Got lice? Did you start itching as soon as you read that word? I know I did. (Excuse me, while I scratch.)
Ever since we started school it seems like once a month we get an email home saying that a student has lice and everyone needs to take extra precautions to prevent it from spreading. Ugh. We've been lucky enough to dodge the lice bullet, but it seems like with each outbreak it gets closer to us and I know our days are numbered. (Scratch. Scratch.)
Adolpha is still in preschool where they play with dress up clothes and stuffed animals - AKA "Lice City." Last year the school had to bag up all the dress up clothes and animals because their outbreak was quickly becoming an epidemic. Adolpha was so sad, but all the moms breathed a collective sigh of relief. No one wanted to be a nitpicker. Adolpha knows now that if I put her hair in braids we've received the dreaded notice of a lice case. "Oh, it's a lice day, Mommy?" she'll ask.
Recently, we got the email that someone in Gomer's class had lice. Great. I can't braid his hair.
The email instructed us to remind our child not share combs or hats with anyone in his class. (What first grader brings a comb to school and offers it to his friend?? And yet I still made a mental note to warn him. This is how crazy I can get. Scratch. Scratch. I come by it naturally though. Yesterday my mother arrived at my house with rubber gloves and asked me to check her hair, because she felt "unusually itchy." She sat in my driveway - she can't come in my house until I know she's lice-free - while I pawed through her hair and waved to my neighbors on their way to work. Yeah, we're classy like that over here.)
"Gomer, don't share any hats or combs with anyone at school, OK?"
Gomer replied, "Is it because Maribelle has lice?"
"You know who has lice?" I asked. The emails never name names.
"Sure. Everyone knows it's Maribelle."
"How does everyone know?" I asked thinking there must be some breach of confidentiality somewhere in the staff at the school. Heads were gonna roll!
"She told us," he said.
"Oh. Well, I guess that's OK." So much for breach of confidentiality.
"Yeah and now Iris has it too."
"What? Two girls in your class? Just out of curiosity...where do Maribelle and Iris sit?" I asked.
"On either side of me."
Ack!!!!
I got online and did some quick research and found out that lice are attracted to the cleanest heads of hair. Oh thank goodness! Gomer has some of the dirtiest and sweatiest hair I've ever seen on a child. I think we're going to be just fine. (Scratch. Scratch.)
Thanks to everyone who voted for me in the Circle of Moms Top 25 Funny Mom Contest. I really appreciate everyone who took the time to vote for me and all the other funny bloggers on the list.
Photo: David Castillo Dominici
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112 comments:
Funny how the words "lice" and "pink eye" immediately lead to scratching...
Sorry you're dealing with lice, but that is hilarious. Now my head itches. Thanks for that.
I think its worse in the elementary schools, where they all hang their backpacks together and their jackets are practically hanging ON EACH OTHER because the fucking hooks are so close together. No cubbies for these kids! I had to finally instruct my daughter to put her jacket in her backpack because she came down with it TWICE!!!! UGH! Its a moms nightmare because you have to wash everything on HOT water or bag it up (which in my house means you forget you own it!!)
Yuck Yuck!!! One of my biggest fears when it comes to sending kids to school!!! My daughter has long, beautiful, naturally spiral curls. Yikes!!
you know, my little girls had the longest hair until they started school. Then I cut it in a swing bob style(very cute for them thank God!) because....even though it may not fully prevent it...at least I will not be spend ALL day combing through Rapunzel hair!. One day...when I took my girls to get there hair cut...The hair dresser sneared and huffed and puffed that I was actually cutting there beautiful hair. At this time I explained that there was a method to my madness. After the hair cuts were through...she pulled me outside and told me that she did in fact find bugs in my youngest daughters hair!!! But since I was pregnant I would have to have someone else apply the medicine. I had my daughters head checked 3 times myself and by 4 other ppl including the school nurse...and NO BUGS!!!! That witch freaked me out just to spite me!!!
I have all boys (4 of them--ages 16 down to 2)...and they have been told that if it comes home...I'm shaving their heads ;)
My little one came home to announce that his teacher had checked him for the itcher bugs last night! Lawd just the thought of it sends me into a frenzy I tell ya!
I nannied for a family while I was in college who had 2 young boys, one was a toddler the other school aged. I nannied at night because the mother worked the night shift (and it wasn't at a hospital folks & she answered her phone with a different name then what came on her catalogs & was on the mailbox ;)) After about 2 months I discovered that I had LICE! Ewww, so I called to talk to the mother to let her know that I'd gotten it & she was all, "oh well you must have gotten from the kids cause they both had it the last time you were here."
