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The Unmentionable

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lice.jpgI got the call last week.

The call that every parent dreads, yet expects at least once in your kids’ school years.  I answered the phone and our sweet school administrative officer says, “Hi Amreen. Can you come get the kids? They have lice.”
Ick. Gross. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.  Immediately, I start mentally defending my parenting skills:
“My kids are so clean, how could this happen?”
“Our house is clean, the kids bathe regularly, I wash their hair myself!!!”  
Outrage, disbelief, and throw in some disgust for good measure.
But, seriously speaking, lice is the second most communicable “illness” in school-age children after the common cold. Go figure.  It was our first experience and it was nasty.  
Our three kids now all sleep in a double bed together.   They each have their own beds, but this is their choice of slumber these days.  They sleep better together which is why it has continued.  Often, my husband and I end up lying down with them before bed, which is why I immediately became suspicious of the itchiness in my own head (which I had previously ascribed to dry scalp – I wish).
Turns out, not only did my older two have lice, but the baby did, and so did my husband and I.  There was a mass lice epidemic at the kids’ school, and now it was a Family Situation. 
With the magnitude of the task ahead of us, my husband and I decided to call in the professionals.  A friend recommended the Lice Squad.  Kathy, their employee, was the person who helped us and she was incredibly thorough.  She treated us with their non-toxic solution, and then spent copious amounts of time combing out our individual heads.  The Girl, the Boy and I have ridiculous amounts of thick, dark hair so it took forever.  The Baby and my husband were not so bad.  Kathy made a follow up visit 3 days later, and declared us all officially lice free!
I’m definitely way more conscious and caution of lice now, because I don’t want to go through that again.  I know more about lice and it’s life cycle than I ever thought possible.  I check my kids’ and husband’s heads every morning in the early sunlight. Checking myself is harder but I try.
Here are some tips and tricks from my friend, Victor Ness, a homeopathic doctor:



Non-Toxic Lice
Treatment:

2 parts olive oil /1 part white vinegar to
equal ½ Cup

20 drops tea tree oil

20 drops lavender essential oil

10 drops rosemary
essential oil

Mix thoroughly
and saturate the hair with solution and cover with bag. Save any left-overs for
the next night. Leave it on overnight, washing it out in the morning. Comb with
a lice comb to be sure to remove nits that may be attached to the hair shafts.                  

Around the house
and school:

Ø  Wash bedding and towels in hot soapy water
and borax, dry at least 20 minutes in a clothes dryer

Ø  Daily, mop, vacuum and clean rugs or
simply quarantine them for 10 – 14 days after vacuuming.

Ø  Don’t forget to vacuum the car and all
(upholstered) furniture.

Ø  Try hand or manual removal of nits using removal
combs, safety scissors, tweezers, scotch tape and a magnifying glass and a
bright light, etc. Then disinfect by soaking these items in boiling water.

Ø  Thoroughly check all family.

Ø  Each child will be examined before being
allowed in the classroom by someone who is experienced in checking hair for
lice and eggs. This checking should be done using lice sticks (cheap wooden
sticks) a new sticks for every child. Checking each child with your fingers is
a grand way to pass along an adult louse from one child to the next.

Ø  Children with lice should be sent home to
be deloused. Children’s clothing (hats, scarves, and coats) should be
separately bagged, not hung side-by-side, using plastic bags, until all
children are clear for at least two weeks.

 

Victor Ness HD

victorness@sympatico.ca

Comments

  1. Chantel says

    How ironic that I was called the other day as well – my one daughter’s best friend had it and had passed it along – lovely. Thankfully she only had 2 nits that were removed and I treated her hair immediately. The other children seem to be free – YEAH! Hard to believe that with so many kiddo’s I have only experienced this once! Keeping my fingers crossed that it stays that way.

  3. Amreen says

    Thanks for the commiseration, Tracey! Your kids have tons of hair too – what a procedure that was. i almost shaved all their head. including mine!

  4. Amreen says

    talk about a silver lining! i love your perspective. it’s true – i did kind of enjoy the time. it was rare to be sitting, all five of us, together at 4pm in our living room. we chatted for a few hours and it was peaceful. would have been more fun without the stinky hair treatment, shower caps, latex gloves and bug/nit-filled paper towels!

  5. Jen says

    Ack! Like Christine we have been nit-free but I have lice twice as a kid. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger!!

  6. Christine says

    oh Amreen how awful – my head itched reading this.
    I hate to jinx myself but we’ve managed to remain nit-free in the 7 yrs we’ve been in the public school system. Should we ever end up on the itchy end of nits I will definitely refer back to this post.
    Thanks for the info!

  7. Amreen says

    i didn’t stay sane, i was a basket case, vigorously scrubbing every inch of my home till 3am the next day. not a rational response, clearly. everything just felt dirty! a lot of hair in this house, and a lot of combing. and a lot of nausea at the sight of those little buggers. thanks for the support!

  9. Jennifer says

    Oh Amreen, sorry you had to deal with this parenting rite of passage. My boys had lice about four years ago and I remember so clearly the feeling of my stomach dropping down when I spied little moving bugs in their hair. As bizarre as this sounds, I do look back with nostalgia on the hours of one-on-one time that I had with each of them as I combed their hair each night. I’d have their undivided attention and we’d talk about the day…that never happens these days. That said, I would not relive the experience for anything and I get a real case of the nerves every time Lice Check comes around at school!

  10. Carol says

    Oh Amreen I feel for you! Two summer ago my girls and I all had lice. It was not a pleasant experience! Wow, I can only imagine how many hours it must have taken you to comb through everyone’s hair. What an ordeal. How were you able to stay sane?

  11. Amreen says

    thanks for the support! keep those fingers crossed – hope your girls can steer clear! Ponytails from now on around here!!

  12. Julie says

    ugh. sorry you had to go through this. i haven’t uncrossed my fingers since my girls started school (in kindergarten) and won’t until they’re married. been lucky so far. i’m going to go find some wood to knock! thanks for the recipe, tho’!