Lice at Disney resorts?

[mouseketeer mom]

Some of you might of read prior posts of mine regarding discovering we had lice shortly after we returned home from our trip to WDW. My kids started waking up saying they were itchy, or the pillows were itchy. I never gave it too much thought. Never in my 15 years of having children have we experienced lice. It never even crossed my mind that thats what their itchiness could be from. Turns out four out of five with us (not DH) came home with it. Prior to our stay at the Poly we stayed at Disneys Hilton Head Island resort, and also a hotel in Nebraska for a few days. We all have thick, curly hair and it took a professional lice removal service to rid us of these pests.
I remain traumatized from this experience. This took weeks and weeks to handle and lots of money. And lots and lots of never ending laundry to be sure we were free of this disgusting parasite. Not to mention the psychological toll. Now every little innocent scratch has me searching their heads.
So we are due to return to the Poly next month. I feel my anxiety rising as I fear ever going thru this again. There is no way to predict if we caught them there, yet, I can't help but connect the experience.
Tell me...has anyone else ever come home from a Disney resort with lice??

[SBETigg]

I never have, Lisa, but I understand why you would be nervous. I've seen your family vacation pictures and those glorious heads of hair! Lice would not be fun for anyone, but I can imagine it would be especially traumatic considering thick, curly hair runs in your family. It's an understandable fear.

It could happen anywhere as easily as it could happen at WDW, though. Not even just in hotels. It goes through schools like wildfire. And think of all those trips you took without any problems at all, right? That's reassuring, I think. You're probably far more likely to avoid it than to have it happen again, statistically. Look over your room/beds carefully on arrival and again before bedtime. Be careful trying on hats and clothing. I hope you have a wonderful trip and you're able to put the fear behind you.

[EyeLuvDisney]

We have not experienced anything like that. However, after staying at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel we came home with bedbugs. Yes, those things in chidrens nightine songs.

That ordeal traumatized us. It took almost six months of professional treatment before they were all gone. We slept in the guest room for a long time. Now, any time we stay in a hotel we check all of the bedding.

Tha said, I think Disney standards are much higher than most due to their superior standards. So, sleep tight when there and enjoy your trip. We leave in 32 days.

[faline]

It's so hard to know where such an infestation starts. It may have occurred before you got to Disney and have nothing to do with Disney. Although it's possible the infestation began at Disney World, it's not the most common way lice are transmitted. It's far more common that lice are transmitted person to person rather than from object to person.

As far as bed bugs are concerned, they are a growing problem in the United States. I've now begun checking beds every time I stay in a hotel!

[Polynesian Dweller]

Just returned from the Poly and no problems at all with any sort of bugs.

[poohspal]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your problem with lice.
Our local Snip-Its franchise sells shampoo and leave-in conditioner that is supposed to repel lice. I think there are a few natural brands that claim to keep them away. I can't tell you if they are really effective, but it is an option for anyone who is worried.

Liz

[mouseketeer mom]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your problem with lice.
Our local Snip-Its franchise sells shampoo and leave-in conditioner that is supposed to repel lice. I think there are a few natural brands that claim to keep them away. I can't tell you if they are really effective, but it is an option for anyone who is worried.

Liz

I'm all over it. My family has been using Tea Tree Oil shampoo since we had the issue. Its supposed to repel them. I'll take any reassurance I can get!

[stitchaholic]

lice cannot live off a human head,and it is usually transmitted when someone's head is close to an infected head(lice jump),the eggs can stay on items such as pillows,maybe that is how you got it, but i would think that it is much more likely that your kids picked it uo at school before your vacation,and it just had a good chance to spread in close quarters.
it is a total pain to have to deal with it,i can sympathise,but it is not an indication of uncleanliness,anyone can get it.