Never mentioned this to me when I had arrived the previous week, ugh. Never worked for them again!!! And for the next 3 weeks me & my 2 female housemates looked like a bunch of chimpanzees in the living room picking over each other's heads!
We got the dreaded lice note sent home about a month ago and I freaked. I went out and bought the Fairy Tails shampoo conditioner and spray from Ulta. It is a lice prevention.....I use it every night before they go to school and spray the stuff on their hair in the morning. U can also get.it from Amazon....it is cheaper there. I despise the idea of lice in the house.
My 5th grade son just had lice. He was a trooper and let us shave his head. Thankfully the rest of us didn't have it (my 2nd grade son has long hair and is growing it to donate it..dodged that bullet). Word on the street is that 5th grade is the worst for lice; who knew?! Good luck!
Here in NYS it's the law that kids have to put their jackets in their backpacks to prevent the spread of lice. I had lice as a kid, over the summer no less. My parents cut my hair boy short and i had to start 6th grade with the worst haircut on earth. i hate lice, and i pray my kids never get it.
OMG! Lice! We've had it twice! Apparently, lice just love my daughter, and it's not like she's skeaky clean everyday, either.
Where we used to live, there was a 'lice salon'. It was expensive, but worth every penny to get it done right (we could use our flex medical benefits, but not med. insurance).
They put a non toxic secret solution on, cover with a shower cap and wait half an hour. Then they comb out every single egg and bug and helpfully note for you how many they found.
You need to check on your own for seven days, and then return for a second treatment. We never had to go for a third.
Now I check periodically, and wash the kids' hair with tea tree shampoo occasionally, as that's supposed to help.
Both my son and I got it as well both times. My husband? Nope. THe ladies at the salon told us that the dads almost never get it, basically because they're not around the kids as much!
When I was in elementary school, they would come around and do lice checks, but the school nurse would use the SAME PENCIL on every head of hair. Real detective work.
I had lice as a kid and ever since, I'm extremely paranoid. Yes, my head is itching right now! It was torture because I had to go without my beloved stuffed animals for three days. It would be torture now because of all the crap my girls have. I think we'd just move out of the house for 3 days!
A little trick I heard (not sure if it's true or not), lice are getting immune to the treatments which are becoming more and more caustic - but they HATE Listerine :). Pour a big bottle of Listerine on your kid's head and they'll jump ship. Like I said, I've not tried it, but it's worth a shot, right? Good luck and I hope they miss your house!
Put mousse or gel in his hair. Lice don't like hair products-hence the term "clean" hair.
I would be glad that they send out the notice. When we lived in Georgia, my daughter came home many times and we had to nitpick her hair (well, DW did...I was out of the country -- really I was). DW would call the school and tell the administration, as well as the teacher, and they would do NOTHING. No notice, no emails, no announcement in class, NOTHING. When confronted, they school said that they didn't send them out because it would be against policy as it violated privacy for the children in the classroom (not that they would mention names). Talk about BULLSHIT! So for months it was nitpicking about once or twice a week just to ensure she was still clear -- and often she wasn't. All because the school refused to inform ALL the parents that their as an infestation. We were so glad to finally move from Coastal Georgia...there is a reason that they are so low in statewide Education!
my husband taught at a grade school that couldn't afford a nurse, so hubba had to check all of his students for lice. HORRIFIC.
We survived 8 years w/o getting it and then one cold day in January this year, all 3 of my kids were sent home w/it on the same day. SO AWFUL, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. We threw out a couch. My kids thought I was the devil because of my obsessive, frenetic combing and washing. It was seriously awful.
It has been bad in our schools here in South Lyon MI too...I'm a germaphobe to the Nth degree....this extends to bugs and rodents (whatever that's called) anyway, I went out and got this lice shield spray for hair and her coat, backpack, etc. Hell, I had her putting her coat and backpack into garbage bags then hanging those in her locker. She still ended up coming home with it...which I discovered the night before thanksgiving, which I was hosting AND having my brothers fam staying and they were literally 1 hour away when I found the little bugger (literally, gag!) What a fun night and following week...we have 3 girls and 1 boy all with the color hair that helps the nits blend in. She was the only one that got it, whew...and had a very mild case but I still kept her home til her second shampoo and spent over 12 hrs nitpicking:( my hair dresser got me this GUARANTEED product called FAIRY TALES and I wish I had known about it before because the lice shield I got from CVS obviously didn't work and it smelled horrible! I started with just the repel spray and after several more notes came home I added the shampoo and conditioner. Highly recommend it!!
