WAG Lice.....

[gymcoach1]

Ugh, just found out we're up to the 7th case of lice at our gym (in 2 days.) HC is away and nothing has been done about it yet.... have another other gyms experienced this? Any tips to steer clear?

 

[notthatmom]

Well, lice can only live on a human head. It will not live for more than a few seconds on the floor, mats, pit...whatever.

Make sure the gymnasts aren't sharing hairbrushes quickly after each other or taking selfies together (seriously)

If parents know their gymnasts have lice, don't allow them to come to practice until they're nit free.


Mint spray kills them, so maybe get some for the kids to use at the gym?

Other than that...not much else to do.

 

[gymcoach1]

I didn't know they can only live on humans, that makes me feel a lot better lol.

 

[ascarter1]

We've had it at our gym...its frustrating but not the end of the world. If everyone will treat, it won't last (too long).

 

[notthatmom]

I didn't know they can only live on humans, that makes me feel a lot better lol.

Both my girls got it really bad one year, like multiple times. I took one of them to a professional place to get treated and the lady who did her hair showed me exactly what to do. I bought the products they had, ever since then I'm now the lice treatment guru lol!

The "good" news is, lice prefer clean hair (that's reassuring to me to know I don't have dirty children haha) and each "family" of lice only like certain blood types, so even if some kids do get lice on them from someone else, if that bug doesn't like their blood, they die pretty quickly and don't reproduce.

Also, most of the old Rid products do absolutely nothing (other than make your hair sticky and gross)

The mint spray is the best way to treat it...along with the metal spiral lice combs.

So no need to fumigate the gym, it's unevccesary and a waste of time and $$

 

[skschlag]

They can actually live up to 24 hours off the human head. That is the biggest issue. I would say the pits are the biggest concern as the foam doesn't get cleaned regularly and people can get submerged lol.

Also, make sure coats, etc are not touching in the cubby room or wherever they leave their things. This will help prevent the spread.

We had a 6 month outbreak at a school I taught at. It was awful. The only thing we did was bag up stuffed animals. The foam woudl be tough to do that with, but I would think 1-2 days with no one in it would take care of it.

 

[notthatmom]

They can actually live up to 24 hours off the human head. That is the biggest issue. I would say the pits are the biggest concern as the foam doesn't get cleaned regularly and people can get submerged lol.

Also, make sure coats, etc are not touching in the cubby room or wherever they leave their things. This will help prevent the spread.

We had a 6 month outbreak at a school I taught at. It was awful. The only thing we did was bag up stuffed animals. The foam woudl be tough to do that with, but I would think 1-2 days with no one in it would take care of it.

That's so strange because I've definitely been told different (not calling you a liar )
Like I have literally watched bugs die once I took them off their head and placed them on a paper towel.


So hmmm I'm gonna have to do some more research

 

[bookworm]

Nits aren't a criteria for exclusion any longer (at least from a medical perspective)but to get rid of the issue, vigilant treatment and picking the nits out of kids hair with one's fingernails...don't buy the "nit combs, lights, wash etc" as they're a waste of $ ....rosemary and tea tree oil shampoos discourage lice but if you already have it, the horse is out of the barn so to speak.

There is a product , available by prescription , called Sklice which contains ivermectin , and has worked well in a lot of our patients. Rid and nix ( pyrethrum and permethrin products) both have higher incidence of resistance with lice and are cheaper than Sklice but not as effective. It is also thought to be an issue with lice that people don't get all the nits out and that's why the treatment "fails". I would either shave my kid's head (if male) or call my pediatrician for a prescription for Sklice...

 

[notthatmom]

Just talking about this makes my scalp itchy

 

[munchkin3]

Our gym cycled through it a few years a go. Solution-Dirty hair with lots of hairspray......and tea tree oil....lots of it.

 

[coachmolly]

We had an issue with lice in our younger team girls a few months ago, it was the direct result of them doing each others hair at a team event and sharing a brush- whoever had it first generously passed it along to others. It was a Saturday that it was found out, so the gym was closed until Monday evening, about 48 hours of no people (and hot temps as it was summer) likely did the trick of killing anything that might have been in the gym.
If you are worried about pits, just keep kids out of them for a few days.
If you are just looking to prevent as much as possible, I've heard good things about Fairy Tales products, I think they make a hair spray that a lot of parents swear by- https://www.amazon.com/Fairy-Tales-Repel-Conditioning-Rosemary/dp/B000O7JK0A?th=1

 

[emorymom]

When there have been lice outbreaks at DD's gym I have oiled her hair with coconut oil and put it in braids for the duration. If it doesn't smell like head, they don't jump on. Nowadays I would also add TTO to the CO for extra protection.

