Pin or Bookmark our Parent’s Guide to Lice. Just in case…
You know what one word can totally ruin a weekend? Lice.
Yup. Weekend ruined. RUINED. In fact if I’m being honest, it pretty much ruined a few weeks and an entire month’s budget.
It started innocently enough, with a stop at the kids’ hair salon to get the boys hair cut. It took only a few moments into the process before the stylist promptly informed me that my child had lice. NO! I was appalled, disgusted and embarrassed.
I asked her to check my other child. Lice. The baby? Not enough hair. Thank God! Me? You betcha. She showed me a lice egg. I threw up a little bit in my mouth.
Here’s a fun fact for you – 85% of moms get lice when their kids have it. But dads? Nope. Grown men are much less susceptible to getting head lice. SO UNFAIR! We get pregnancy, birthing a baby, breastfeeding and now lice? To whom should I direct my letter of complaint?
But, back to the fun part: What happened next? I. Freaked. Out. The stylist handed me a few pamphlets for local businesses that deal with panic-crazed moms who just found out they have lice. I frantically pulled out my phone and starting making calls to nit-nabbers. Yes. There is such a thing.
I asked if they could come to my house and decontaminate the kids, me, our stuff, and maybe just set everything on fire. They laughed and politely declined. I was instructed to visit their office to confirm the bugs, and then chat next steps. I pondered getting a police escort, but decided just to drive fast and with caution.
Upon arrival at the lice place, our bugs were confirmed and we were given a few options. I’ll go more into that in a few. All three of us took different paths to louse-removal, and I’m here today to tell you: we are all LICE FREE. I cannot tell you how happy that makes me feel.
It’s been a tumultuous few weeks. I’ve had to call schools and friends. There were additional lice-findings in the boys’ classrooms and with neighbors.
And before you get too judgey, please note – my family did not invent lice. My boys got them from someone out there (maybe you?), who got them from somewhere else. They are impossible to detect unless you are looking for them, which now will be part of our routine. And none of us had itchy heads.
If this sounds like your worst nightmare, I get it. Lice are terrible. Fortunately they don’t carry disease, but it’s just gross and a major pain to get rid of. Here are your options, plus a few best practices to avoid and contain these nasty little bugs.
Get a lice comb. If you have kids, you will eventually get a note from school notifying you that someone in the class has lice and to check your child. You’ll want one of these combs so you can properly check your child for lice. Here’s how to do a comb through for a lice-check.
If you do find lice, you may want to consider a lice removal service. The place I went to with the boys presented three options, and each of us picked a different one. All of us had to use a pre-treatment in our hair and then have it combed out.
My three-year-old opted to then shave his head, which meant he was taken care of. My oldest child opted for multiple shampoo treatments and comb outs. I picked the heat treatment offered by the lice “salon” and then did the shampoo treatments just to be sure.
We also went into deep clean mode. All bedding, pillows, towels, coats, hats and clothes used within the last week had to be treated in the dryer on high heat for 40 minutes. All brushes, hair elastics, and head bands were tossed. Items like bike helmets were put in the freezer in ziploc baggies for 48 hours. Here’s a good checklist for making sure you’ve covered all of your bases.
My friend who got lice along with her two kids opted to have a mobile service come to her house and comb through her hair and her kids’ hair. Although this seemed like a good idea at the time (heck, we both considered burning our houses down!), I’m not sure it was worth the cost, considering we had a local business that provided seemingly better services for less.
Over-the-counter solutions are apparently not as effective as what you can get at a professional lice removal service or with a prescription. You’ll have to pay more, but you’ll have confidence that the little beasties are gone. For severe infestations (gag), you’ll probably need to go the prescription route. Oh, and just so you know, lice treatments are reimbursed by most Flexible Spending Health Savings Accounts.