My three girls and I all found out we had it last summer the week after I brought my fourth baby home from the hospital. It was hell- while the girls were fine after two weeks it took me months to get rid of from my own head. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy and wish there was a way to obliterate it. I panic everyday when it's time to do their hair that I'm going to find it again. I don't think I'll relax again...ever.
Great post though. I think this is the first time I've laughed about the whole idea in months.
My son must have set a record for having lice. It seemed everytime I got rid of the buggers, they'd be back. Finally my afterschool daycare Mom told me that they figured out he was the "carrier". Yup, all those stuffed animals! Into a giant garbage bag, stored for 30 days, no more lice. Good thing he looked awesome with a shaved head. He liked it so much he wanted me to "take it down to the wood", as in totally shaved. I finally gave in when he was 7 and he was "Mini Me" for Halloween. He was spot on, and everyone wanted a picture with him. Thge high school up the road's Vice Principal was dressed as Dr. Evil...too bad we didn't coordinate the photo op. And yes, I just finished having a good head scratch
When I was a kid, we would try to get lice because it was at least two days out school. Good way to break the routine...
My daughter is in 6th grade and I have never had a lice scare with her. No note from school or anything. Knock on wood, I guess I have been lucky.
Ugh! My daughter had a serious case of lice last year. Her school refused to tell any parents (I found out that one girl had it before her, and they never said anything). I'd never had it, so I didn't know what to look for. I asked the pediatrician at a regular check-up to take a look at what I thought was "dry scalp", and she told me my daughter was infested with lice. Then, the lice were resistant to the shampoos, so I spent every night for TWO MONTHS picking thru her hair to make sure she was clear (after the school had checked her out 3 times and said she was ok, I still kept finding nits). I stood at the school pick-up gate and told all of the other parents in the class b/c the school refused to, and I just didn't want other parents to go thru what I had. Ugh, I wanted to punch them ALL in the throat!!!
FYI...you can buy tea tree essential oil at a health food place. If you add a few drops to your shampoo and conditioner bottles, the smell will repel the lice. It works!
Luckily, he's a boy. Time to break out the clippers and give him a summer buzz cut. Just to be safe...
Spray your child's hair with hairspray before sending them to school. I taught Kindergarten for many years and that is how I protected myself from the icky bugs!
My niece had it at Christmas (didn't know until a few days later) and my oldest got it from her. His hair was clean but it didn't help. We were lucky that we caught it super early. We treated everyone except the baby just in case. Oh and our school doesn't alert parents either. I blame the HIPPA law on that one. So the moms pass the word without pointing fingers.
Oh geezaloo! I'm sorry to anyone who has those buggers! I never got it and I even taught elem educ for 10 years! But in kindergarten DD got it the wk of her Christmas party. I was told by the school district health person that the CDC doesn't consider lice a "health issue" so technically they're not a reason to send home a note - not like Measles! She also, honest to God, went on to saying that maybe if I parented more vigilantly I could've avoided this. Yep! Really! So apparently pediculosis wasn't enough of cross to bear - let's add a side of humiliation seasoned w/ ridicule. I was also told that they could return with NITS! I mean, couldn't NITS actually be LICE if it hatched during the day while at school?!?! And don't get me started about how those kids share space. I literally asked if DD could be sharing the locker w/ "Louse Ground Zero" and was told yes. The school told me no cases had been reported, but after Christmas Break, the custodians told me this wasn't true because they were told the shampoo all the carpets because there'd been several cases of lice in each grade level. Even the computer aide didn't know. I called her to tell her to bag up her head phones. For those of you not wishing to use chemicals, one word: Robi-comb! Best investment ever.
At least your school still sends out notices. Last year I discovered that our elementary school doesn't send out emails or require kids to stay home when they do have lice. I found this out when both of my girls got lice. I freaked out and called the school but they didn't care. I even asked how long I had to keep my girls home after lice treatments and the office told me they could come in that day. This explains why lice hit our house so unexpectedly. Emails no longer go out warning parents and kids with lice don't have to stay home!
When I was a kid I had really long (to my waist) blonde (so blonde you could see my scalp right through it) hair. In 4th grade my mom got the notice 4 times that lice was "found" in a kids hair in my class. I remember sitting outside with her combing through my hair, the kid was one of my best friends whose parents were in denial.
