Fleas!

[Raven oaktree]

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ok, before i start if anyone laughs at this i will sulk!!!

i work on a small holding, we have sheep goats ducks and geese..we also grow lots of yummy organic veg. for the last 3 weeks we have been lambing so i have spent quite a lot of my time laying or kneeling in straw with my hand up sheep's bottoms..we also hand milk the goats..so i spend my mornings with my head resting against a goat enjoying cuddle while i milk them..anyway for the last few days my head has been driving me insane..itichy etc so last night i asked my other half to massage some coconut oil into my scalp and he found a FLEA !!!! a blummin flea in my hair..!!! i have dreadlocks..how the flipin heck in all the Gods and Goddess names am i going to get rid of fleas from dreadlocks??? I washed my dreads last night..and gave a final rinse of apple cider vinegar...hoping to pickle them ..my boss thinks its soooo funny and has threatened to pin me down and frontline my neck..or throw me in the sheep dip in 2 weeks when they are all done..my hubby keeps telling the dogs to 'stay away from mummy..she has fleas'...pffttt..i slept with a shower cap on my head last night..im not impressed i can tell you!!..normally i bring eggs, veggies and milk home from work..the occasional lamb that needs bottle feeding..but fleas??!!!

So im armed with diatom today..all the goats will have a good dusting with it..and well..im not actually sure what to do about my dreads..im hoping they drown and if i keep washing my hair i can get rid of it....im quite a 'big girl' so can you imagine my husband going into the vets and asking for 37 vials of frontline please for my er...very big bitch ..pffttt..not happy..off to wash my hair again before work..

I will just say..that my background is actually social services and every friday the ritual was me sitting at the kitchen table with wine and my hubby checking for nits..which i usually had picked up from some of the children i worked with..when i decided to leave the rat race and do something totally different i celebrated that i would no longer get crawlies ...that worked didnt it ????

 

[goldenbear2013]

Oh my god I'm sorry but I laughed..... :>

You poor thing! that must be awful.

An ex colleague of mine got fleas from a repossessed house she had to go into (there was lots of pets, and fleas in the carpet) and she had to go to A&E (minor injuries department) and get de-flee'd!

I think they used some sort of powder or something.

I would contact your local pharmacist and see what they recommend to you.

I don't think drowning them will work, and i'm afraid to say you may have to cut your hair :'(

Sophie x

 

[Raven oaktree]

CUT MY HAIR NOOOOO wash your mouth out woman !!!

Well from what I can gather fleas don't actually live on humans..they just bite (here's hoping)..problem with dreadlocks is you cant comb them..people think you cant wash them and/or they are dirty but its not true..i wash mine every 6months whether they need it or not ..teasing..i wash them a few times a week..i will speak to the pharmacist..I don't normally use chemicals but I don't want my dogs to catch them..or infest my home.

If you could see me in work today..knee length shorts..spotty wellies and a freezer bag held on my head with a peg...yea..i may be 40something but I've still got it baby!

Ohh and i would just like to point out you told me this was a nice friendly forum..pffttt..laughing at a friend in need indeed..cyber bullying is what it is xxx

 

[eingana]

Sorry, but I had a good laugh at your post too :> More from sympathy at what I could pick up from the animals than laughing at your situation though.

I personally would see if there's a way to work some diatomaceous earth into your dreads. It wouldn't take much for whatever fleas may be in there to be killed, and if you could bear it worked into your dreads and left for 24 hours then you could wash it out with shampoo and put the wax back afterwards.

The freezer bag is a cool accessory. If it's a blue one with handles I will be very jealous you know

 

[Raven oaktree]

Helloooo yea..I was thinking diatom myself....im free Sunday and Monday so may just coat my hair in that for 24 hours..ive done all the goats with it much to their disgust..will go and give them a brush later this afternoon.

I don't use wax in my dreads..it clogs your hair up..i find washing them with a home made recipie with rosemary and castile soap works..then I rinse with ACV mixture...the smell dissipates when its dry..then I between I use coconut oil to massage my scalp and my dreads are lovely..so lovely blummin lovely squatters have moved in !

 

[eingana]

As long as you are going to replace the oils somehow- DE is such a good desiccant that your scalp and dreads would be way too dry and crinkly if you didn't.

I've never managed to pick up fleas off my beasties, but I did get a lovely case of ringworm from an outbreak at our local cat shelter when I worked there. We all diagnosed each other by standing in a dark cupboard with an ultraviolet light- aren't we lucky that Tinea canis fluoresces under ultraviolet light, making diagnosis really clear? I had to get someone else to put the cream on my back as I couldn't reach all of the patches- typical!

 

[Raven oaktree]

Wetting my self laughing at that....
Will put tons of coconut oil in afterwards ..thankyou for the advice xx

glow in the dark ring worm hahahaha x