[Joannelet]

LIce love clean hair!!! So no its not by any means due to uncleanliness.
I know that many people in Disney World try on hats at the stores. Not just baseball caps but those silly hats that they sell at all the main gift shops throughout the parks and downtown Disney.
All your kids or yourself have to do is try on one that has been tried on by an infected person and zam your head is now infected.
I'd say just do not try on those hats no matter how tempting they may be!!! I mean even the pirate hats, mickey hats (anything not wrapped in plastic can easily be infected if someone who had them tried it on) etc.
gosh all it takes is a 2nd to transfer from a hat to a head.
ugh now my head is itchy.

[KylesMom]

Lisa, I can certainly sympathize. While DS has never had a problem with lice, DH and I had a run-in with the awful creatures after we went to a retreat for Precana (Catholic pre-marriage retreat).

With all of the comments on bed bugs the past couple of years, we are careful to check the bedding & mattresses upon arrival at Disney. We usually strip off the comforters immediately, roll them up and pin notes to them so that Mousekeeping does not put them back on our beds. That being said, we've never had a problem with bugs of any kind in the rooms, or bringing them home with us.

I'm so sorry you're having to deal with this! When the notes come home from school letting us know there's been an outbreak (1-3 times yearly), we ensure that we put mousse in DS' hair for awhile. My DSIL is a professional stylist & she has said that mousse helps to deter the lice since they can't get a good hold on the follicle. Good luck - I hope you can get rid of the problem quickly - and for good.

[Dznygrl79]

I'm not expert and can't say how you got them but I know what a pain they are, the sitigma of lice and dirtiness is started with kids but it has nothing to do with how clean or dirty you are. Now peronally I have never slept on linens at a hotel whenever I go I have to take my own bedding because I have severe allergies to scents,dyes, and chemicals. So maybe to just ease your mind you might wanna try to bring your own. Tea tree oil is amazing, my DC was 6 months preggers and came home with lice and couldn't use a lot of the traditional chemicals so after lots of research she found out that they hate tea tree oils,( her daughter is 10) she still uses it every day .
Have a good trip I would definitly second the don't try on the hats vote.

[princessgirls]

Oh my kids had these horrible pests in April of 2008. It traumatic to say the least. Thick hair... weeks of combing and chemicals.
This is what I do know, it takes about 2 weeks from when a lice enters the head to lay eggs and for them to hatch, so if your kids were already itchy in Disney, chances are they got it before the trip.
The hats are a no-no. Just yesterday in Kohl's one of my girls was going to put a hat on their head and I'm screaming NO HATS!!
Also, I will tell you Lisa that I have heard other parents from around town saying Lice is bad this year, so they could have picked it up playing soccer or at the gym or anywhere, and with you being together in a hotel room it was spread easier with people sharing a bed.
Yes, it was a horrible experience, and when I hear of an outbreak I'm spraying my girls hair with Fairytails. It smells, but I don't care!!! Been there, done that....
Julie

[mouseketeer mom]

Oh my kids had these horrible pests in April of 2008. It traumatic to say the least. Thick hair... weeks of combing and chemicals.
This is what I do know, it takes about 2 weeks from when a lice enters the head to lay eggs and for them to hatch, so if your kids were already itchy in Disney, chances are they got it before the trip.
The hats are a no-no. Just yesterday in Kohl's one of my girls was going to put a hat on their head and I'm screaming NO HATS!!
Also, I will tell you Lisa that I have heard other parents from around town saying Lice is bad this year, so they could have picked it up playing soccer or at the gym or anywhere, and with you being together in a hotel room it was spread easier with people sharing a bed.
Yes, it was a horrible experience, and when I hear of an outbreak I'm spraying my girls hair with Fairytails. It smells, but I don't care!!! Been there, done that....
Julie

Ugh. Don't tell me lice is bad this year. What is Fairytails?

[Disney4us2]

My DD had them 2 years ago. She got them from school. She has very straight, fine hair, but a lot of it. Her hair was just past her shoulders at the time. I swear, I just wanted to shave it all off...lol It took weeks and weeks to get rid of them.

Now I keep her waist lenght hair in a braid all the time. I check her all the time when I shampoo her hair and keep a bottle of rid on hand to use every now and then. I also have the tea tree shampoo.

We have been lucky since we went through that episode.

