You will need more information than you'll get here. 130F for five minutes min. is required to kill lice and nits. However there's much more you need to know.

Google "head lice treatment" or go here:

Here is a link that might be useful: Head lice treatment info

On the detergent question -- I think you can use the Tide Coldwater with hot water washes. It's been formulated to work on grease and other tough stains in cold water -- i.e. get out tough stains DESPITE the fact that you're using cold water -- but there's nothing that says you can't use it in warm or hot water.

From the FAQs on the Tide website:

Q: What happens if I use warm water by mistake?
A: Tide Coldwater can also be used in warm and hot water washes.

I agree with kgiov. You don't need to kill eggs. egss that are not attached to the hair on the head are not going to hatch. they are not the problem.

The ONLY eggs you have to worry about are those within 1/2 or less inch of scalp currently attached to your child's hair.

If you have a caucasion girl in school betwen 4-12 years old they are prime target for head lice. First keep in mind that head lice do NOT transmitt diseases, they do NOT infest homes like bedbugs do so you want to be caeful and AVOID any pesticide, especially pesticide shampoos.

The best and safest methid is patient machanical removal. that means an eXCELLENT proper metalic lice comb, and a $50 investment in a good florescent (much cooler) large mangifying lamp, a comfortable chair with perhaps a dvd for your kid to watch while you spend four one hour sessions every four days to remove any eggs and live lice.

http://www.amazon.com/Parts-Express-Fluorescent-Magnifier-Lamp/dp/B0002V2F7S/
live lice die off of the head after a day, and eggs cannot hatch when not attached to hair on the scalp.

The only things that are likely to carry adult lice from one person to another are hair care instruments (brushes and combs), hats, headphones, sports helmets (batting helmets especially), and hair decorations like headbands, pony tail holders and fancy barrettes. Teach her to not share these things!

Head lice don't live long off the body - time reported is 2-7 days. Anything that's been in storage for a week - even if it's just sitting in the linen closet - is really unlikely to be infested.

it's the HEAD and the HAIR that need careful attention. And let all her classmates and friends and playmates parents know. Either someone is re-infesting your daughter's head or you never got 100% clear of them. It only takes 2 missed nits and the cycle starts over.

@ kgiov
>

Hysterical! Thanks for sharing.

We went through an infestation about 4 years ago. I just saw a few nits and 2 black dots in my daughter's hair and a 2 nits on my son. I am treating all of us like it's an infestation so that it doesn't BECOME one!

The things that worked best for us last time were:
washing all bedding and clothing in hot water and drying on hot heat;
putting stuffed animals and such in bags in the garage for 3 weeks;
Using LiceGuard Robi Comb. It "zaps" anything in the hair. LOL! I found it at Walmart near the eye-glass section, and they are sold them online, too.

AND
What killed off the live lice for us was a combination of what a pediatrician recommended and a home remedy a friend recommended. The pediatrician recommended that we follow-up treatment by putting an excess of Dippity-Do in the child's hair, letting it dry, and leaving it in overnight in order to suffocate whatever live lice were left. The home remedy that was recommended was saturating the hair with mayonnaise and then wrapping it tightly with Saran Wrap to suffocate whatever live lice were left.

We couldn't find Dippity-Do, but we found a similar product at Rite-Aid (although I've seen it at Walmart, too) called La bella Styling Gel. It's in a tub and is light yellow color. We used the "Ultimate Hold" type. We parted the hair in little sections, saturating the roots first. [After the La bella, we used mayonnaise, too, "just to be safe." But, we won't do that again. The mayo melted once warm on the head and dripped.] Once we were done with the saturation, we combed the hair up at all the hairlines, and wrapped the head tightly with a great plastic wrap called Press 'N Seal, with the sticky side IN, pressing out the air bubbles as we went.

Without a pillow (so they wouldn't slip down and pull off the plastic wrap), we lay them down on their bed on top of a towel for the night. [I've heard to leave the head wrapped "12-24 hours" since then. We'll probably do 12-14 hours tonight.]

This did the trick. We wished we had done this (without the mayonnaise) and used the Robi Comb during from the beginning, as the Nix didn't do anything anyway.

HTH

"It only takes 2 missed nits and the cycle starts over."
Therein might lie the problem. A friend who teaches in the local public schools tells me that they can no longer do anything, when they see nits on a child. They cannot report it to the school authorities; only lice themselves are reportable.

Several years ago, my young daughter caught these too. Funny thing is, I never got them. It's funny because my daughter and I always have our heads together. Unlike my daughter, I blow dry my hair every single day. I have always wondered if this prevented them from thriving and have further wondered if putting a child under a hair dryer for 30-60 minutes might work (didn't think of this until too late to try)...

For us, we eventually had to get a prescription shampoo - nothing else worked over the several month battle we had. My daughter has very long, very thin/fine hair (just like mine) - and short of shaving her head (if she was a boy, I would have done that!), I finally went to the Dr. for help.

Well, I hope the OP finally got rid of her pesky problem. I, like jeri, had to result to a strong prescription from the pediatrician. They are most definitely resistant to OTC cures.

I also agree -- don't waste your time washing sheets and bagging up stuffed animals -- cure what is on the head! Lice are practically immobile off the human head and soon die.

Ty for this information. My son, who is now 40, got lice only ( no nits)when he was 7 from swimming after school at the Y. I think he shared his towel or something. I freaked and fumigated the entire house and shampooed everyone including the dog. My granddaughter just got lice a few days ago and I could barely see them. (Granny eyes, I guess). Good to know i dont have to burn the house down or wash the linens in hot water cause the water heater died and its gonna take several days for a new installation. We're renovating, too. Got no floors. Lice are just the icing on the cake

From my experience as a school nurse, and I had vast experience with head lice, one place many parents forget which does warrant attention is the passenger head rest on fabric covered car seats, because in a family situation there may be multiple people using the head rest in a short period of time.