That was the end of long hair and that friendship.
I hate that mess. Put a few drops of Tea Tree Oil in their shampoo. Lice hate that stuff.
Here's my no-fail lice removal plan... I should've added for boys, shaving doesn't cut it and isn't necessary, so just treat like the girls (minus the last step of gel and ponytails, never met a boy who would sit for that)
http://katiesuzi.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-lice-killing-recipe.html?m=1
Consider yourself lucky. My 3rd grade son had lice three times before Christmas break. Each time I spent about $200 on products, hours treating my two kids hair and myself, and many more hours cleaning. I keep other kids after school and dreaded having to tell their parents. The first time I did not notify the school. The second and third time I personally talked to the school nurse and told her which child in his class had it. They did NOTHING. My child's teacher didn't even know. After contacting the district office and school board the parents now get notes. Those little critters are hard to get rid of and the schools do nothing to prevent them trim spreading.
My niece had it over and over in daycare. He father was a single dad and did not understand the OMG factor that comes with head lice. We did mayo on the hair, a special brush and lots of Lice shampoo. Finally we did highlights on her hair. Finally no more lice. The amonina killed them. Gross! Now I am itching!
Spray their heads with hairspray before they leave for school. Lice always went around our school and my brothers and I never had it - mom sprayed all us with a bit of aqua net before we headed out!!!
I think it's total bullshit how schools wont' notify parents anymore when lice is going around... or keep the child home. Privacy, my ass! Oh, god forbid we make little Johnny feel bad for getting sent home because he has bugs in his hair. I don't even think my kid's school checks them for it anymore!
Last year the neighbor kid showed up at my door to play with my kids and the first thing out of her mouth when I answered the door was "I have lice hehehe." I turned her around and sent her right back home. Maybe I'm mean, but I don't relish the idea of picking through my kid's hair day after day.
Your poor mom. I sincerely hope that the lice stopped here. Everyone I had to call has been clean so far. And holy crap, I'm layering on the lice ice spray in the mornings now. The laundry alone was enough to kill me.
THIS is the best stuff on the planet, as far as I'm concerned...
http://www.fairytaleshaircare.com/
I once said that I'd rather have my kids come home with something broken than any bugs... I won't say out loud that I've been spared the "L" word - because I'm afraid to tempt fate... So far so good!
I love the relief in your voice as you proudly proclaim your son's hair is not attractive to lice. Awesome.
And I'm proud of myself for NOT scratching during that whole post! I did some mind-over-matter ninja tricks and still feel fine!
The school districts cry "privacy", but we all know somehow it boils down to attendance and we all know attendance = MONEY don't we?!?!
Ooooh thanks for the product tips!!!
And now I can't stop scratching! Thank you very much!!!!! Scratch Scratch
So resisting the URGE TO SCRATCH!!
Oh god - it happens so much here that a group of nurses started a business that allows you to bring your kid to them to get deloused before you let them in your house.
Everytime we have an outbreak at school, I freak out and run to the nurse's office to get my head checked. Because I will totally go to those nurses to get deloused before I go home. Which is better than my old plan to shave my head!
Did you know that there are actually people who make their living as "nit-pickers"? How do I know this...because a week before I was due with my third child I discovered my girls both had a serious case of lice. (don't ask how I didn't notice sooner...mommy shame). Anyway, my older daughter has the thickest head of hair imaginable. After trying to deal with it myself, at 9 months pregnant, I called in the experts. These ladies were amazing - they sat with my daughter for THREE HOURS picking nits out of her hair. G-R-O-S-S. I paid them an arm and a leg...but hey, best money I ever spent. And in my opinion...anyone who does that for a living deserves to be paid well! And not only did I find one of these companies - but THREE in the Boston area alone.
Since I am pregnant right now and know how everything falls you out even more than normal I think hairdresser witch deserves a double punch! or maybe a kick in the face!
Since I am pregnant right now and know how everything falls you out even more than normal I think hairdresser witch deserves a double punch! or maybe a kick in the face!
Ugh I am scratching away over here. Glad my kid isn't old enough for school yet so we don't have to worry about lice. My day will come I'm sure.
P.S. I voted for you! Love your blog!
First off, I've scratched repeatedly while reading all these stories! My first is just in preschool now so thankfully haven't had to deal with it yet... but great post, because all these tips are fantastic. I'd never heard of Fairy Tales or that tea tree oil helps. That stuff is definitely good to know!
