My son came home this week informing me that all of the girls in his class (there are only 6 girls) have had lice in the last 2 weeks……
A little history: Three years ago my 3 kids and I all got to experience the joy, and trust me, that term is used VERY loosely, (in fact I am being VERY sarcastic) of having little bugs living and thriving in our heads. When I found out we had lice, I cried for two days straight. I was up every 2 hours, even in the middle of the night, doing laundry. I pulled all the sheets, blankets, pillows, pillow cases and comforters off of every bed in the house. I took every piece of clothing my kids and I owned and washed them all (even the items that have not been touched since the previous season). I bagged up every stuffed animal, doll, cushions (even the ones on the extra couch) and anything that had any type of material. The kids were a little distraught because this incident happened right after Christmas. So those new dolls, the new video game chairs, and anything else that was “mushy” went in the bag, not to be played with for 30 days. I vacuumed the carpets and the furniture every day. I used the lice spray to spray down my house, my van, my curtains, etc. It took me 2 hours, twice a day, to go through my daughter long hair. We just ended up shaving the boys’ heads. I had a friend come over every 2 days picking all the nits out of my hair. Talk about humbling!
So….when my son gave me the knowledge that lice may become a part of our lives again, I was NOT happy. I immediately checked my kids’ hair. WHEW! They were clear! I wanted to do the “We do not have lice” dance! Since we did not have lice, I needed to do some preventative things.
First, I had my kids wash their hair with tea tree oil shampoo. I have read that lice does not like this. Nor do they like Suave Coconut shampoo. So, if I were you, I would keep that in stock for moments like these! Then I braided my daughters hair before school. It is harder for lice to jump onto hair that is “bound”. And thirdly, I made sure that my kids put their coats inside their bookbags instead of hanging them in their shared lockers once they got to school.
Will these things prevent lice from coming to live at your house? Maybe not. But after reading through pages online, it seems like they can help. Plus, it does help mentally to be doing something. Anything! I want to be proactive! Do I live in fear that these bugs will come back and visit? No. But I am prepared “just in case”!
5 responses so far ↓
1 Heather // Apr 10, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Lice give me the heebie jeebies-I’ve also heard hair products (mousse, gel) can repel bugs.
2 cate // Apr 10, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Oh goodness. I hope you avoid it this time. I also have read about styling products not making lice happy. I think I’d style everyone’s hair tomorrow before school.
3 Kristen // Apr 10, 2008 at 9:48 pm
I can’t help it. Every time I read or hear about Lice I get itchy. lol. I scratched my head twice just reading your story!
Lord, I hope my kids don’t bring home lice. I don’t think I can take it right now!
*running out and stocking up on tea tree oil and suave coconut shampoo.
4 busymom // Apr 11, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I also just start itching from the conversations. We’ve had our experiene with these awful critters too and I did not enjoy it at all!! UGH!
Good luck keeping them at bay. (In Kindergarten, we couldn’t seem to keep them out of Cameron’s hair for a while (thanks to another student in the class), and I’m not sure what it’s called but my grandmother put a small amount of the oil that African American’s use in their hair in Cameron’s each morning. That worked like a charm. We didn’t have another incident after that).
5 Tricia // May 11, 2008 at 7:26 pm
This is a terrific post. We had a little scare with this last week (so far no evidence of it making it home with my five year old). I think I am going to order some tea tree oil just to have it on hand!
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