EGGS! My daughter came home with lice and we treated her at least 4 times because she has long curly hair. What a nightmare washing everything and boiling brushes! Trying to use that tiny comb on every stand of hair. OMG! Terrible! Then my brain kicked in finally! Folks! Use the flat iron! I went through every bit of my daughters hair with a flat iron scalp to tip for 5 days after we treated and killed the adult lice. I could clearly see the eggs and just ironed right over them. Every inch I went through. Nothing can survive a hot flat iron! Use it! Forget all the gimmicks! Oils, conditioners. Just use the flat iron! It works. No more lice in my daughters hair! Thank God! We are happy! : D

Oh gosh, the days of boiling the brushes and combs---oh the memories!

Yes, a flat iron will work too. Before I did the coconut shampoo/conditioner, I tried that. My daughter has very long and curly hair too and it was a mission to do with her. I also did not like using it on her hair because she is so young and I felt like I was damaging her hair. I still had lice after, probably ones that were on the scalp that the flat iron did not get to. It did help though.

I am glad it worked for you and your daughter is lice-free! Anything to get rid of lice is always good! I prefer the coconut stuff. Not only did it get rid of lice and the eggs but it repels them and makes her hair smell and look great too. Not to mention-it helps with her tangles. Gotta love thick, long curly hair.

I have heard that you can mix a couple drops of tea tree oil into your shampoo. The tea tree oil will help repel lice. Thisal tea tree oil/shampoo mixture would also be good to use as a preventative. It would be best to make sure no one’s sensitive to tea tree oil before trying this!

anti-lice shampoo and use a very fine-toothed comb.

I use an entire line of products made with tea tree oil for everything around my house. It is like the miracle ingredient! I agree that is the way to treat it. In fact, with one of the products I have, you can literally spray down every surface of your house to kill the lice, and yet, it is safe enough that if you consumed the product you would be fine (not recommended, but not toxic in any way.) I am sure it works in a similar way to coconut oil, as far as shampooing goes. (I also have shampoo with tea tree oil) but the difference with tea tree oil is it acts as a disinfectant as well, and actually is known to repel bugs of all sorts.
In my opinion, ALWAYS go the natural route first before using harsh chemicals. You will find that nature provides us with everything we need, and works better!