Lice has been making it's rounds in my daughter's class too. So far my daughter has not gotten it. I remember my sister in law, who is an elementary school teacher, once told me that lice like clean hair, not dirty hair or chemicals in hair. Every morning I pull my daughter's hair back in a tight ponytail and spray her entire head, ponytail and all, with hair spray. I don't know if this has really helped or if we've just gotten lucky but so far so good - knocking on wood...
Try hair gel, mousse, or even hair spray. They don't like it, and tend to stay clear. We get these notices often too, and I always end up scratching and scratching, and then sending a letter to the teacher asking if she is scratching.
Kids!!!
You colored the hair of a child young enough to be in daycare? Really? I'm surprised you would do that. I wouldn't want to have all of those chemicals on a young child's scalp.
Yes, I went to a 'lice salon' and it was well worth the investment! we were lucky, as we could use our flexible spending medical account to pay for it.
When lice made it around our school my ex hubby decided to shave both of my boys heads. Some can pull it off and look incredibly cute, not my guys. Try having Christmas "gift" picture taken then next day. We hide that one at the bottom of the picture box.
-G
I seriously could've written this EXACT same post a couple weeks ago...my kids knew the names of who had it in their classes and I then drilled them to see if they sat even remotely close to them! (How many seats away does she sit???!?!?) THEN the next day my boys went to school with SPIKED HAIR FULL OF HAIRSPRAY AND GEL!!! LMAO THAT is the answer...the DIRTIER THE BETTER!!!!
As a former secretary at a school that only had a part-time nurse----I was the official "lice-looker" when the nurse was not on campus. That was absolutely, without a doubt the worst part of my job. And, yes-after all these years-my head itches when the word "lice" is mentioned. Unfortunately, I was educated to the fact that there are 3 kinds of lice---Oh my word--too much infomation. :D
We received a letter today! I was fine this morning, but I know what you mean about suddenly feeling itchy. Luckily, I don't see anything on anyone (fingers crossed it stays that way). I was doing some reading today on it and read about the braiding, which having boys doesn't help. I found a couple spots that said wash with a tea tree oil shampoo because lice don't like the smell. I'm still trying to verify that on a medical site though.
The cleanest heads of hair?? I am so glad my kids are sweatballs.
My step daughters have lice every bloody time they come to our house, and their mother doesn't do anything about it. She says she does, but the infestations are so bad that it's pretty obvious she hasn't. So I spend a couple of hours each day combing their hair etc to try and get rid of them before they spread to my 3 and 2 year old. I haven't always been successful. Trying to de-louse a 2 year old with curly hair is one of the hardest things out there to do! After 6 years of it, I think we've finally got through to my step-daughters and their mum, by telling them that if they turned up to our house infested again, we would be shaving their heads, and we meant it too. If you think that's a harsh threat for a 12 year old and 9 year old, maybe you're right, but they've become so used to having lice that they didn't actually care, and we needed to put a stop to it. I figure they're old enough to tell their mum when they think they have them and ask her to do something about it. Phew that's a bit of a novel, but sometimes we need to get these things off our chests.
Head lice plus easter morning plus mother in law (aka ms clorox) equals nightmare from hell.
Really you could use your flex account?! I didn't even think of that! Oh well! But I agree it was well worth it. Saved me days and days of stress and worry. Not to mention that there is no way my daughters would have sat as still for me as they did for the nit-picker!
I did highlights around the nape of her neck.
Invest in Fairy Tales Leave in conditioner lice repellant spray. It's all natural, smells lovely, and works! They also have what you need in case someone gets lice. It's my worst nightmare, good luck!!!
Man, we grew up Pentecostal..... with the really really long hair.... 4 of us..... we had lice a LOT. it was TERRIBLE. This whole post makes me want to shave my head and possibly my kids' heads too. Ugh.
*scratch scratch*
Wow - I didn't realize that there were stupid schools who didn't tell anyone. We always do - and you aren't allowed back in school until your head has been cleared by the nurse.
Here's a 19th century lice preventative. Do this each week the night before you wash the bedding in hot water. Put a lot of cooking oil all over your child's hair. Wrap kid's hair up good and tight in a towel. Lay another towel over the pillow. Put child to bed. Wash hair & bedding 1st thing the next morning. Any lice die from lack of oxygen in the oil. Also, only wash the hair once a week. Very young kids really put their heads together when they play. It's got nothing to do with hats and combs. WIth boys its even easier -- mandatory crewcuts.