Finally, once you get rid of the lice, Peppermint spray will become your best friend. Apparently lice don’t like peppermint oil, so a few drops mixed with water and sprayed on the head daily can go a long way to lice prevention. The kids get a good spray on the noggin before heading off to school, and I’ve added a few spritzes to my daily morning routine.
Have I sufficiently grossed you out? I bet your head is itching now. It’s impossible to talk about lice without itching your head. I dare you to try!
Do you have other treatment suggestions or advice?
ugh! It’s the worst. I would have nightmares about it and have become overly paranoid since our lice ruining weekend. Anyway, I would add that Sauve makes a peppermint Rosemary shampoo that has become part of my daily routine. The lice service recommended it and it’s way cheaper than the other live repellent shampoos. That being said I do spray the girls every morning now with the repellent.
Brilliant! Getting that shampoo next time I’m at the store! I’ve become obsessed with lice prevention! 🙂
My 8th grader came home completely infested, gross. Best remedy, coconut oil! Yes, those little bugs get suffocated and slip right out of your hair! Warm it in the microwave, apply to scalp and hair, allow to sit for 20 minutes and rinse. Then comb and shampoo hair.
A few things.
Two of my daughters were cleared today to return to school, they are clear of lice! Our local lice clinic charges $175 per person, each person must be pre-screened ($45) and your entire household must be treated. We are a family of 6, that’s over $1,000! I see this article is pretty old, I’m sure prices are different. But for that price tag, only treating heads? Even if I had thousands to play with, I’d personally never opt for it because they don’t come and vacuum, clean sheets and blankets or anything that must be done at home.
I have 3 daughters, 2 with thick curly hair. So lice is a HUGE fear of mine, but I’d never refer to it as “gross”. Children are often teased and called dirty, but in reality, lice needs clean hair to lay eggs in. Without a doubt, it’s a nightmare to deal with. Time consuming and stressful. But I feel calling it “gross” only adds to the stigma of being dirty, fueling more people to feel embarrassed if they do get it, leading them to not ask the questions they truly need answers to in order to rid their home of an infestation.
With that said, lice clinics are effective, but costly and you still have to do the work at home. Most times, you won’t know where it came from and you have to be diligent in preventative care.
As soon as my child complained of itching, I checked and confirmed that my nightmare is my reality and I needed to act quickly so that it doesn’t spread more. Then seen my other daughter also had it. Contacted school, started looking for natural remedies, knowing that lice have become immune to most treatments (chemicals). It’s been a while since we had to deal with this, so I researched to refresh my memory. Technique 1, saturate hair with apple cider vinegar and use a nit comb. 8 long tormenting hours later, lice and nit free. Second child, this technique just didn’t work. So moved on to a different one. Coconut oil (heat for 30 seconds so it’s a liquid) and add lavender, tea tree and peppermint oil. Saturate hair, leave on for 2 hours then add dawn dish soap and lather it really well before rinsing (if you attempt to rinse first, remember that science trick where oil and water don’t mix? The dawn dish soap can’t effectively wash oil out if it it is coated with water). After washing out the dawn, use shampoo and conditioner. To my surprise, even nits washed away. But I used the nit comb to get every last one out. Total time? 1 hour and 15 minutes!! I had all ingredients at home, but the coconut oil I used was $2 from Family Dollar. The tea tree, peppermint oils were $5 each and the lavender was $1. All purchased at Dollar general. Super cheap and according to studies, 97% effective (chemicals in OTC treatments are 25-30% effective). Also very easy, ingredients are easily accessible, combing wasn’t painful for her and everything came out so easily that it only took an hour and 15 minutes to complete, in the privacy and conveniently at home. Heat is by far the most proven effective method to Treating. But if anyone is tempted, keep in mind the risks of burning the scalp. If you want the heating, lice clinics are the safest. As for preventative measures, educate your children on how it’s passed around so they know what not to do. Also, a shampoo like Lice Shield along with the spray Fairy Tails are great! For girls, keep their hair tied up for school! Flat ironing is also great. Stay diligent and cheers to lice (and stress) free!