Strategies for Making it Through Each Night

[joycomeswiththemorning]

Hi All–

What routines do you use for maintaining a somewhat normal life? Like, what process do you go through to make it through the night, especially? Any suggestions would be really wonderful. I’m glad that this group exists; I don’t feel quite so crazy now.

[CNDNGirl]

Hi there,

I’m glad you found this group – you’re definitely not alone!

This is what I personally do, and I have found it to be “working” most of the time (the number of bites I find each day is going down). I will be thorough, since I know some people appreciate that.

AM – wake up, strip my bedding immediately, put in a plastic bag that I seal and put outside (I live in a cold climate, so I’d like to think this may help). I have a vinyl cover to my pillow and mattress, and I spray it down with an enzyme spray (I use Lice Squad’s enzyme spray) and with lysol. My bed is pulled away from the walls and I have a circle of borax encircling it.

I go to shower immediately. I put the clothing I wore in the night into another bag that I seal. In the shower, I scrub my body with a loofah and Dawn dish soap (that I leave on my body for a bit before rinsing — it might be too hard for some people), tea tree oil shampoo, and an apricot/neem oil face scrub. I have also done a few lice treatments along the way since I find I get bitten mostly around my neck and scalp). I hydrate with a eucalyptus moisturizer. I take a garlic and an immune boosting pill each morning with breakfast.

I check my body for new bites and record any new ones (I find it important to track this).

PM – dry my sheets in the dryer for 40 minutes. I also dry my clothing before I change back into it. Wipe down the vinyl mattress again with lysol. Every other day (because I can’t every day), I vacuum my room and wash down everything with Pinesol. I run a heater in my room that really dries everything out. I smother my both with neem oil (smells TERRIBLE, but lots of research shows it works) and Aquaphor (basically vaseline). I change into comfy clothing right from the dryer. I put my sheets on, and right before I go to bed, I spray my socks with lysol (as to not drag anything into bed). I also sleep with my side lamp on, because I read a study that tested mite activity with 23h darkness vs 12h darkness in a day, and it said:

“Our findings demonstrated that prolonged darkness significantly promoted the proliferation levels of D. gallinae, resulting in increased number of mites and eggs in the rearing system. The promoted population growth of D. gallinae was found to be related to the increased feeding rate, engorgement level and oviposition level of mites under prolonged darkness. The egg hatchability, the survival rates and the duration of life-cycle of D. gallinae were not affected by the light regimes.”

…so in my mind they are less active when lights are on.

That’s what I do. It’s a lot to manage, and I am very lucky to live somewhere cold and in a room that has hardwood floors, but it’s a constant slough until they’re gone.

I hope some of this advice will help!

[joycomeswiththemorning]

Thank you so much for this information! I can’t tell you how comforting it is to know that I am not alone. I am headed in the direction of the routine you currently follow. My partner was a little incredulous at my current routine–I dry my clothes for 40 minutes before wearing them to bed and sleep inside a sleeping bag liner (also dried for 40 minutes) that I am able to drape over my head and secure under my body. I bought some lysol tonight. When I get some money I’m going to buy a dehumidifier..I’ve heard that running the temperature low helps…maybe I’ll put my sealed clothes and bedding in the freezer until I can wash/dry them in the evening.

[attemptedStoic]

@CNDNGirl thanks for posting what you’re doing. Are you still dealing with the mites?

I’ve been dealing with this for three months now, if you’re open to it I’d love to ask you more via email.

My email is attemptedstoic@gmail.com if you’re open to getting in touch. Thanks!

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