Lice!

With the start of the school year we will see the start of the lice season! Here are some quick tips to prevent infestation.

·         Get different brushes and combs for each family member. Last year we purchased fun colors of brushes for each of our kids and asked them to use only their own brush.

·         Remind kids not to try on or share other’s hats, headbands, hair ties, etc. (and don’t do this at home either).

·         Check your kid’s head weekly, especially near the ears and nape of the neck. Lice eggs are brownish and the adults (rarely seen) are white. These are teeny creatures so go to HeadLice.Org (http://www.headlice.org/) for more specifics.

·         Use a personal baseball cap under the batting helmet your kids wear when playing softball, baseball or T-ball. Wear a personal skull cap under rented ski helmets.

·         Bring your own bike helmet to school during bike, scooter, or unicycle weeks.

·         Remind kids not to put on hats, wigs, etc. during dress-up play.

·         Lavender essential oil rubbed on the neck supposedly inhibits adult lice.

·         If your kids does get lice here are our tips:

o   Do not use chemicals!

o   Make sure you deal with this in a matter-of-fact manner so your child doesn’t feel embarrassed or stressed. The lice picking will be annoying enough for the kids so you need to ensure you are setting an “it’s no-big-deal” tone in the house.

o   Remember, lice are attracted to clean hair, not dirty hair that is too oily for the lice to adhere.

o   Wash hair with a tea tree oil soap to get it squeaky clean before lice picking.

o   Allow the kid to watch a movie or chew on gum ½ way through. Make sure they are sitting comfortably.

o   Be nice and encouraging during the lice pick and tell your kid you are 1/2 way through when you are really about 2/3 way through. It’s a long sit for a 1^st grader.

o   Do a lice pick two times per day on wet hair for no less than 30 minutes.

o   Section long hair and tie up with long, hinged barrettes.

o   Use a super bright light and look at each SMALL section of hair from two different angles.

o   When you try to pull out the lice egg, grasp between two finger nails and deposit the egg into a (preferably) white sink so you can see you got it. When you are done, you can rinse all the eggs down the sink.

o   You will be able to get rid of lice in about 3 days if you are very careful during the lice picks. However, keep checking for a full week as the eggs mature slowly and can be almost microscopic.

o   Resist cutting the kids hair, if you are careful and methodical in your lice picks, you can get rid of them in about 3 days even in long, blond hair (I’ve done it!)

o   Wash pillowcases and bedding the first day. Thereafter, wash pillowcases each day.

o   Check the whole family daily even if other members do not appear to have an infestation.

o   Remove stuffed animals and place in a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes.

o   Keep checking and doing lice picks. The number one reason parents don’t get rid of lice is that they get lax after a few days.