Just so ya know... Lice eggs can take up to 14 days to hatch and lice have to have a blood feast within 24 hours or they die. Lived the nightmare in our house 2 summers ago. We bagged everything up we couldnt run through the dryer on high heat but in the end my paranoia was best served by having the kids "camp out" on air mattresses in the dining room (hard wood floor). We stripped the air mattresses and ran their bedding through the washer every morning and I sprayed down the air mattresses with Rid or Nix lice spray. Have to use the proper thing or it doesnt work (we got lice from a neighbor who thought using dog lice powder was the same as using the people medicines. She didnt know they are separate species of bug and need specific treatments). Not to mention they are saying the darn bugs are becoming super bugs and immune to the chemicals in Rid and Nix. We ended up using tea tree oil mixed into our normal shampoo every day, mayonaise the hair with a shower cap overnight while the kids sleep to suffocate any live bugs and moved the kids entirely out of their rooms for 16 days. Thankfully only 1 of our kids ended up getting the bugs and the rest of us stayed bug free. I itch all over just thinking about it!! Hope the information helps. Just remember 2 weeks not 3 days.
I worked in an elementary school that had a major lice outbreak. Over 60 kids had lice. I believe to this day that it was so bad because they cut daily janitor services so the school was rarely vacuumed. Lice hate hair products. Hair gels and hair sprays help with prevention.
Tea Tree oil! a dab behind the ears before school and you are lice free. Our Preschool did this every morning so far 11 years no problems!
I had a student (7th grade) that had lice so bad you could just look at her and see them moving in her hair. The student behind her noticed and told me. I immediately sent her to the nurse. When I got home I made my husband check my hair for over an hour.
I also had one that had it (another teacher noticed them scratching and sent them to the nurse). The nurse confirmed that she had lice and contacted mom. Mom couldn't come get her so they sent her back to class! She was allowed to come back the next day even though she readily admitted that her mom had done nothing! The hubs had to check my hair for a while after that.
I grew up in Missouri, if you had lice, they sent you home from school. I now live in Texas. Here it is not considered that big of a problem. I still think it is!! Unless the child has live bugs on their head when inspected by the nurse, they are allowed to be in school ALL DAY with nits in their hair. Ummm, hello? Those buggers hatch out quickly....The school district here says it is an insect problem, not an illness or parasite problem. I disagree! The hours of cleaning, the treatment of hair...the parents who don't ensure the kids are retreated or even rechecked cause the rest of the parents a buttload of work only to have to do it again. My daughter's friend gave it to her at a sleep over. The mom didn't even tell me, my daughter called me to tell me. The mom's solution was use olive oil and shower cap for a few hours and then let her kid back out into the mall! It was nearly 3 months before her kid was lice free. Needless to say, my child stayed away from their house for awhile. Fortunately, my daughter only got them once.
LOL! thank goodness Gomer has the dirtyest hair!everyday you make me thankful for finding your blog!
We've been fortunate and dodged the lice bug quite a few times throughout the kids' school years. (Knock on wood) I just hate when the letters come home. I think I scratch the rest of the night just thinking about it.
The only thing Trashy about LICE is KEEPING it......
Styling products and blow drying the hair. Definitely worth a try!
Lice unfortunately happen. My 9 & 12 year old got them from a sleepover party. Just remember the following 4 things and you will be okay:
1. Cetaphil treatment
2. Nit Free Terminator comb
3. Hot clothes dryer
4. Booze
And what everyone should REALLY be worrying about is their spouse's ability to nit check their own hair. I nearly lost my mind with my husband's 2 second "Oh, you are fine" routine. Punch worthy.
Listerine does work... not Scope... We had lice 8 times in a year... the only thing that completely got rid of it was the listerine... put it on for 20 min covered in a shower cap... wash it out.. no conditioner and comb through thoroughly with a lice comb.. it detaches the glue..
Lice went through my sons preschool and they didn't inform anyone! We found out through the bus driver!! Then they had scabbies go through, I got informed personally because my son has dry skin and it looks like scabies and they accused him of passing it two months AFTER his rash cleared up!
Yah sure, that's it! Do you really think the school nurse gives a rats *** about school funding?
I second that. They also don't like tea tree oil conditioner. We use that + mousse in my girl's hair. Heat is another tool they don't tolerate. Blow dry their hair. 9 years, never had it.
Oh you POOR thing! I feel for your pain!
