Help! lice

[chatname]

We seem to have an infestation. Dp works with teenagers and has long hair, as do I. I found some adult lice after he combed his hair over the bath, and I seem to have the beginnings of an infestation too. Dp is very upset and worried and embarrassed about poss giving them to me! Ds is under 6 months so we are concerned to a) get rid of them asap b) use the least possible toxic treatment for him. I haven't seen any on him but am breastfeeding in our bed at night so difficult to avoid contact! Dp is also worried about him looking after ds at the moment in case of transmission. Oh and how much cleaning out the house do we need to do to get rid of the blasted things? Would steam cleaning help - we do have a steam cleaner?

Firstly,
Breathe.
They are very common, it easy to catch them and they are rife at the moment. The kindest way to remove them is by a really good (not a cheapo) conditioner and with a nit-comb. Cover hair entirely then keep combing making sure to drag comb through right from the root as that is where the fuckers will be hiding.
As for everything else; change sheets after getting rid of them,
wash towels, coats and clothing, anything that has come into contact with your hair. Tumble dry if possible as the heat helps to kill them.
Things like pillows and quilts will be ok as long as the sheets, covers and pillow cases are changed.
Repeat the conditioner/combing process for a week or so, just to make sure.
Teatree is a deterant for lice, or apparently the new Vosene kids spray might be worth a go.
I personally, attack them with chemicals, but you don't want to. Each to their own. Good luck.

I would use Hedrin on myself and dp (it isn't nasty chemicals, just suffocates the lice - you put it on, let it dry, go to sleep then wash hair in morning) then comb every 2-3 days as per CherryChapstick

I would keep an eye on your ds - but not treat unless you have reason to think he's infested. Unless maybe he has loads of dark thick hair, in which case comb!

As for cleaning, I've heard over and over on MN, at the GPs, and everywhere else that there is no need to clean or change linen: a louse can only survive on a human head. Unless you are leaving clumps of hair on your pillow for them to linger in, you are fine with sheets etc...though I would change the pillow cases if only for the creep factor!

I would save the whole steam-clean/boil wash/tumble dry energy thang for the day you get threadworms.....

What if the baby (4 1/2 months) gets them? What happens then? There didnt seem to be anything in the pharmacy for use under 6 months.

It's very unlikely that the baby will get them if he/she doesn't have much hair. DD1 (5) had them over the summer and despite rolling around with DD2 (then 16 months) all the time, she didn't get them.

DD used to get them as a tiny baby as dsd used to come to us infested with them.

I never used anything other than a nit comb, as I was reluctant to even use conditioner on her and it worked fine.

Dsd has had them for at least 8 years and I have combed out literally hundreds of them. I have never steam cleaned anything, changed linen or anything like that. I have hardly ever used chemicals - dd and I have never used them when we've caught them and I have only used them on dsd a handful of times when she is completely infested and is with us for a week so I can do the two treatments.