Source: Pond5
Head lice. Ugh. Been there, done that. Twice.
The first time: The school sent home instructions to check our kids for lice because they were going around. Sure enough, after searching and searching my husband found one. One is enough to start the purge.
The second time happened the following summer when I noticed that a young houseguest was scratching her head quite a bit. Upon investigating, her mother and I found considerably more than one tiny creature scurrying along her scalp. She freaked out. I wasn’t happy, but I knew the drill and I knew that freaking out solved nothing. Trust me, the first time, I freaked out, too — more on that later.
Source: Pond5
Ten things you should know about head lice
1) They are a nuisance, but not a medical problem.
2) Personal hygiene and cleanliness have nothing to do with getting head lice.
3) You’re at the greatest risk if you have direct contact with the hair of someone who is infested.
4) Head lice don’t hop or jump, they crawl.
5) Lice are usually easier to spot than their eggs or nits. They crawl along the scalp and are most likely to be found around and behind the ears or near the neckline at the back of the head.
6) The nits are yellowish-white and about the size of a sesame seed. They stick to the hair shaft — like in the picture above.
7) Lice are after human blood, but you might also find them and their eggs on clothing, bedding, towels, and other items. Without a human host, they’ll die within two days. That said, you should wash questionable items in hot soapy water or put them in a hot dryer for 30 minutes. Also vacuum furniture, floors, and carpets.
8) There are several ways to treat active head lice, but the American Academy of Pediatrics has this warning:
Not all products and techniques have been evaluated for safety and effectiveness. One percent permethrin lotion is recommended as initial treatment for most head lice infestations with a second application 7‑10 days after the first. Parents and caregivers should make sure that any treatment chosen is safe; preferred treatments would be those
The CDC website has additional information about over-the-counter and prescription medications.
9) An important part of treatment is getting rid of nits. You’ll need a special comb because they stick to the hair shaft.
10) To help prevent another infestation, all family members who have head lice should be treated on the same day.
Unfortunately, head lice are a common occurrence where children gather, such as in day care or at school. It doesn’t mean you or your kids aren’t clean, and it doesn’t mean you’re a failure as a parent. It is what it is, and the important thing is to get rid of them.
Dr. Lisa Ryan, Chief of Pediatrics at Mercy Hospital’s Harry E. Davis Pediatric Center, adds this important information:
The recommendations for household contacts is for them to be checked and treated only if they have evidence of lice or nits. Kids don’t need to be sent home from school but school nurses typically are quite upset about kids with lice being in school. The most important thing is to remind kids not to share brushes, hats, bandanas, pony tail holders with other kids at school!
My head lice freak out moment
And now, my confession. I freaked out the first time we had to deal with head lice and ended up feeling like a bad mother and a bit of a hypocrite. I had calmly explained to my daughter, who was about eight at the time, that it wasn’t a big deal. Anyone could get head lice I said, but she’d have to stay home from school until we were sure they were gone.
I was really proud of the way I handled the situation — until I walked into her bedroom and listened in horror as she shouted out the window to all the kids waiting for the school bus. “I can’t go to school today,” she yelled, “because I have head lice!”
I yanked her away from the window and quickly closed it. “But, Mommy,” she asked, “why are you upset? You told me it wasn’t a big deal.”
“I know,” I replied rather sheepishly, “but I didn’t expect you to shout it from the rooftops!”
I have 3 kids and have dealt with head lice off and on for 6 years! We are dealing with it again at the moment. The best thing I can tell you is the over-the-counter treatments do NOT work! Head lice are resistent to them. I have found the best method ever, the Robi-comb. They sell it at Walgreens for $30 and it detects the lice and zaps them without hurting the child’s head. We were amazed at how many live ones we found and there was no way we would have seen them without the comb. You still have to get the nits out-nothing kills those buggers! But if you use the comb for 2 weeks you should beat the cycle!
Thank you so much for the information Kari, and GOOD LUCK!
I just received an email from a reader about her recent experience with head lice and got her permission to post it as a comment — “Anything to help other Mommies avoid these issues,” she told me. Here’s her comment:
Hi Diane – We just dealt with head lice in our home so I am still getting Google Alerts about it — hence I saw your post. I wanted to share with you what we found, as it has changed my view of head lice completely. After the diagnosis by the school nurse, I went to the store and got the permethrin product. My daughter complained of burning & stinging and then had a red, tender scalp and a persistent headache for 2 days — but still had head lice. We then went to the pharmacist and found out that many head lice strains are resistant to permethrins and that they are not as ‘harmless’ as manufacturers want us to believe. Our daughter’s reaction was common as permethrins are actually toxins and people absorb them through their skin and open wounds (like the itchy bites from head lice). That was horrifying to find out! She then suggested this product called Greenbug which is a green, EPA exempt, food-grade safe contact pest killer and bug repellent primarily used to repel mosquitoes on people and fleas on pets. I applied it throughout her hair and scalp and then put a shower cap on her for four hours. No problems whatsoever with reactions and it actually smelled good. Afterwards, she shampooed and I dried her hair and there were no head lice and even better — there were no nits. The Greenbug wiped out the nits too so I didn’t have to comb them out! This ended up being a perfectly safe AND incredibly effective solution. The lice were still circling throughout her classroom so I sent an email to all the Moms and also lightly sprayed Megan’s hair and backpack with the Greenbug for a few days as a repellent. Within 4 days of getting my email and the Moms treating with Greenbug, no more lice in that classroom that had been fighting them for weeks. I just wish I had known about this first so now I feel obligated to tell everyone. My local Walgreens carries it but my sister lives in Connecticut and she had to order it online. Thanks for dealing with such a touchy subject and now you know you have a safe!solution to recommend.
Many thanks.
I volunteered in my daughter’s third grade class. I noticed one little girl very energetically scratching her head during the entire time I was in the classroom. I mentioned to the teacher that child should probably be sent to the nurse to check for lice. Sure enough, she had a head full of them and unfortunately she also had the same jacket as my daughter. Their jackets got mixed up and my daughter got lice. We treated her immediately but the classroom apparently was infested and kids in that class kept getting re-infested including my daughter. My other 3 girls (2 older, 1 younger) remained lice free. My youngest daughter was in first grade and kept a journal. She made an entry about her sister having lice and added a lovely illustration of her sister with bugs in her hair. When her teacher read that she was sent to the nurse to have her head checked. What was worse was the middle school and high school nurses were called and my 2 older girls were taken out of their classes to have lice checks. My oldest daughter had flakes in her hair from the styling product she used. The nurse declared she had lice and sent her home. I had to argue with the nurse and patiently explain the difference between nits and flakes from hair styling products. My daughter was understandably humiliated, first because of falsely being diagnosed with lice and secondly having her mother storm the nurse’s office and demand she be allowed to go back to class.
What a story! Which I just read to my husband. We both snorted. I apologize for that. I should have been more empathetic, but I couldn’t help myself.
Ew, that’s gross that lice are often found behind and around the ears and at the neckline. My child came home from school early today because someone has them. That someone is in my son’s class. I’m worried that he has them now, so I’ll have to find a professional who can come over and give my son a lice treatment.