This made me chuckle, Ive been going through the dreaded "Itchy, scratch, scratch" routine all week. I work in a hospital and was exposed to lice by a patient that we had been caring for. I know there is a very slim chance that I could get it, but still just the thought.
Itchy and scratchy show. I'm definitely crawling now. Excuse me while I find your house so I can give you back the imaginary infestation you gave me when you said the word.
http://jesterqueen.com
BTW - I don't know if you have unusually high spam problems, but your captcha makes my life hell whenever I try to comment. I could maybe be persuaded to keep my fictitious lice to myself if you turned off the captcha or went over to Disqus. Just sayin'
My mom sent me to school knowing I had lice because they were doing lice checks. Of course when I was 6 I didn't realize the stigma so as the ladies where checking my head I starting saying things like, "They are mostly in this area here." Needless to say I was quickly sent back home. Have to love my mom!
We had it here last summer and my 8 yr old daughter who has thick, long, curly hair had it the worst. I tried the OC treatments for 5 days and they kept coming back....did the hair mayo, shower cap, Listerine and comb out and that worked.It was a fucking nightmare, though! It took me 4 hours to comb her hair out completely. If it comes back in this house, I'm shaving everyone's head!
This actually works, and also you won't find many women who are african-american with lice either as all the oil they put in their hair prevents the lice from staying, I thank the lord that my children are bi-racial and that I have to put oil in their hair to make it pretty, no lice here!
OMG, I have not heard the word "lice" since I was a kid. I did not even know it was really around anymore and now all these Moms saying it is going around all the time ? It gives me the creeps and thankfully we have made it 10 years and 3 kids with no lice, but now I will petrified...
Tea tree oil! The ratio is online. It's supposed to be a preventative measure. You'll find a lot of links on google.
some years ago we had a lovely lice explosion in my house. I found one on me, started checking around and found some on my son, think mom might have had it too. So I got the Rid or Nit or whatever stuff and took my son (about 5 at the time, he's 12 now), to the bathroom to do the deed but I didn't tell him what the "new shampoo" was for. "Oh, is that for lice?" he says? Yes, son, where did you hear about lice? "oh, the kids (step-sibs to be) had it last week, that's why the boys got their heads shaved." Thanks for telling me, dad... Fast forward to about 6 weeks ago, yep, back again on same said boy, who had it so bad we had to shave the head (and he's dirty sweaty tween now, no idea how those effers lived on his dirt-ball head). I escaped, the little ones only had a mild case and one shampoo did the trick on them, but I'll be damned if the first thing I did that day was call step-mom to tell her!
I worked at a shelter for abused children when I was in college. The worst case I ever saw was a little baby who had itched her scalp so much that she had severe hair loss. But this didn't stop the bugs. She had nits in her eyebrows and on the little tiny hairs on her arms and legs. Just awful. Talk about wanting to punch someone! BTW... Be sure to rub some tea oil all over your body...just in case.
Ugh, I'm so worried about this! My kids are in 1st and 2nd grade.. although they have had a few lice scares, they have never had it themselves. I've heard what a nightmare it is and I really don't have time or patience to deal with that crap!!
It depends on the school district. Mine always notifies parents of lice. I am a teacher and parent and we are always told if a student has lice.
I remember being in the sixth grade in safety patrol. It was like January, cold outside, and I was lucky enough to be on hallway duty. Another student who had to go outside didn't have a hat and the teacher made me lend mine to the other kid, or I would have been suspended from safety patrol. I was paranoid for weeks that I would end up with lice.
No need to slam the whole state, sweetie. In my school system (in Georgia!) a letter is sent to all parents in the class of the infected student.
I'm a teacher and when we get word of lice, I'm always a little freaked! Even when it's not in my class! I remember as a kid, it was hush hush of who had what....Not anymore! My class of kiddos always seem to know because the kids tell each other everything and it spreads like wild fire! I'll even have kids say "Yea, I've had lice", like it's no big deal! They'll even report when dad's in jail or the police were at their house--no big deal to them...just another day I guess. As a kid, I would have been embarrassed if kids knew my parents had a fight!! Good luck with the lice! My sister had a scare once at her house and did lots of laundry and even used the shampoo to be safe!