 

[raenndrops]

Both my girls got it really bad one year, like multiple times. I took one of them to a professional place to get treated and the lady who did her hair showed me exactly what to do. I bought the products they had, ever since then I'm now the lice treatment guru lol!

The "good" news is, lice prefer clean hair (that's reassuring to me to know I don't have dirty children haha) and each "family" of lice only like certain blood types, so even if some kids do get lice on them from someone else, if that bug doesn't like their blood, they die pretty quickly and don't reproduce.

Also, most of the old Rid products do absolutely nothing (other than make your hair sticky and gross)

The mint spray is the best way to treat it...along with the metal spiral lice combs.

So no need to fumigate the gym, it's unevccesary and a waste of time and $$

If there is sweat and dead skin cells, the lice can live longer than a few/seconds without a human host. I worked in a child care and have seen them walking on clothes and walking on combs…
If there are multiple cases at the gym, resipits should be treated before being used again.
At home, bedding should be washed in hot water. Any stuffed animals that can't be washed need to be sealed in plastic - we used a garbage bag at the child care... Or throw them into the dryer on high heat if it is something they "can't live without."
Mint spray works... But so does coconut shampoo and conditioner.
Because lice prefer clean hair, gel or mousse or hairspray helps too.

 

[GymDad9.9]

This is one of those threads where nit-picking is not a bad thing.

 

[MrsAnderson]

I've heard they can live 6-26 hours off of a head.
Hopefully, after a few days with no new cases, things will settle down.

 

[CuriousCate]

the CDC says lice can live off of a human head for up to a day. https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/head/gen_info/faqs.html

There were multiple outbreaks at my girls' school last year and we used that fairy tales hairspray and a little tea tree oil dabbed on the base of the neck hair line and behind the ears and they steered clear. don't know if that's why, but I'll give it credit.

Definitely should stay out of the pit and kids with live lice need to stay home.

 

[Flyaway]

Tea tree oil, dirty hair and braids are the best prevention method. For getting rid of lice, google the Cetaphil method. It absolutely works (by breaking the reproductive cycle, NO CHEMICALS), but you have to commit.

 

[Taxidriver]

To get rid of lice I use the nitty gritty comb, since then I have never used any chemical products, it's a metal comb with very long prongs with a spiral groove on them.
I think whilst lice can live for up to 24hrs I don't think that's a big concern, it will be the eggs that have not been removed from the girls hair which will continue to spread it as they hatch. That's why I love the nitty gritty comb as it also removes the eggs from the hair.

 

[Deleted member 18037]

Lived this dream once. I would never use harsh chemicals again. Didn't get them all and now that I know better I just wouldn't expose her to those chemicals ever again.

A good nit comb then Comb, comb, comb. Oh and did I say comb.

We had it professionally done. Very expensive, worth every penny as I have "old" eyes. They used a cheap conditioner, white, and a good nit comb and white paper towels to wipe comb. So you can see those beige suckers. Work small sections, all 4 directions, root to ends, front, back, right and left. Repeat, 7-10 days later. If still a problem repeat until gone.

No brush, hair tie, hat, cubby sharing. No head touching.

Those suckers have no preference on hair type, cleanliness or any such thing. They need a human head/host, blood supply and hair for the nits. Tea tree oil and such can discourage. But plain and simple. They get to a head, they take up residence.

We have always used Fairy Tale products. The only time my kid ended up with lice, was when she had just started showering on her own and neglected to tell me she was out of her Fairy Tale stuff and used the other shampoo and conditioner in the shower. Coincidence, yes according to the lice ladies. Back to Fairy Tales and tea tree oil ever since.

And yes they don't live long, so long term quarantine is not necessary. Hot wash and heated dry what you can, air tight seal what can be washed if it has head contact, like stuffies. We did treat her car/booster seat as well.

It would actually be harder to get rid of fleas. Good luck.

 

[Gymmomto2]

I'll second Fairy Tales spray. I work in the schools. The teachers swear by it.