[princessgirls]

Fairytails is a product that is sold in salons and although I didn't use it to get rid of the lice, I bought the repel spray. It has citronella and rosemary extract in it, and this fall when I had heard of outbreaks, I was spraying it in their hair. There was no outbreak at my girls school (that I know of, when my girls had it I was in constant contact with the school nurse and she sent out a notice to everyone in their classes), but a few of the kids who we played soccer with were having huge lice problems at their schools.
They have a website.
Lice traumatized me... thankfully we survived, and I THANK my mother and sister who came over when I was at my wits end, and calmly helped me comb.
Julie

Not that it makes it any better, but I know exactly where my kids picked it up, after visiting my husband's family in South Carolina over Easter of 2008, my SIL called me after we had arrived home that our niece had lice. God has a sense of humor, I tell you, because I prayed hard about going there at all. Haven't been back since... Thanks for the parting gift! Apparently, she had been battling the lice in my niece's hair for weeks before we arrived.

[mouseketeer mom]

Fairytails is a product that is sold in salons and although I didn't use it to get rid of the lice, I bought the repel spray. It has citronella and rosemary extract in it, and this fall when I had heard of outbreaks, I was spraying it in their hair. There was no outbreak at my girls school (that I know of, when my girls had it I was in constant contact with the school nurse and she sent out a notice to everyone in their classes), but a few of the kids who we played soccer with were having huge lice problems at their schools.
They have a website.
Lice traumatized me... thankfully we survived, and I THANK my mother and sister who came over when I was at my wits end, and calmly helped me comb.
Julie

Not that it makes it any better, but I know exactly where my kids picked it up, after visiting my husband's family in South Carolina over Easter of 2008, my SIL called me after we had arrived home that our niece had lice. God has a sense of humor, I tell you, because I prayed hard about going there at all. Haven't been back since... Thanks for the parting gift! Apparently, she had been battling the lice in my niece's hair for weeks before we arrived.

South Carolina, huh? Thats where I think we got it, at Disney's Hilton Head Island resort. The timeline fits. I too, was traumatized by the lice, and NEVER want to go thru it again.

[michelle140]

My family and I returned home from Disney a few weeks ago. 2 days after returning we discovered lice! We stayed at Pop Century. I didn't blame it on Disney at first but after my own investigation, I concluded it came from Disney...propably the resort. I contacted them immediately and soon realized they didn't really care. Since we were no longer a guest they didn't even want to talk to me. Are we the only ones that this has happened to? I personally don't want to ever stay there again!

[Disney Buff]

When we stay at hotels I always purchase the plastic zip pillow covers. Hey they make noise can be a little warm but we aren't taking any chances. My DH thought I was crazy for doing it at first but after so many bad reports he makes sure they are on our packing list as well and checked off. Right when we get in the room I wipe down anything and everything with clorox wipes put the pillow covers on strip the bed and comfortes are gone.

[DizneyRox]

... after my own investigation, I concluded it came from Disney...propably the resort. I contacted them immediately and soon realized they didn't really care.

BINGO! As with many businesses these days, once your money is in their hands, I've found that the follow-up is pretty bad to non-existent.

Are we the only ones that this has happened to? I personally don't want to ever stay there again!

No, I've got two open issues I'm waiting on follow-up on, both from a Julyish trip. I'm not holding my breath. I hope you're not...

[Tinkerfreak]

Did you fly to Disney? If someone with lice sat in your airplane seat before you you can easily get them that way too. Not saying it couldn't have happened at Disney but plane seats are not changed in between passengers so this could be a possibility too.

I have two DD's with long thick hair and when they were younger they got them from Daycare twice! The daycare was just treating her grandchildren's heads and not her furniture and stuff so they kept getting it back. I remember the enormous amounts of laundry I had to do. You even need to use a spray on your car because they can be on the seats.
To this day I still freak out everytime I see someone scratch their head. I discourage them from trying hats etc. If they must try them on I make them dig way to the back of the pile to get one that is less likely to have been tried on a thousand times.