I hate lice!! We were unfortunate enough to have lice in the family this year. The entire time I was nitpicking my kindergartner's hair, my head was itching. 8 hours later, after I had washed everything in the house and bagged what couldn't be washed, my head was still itchy. I made my husband get out of bed and check my hair.....sure enough, I had gotten them from my 5 year old...(sigh). I hate lice. I now know more about lice than I ever wanted to know. If you want to read my story, here it is: http://www.rediscoveringourfamily.blogspot.com/2012/01/it-happened-to-us.html
-Audri @Rediscovering Our Family
I managed to make it 40 years without ever seeing lice. I homeschool my girls and they dance at a local studio 6 days a week. One of the benefits of homeschooling is none of the nasty bugs get passed around because their group of friends and acquaintances is more limited. My 13 year old got lice from a hair salon! UUUUGH. I have been fighting with the bugs on her poor head for 2 months now. They love her and no one else. I have treated her head with both natural and pesticide treatments! I think we finally have it but her hair is so thick this has been a serious battle and you can't shave a 13 year old girl's head! I am grateful it hasn't passed on to anyone else in our home, but I sympathize with everyone who fears the nasty little pain in the asses or has ever had to deal with them. Love your mom in the driveway! My mom wouldn't come over till I told her we finally got them. Two months!
Scratch Scratch...
signed, scared shitless
I have heard that Tea Tree Oil helps prevent lice. Buy the shampoo or make a solution of water and a few drops of the oil in a spray bottle and spray it on every morning before school
oh yea, totally scratching now...lol!
We went through this, when my husband was out of town, naturally. Robi-Comb was the best $30 I ever spent, if only to check my hair and stop the psychological itching.
That's hysterical!
great. now i am going to have to douse my toddler's body in tea tree oil and not wash her hair for the next 18 years. it's the only solution.
The thought of lice makes me itch like crazy! When I was student teaching, we had a lice outbreak and a chicken pox outbreak on the same day! I went home and took the hottest, longest shower of my life! Then, I had to bathe in lotion to soothe my cracked, itchy skin! Nowadays, when there is lice at school, we are clueless! The nurses and healthclerks got together and decided that they don't want to notify us when there is an outbreak anymore! We only learn about it when it's in our own class. And even then, it takes a lot of begging to get the kids hair checked! I always have them check mine, too, but I dry my hair every day and those little bastards don't stand a chance with the heat! I could go on and on about the psycho teacher who is/was terrified of lice! You could write a book! Now I am off to scratch!
Buy the Rosemary Repel Shampoo and Conditioner by Fairy Tales. The lice do not like the rosemary and will stay out of your child's hair.
www.fairytaleshaircare.com. It's a little pricey but so worth not having to deal with lice.
I am behind reading your blogs this week, hubby out of town.... and don't have time to read 107 comments - so forgive me if someone already told you this, or if I am too late in sending the info.... but if Gomer has hair that can be styled in some variation of "punk / spike" lice can't attach to hair gel either.
My son spent 2 months with PUNK ROCK hair in the 2nd grade because his teacher refused to get rid of the "reading couch" that I swear he picked up off the side of the road...and I am also convinced that's where the critters lived!!
I dread lice so much that when I learned my twins' preschool had an outbreak, I pulled them out. Crazy, I know. In my defense, I had just had a baby and they were having adjustment issues anyway, so fortuitous timing, but I digress.
I read that lice apparently do not like the smell of coconut, so guess what kind of shampoo and conditioner my girls' use? Also, coconut oil is a safe, non toxic way to effectively get rid of the nits, if a child is affected, if you don't want to go all Armaggedon on the lil bastards. However, I have a friend who says that Head and Shoulders shampoo keeps them away, so apparently lice do not like mimicry.
Lice don't like hair dye. You can always find a color close to Gomer or Aldolpha's natural hair color and that should help ward off the dreaded bugs.
The last paragraph in your story about Gomer's dirty, sweaty, gross boy hair CRACKED me up. The same can be said for my son. Perhaps it's embedded in the young male's DNA? Whatever the case, we've been lucky thus far....
At this precise moment in time I'd like to say PHUCK, PHUCK, PHUCK!
My little one, sent home with lice - freaking out like a mental patient. I've stripped all beds and am presently waiting the 10 minutes after step 1 of treatment... Did I say Phuck, Phuck, Phuck yet?????? Scratch, scratch - itch itch PHUCK
We used Listerine as well, but it has to be the yellow (original) kind. I still spray my kids' hair with it before school (put it in a spray bottle). Plus, for piece of mind, I would spray it all over the house! Also, tea tree oil from the health food store. It smells horrible, probably why those little buggers hate it! My friends laugh at me when the word is even uttered because I go into full-on crisis mode!
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