“Hey mom, for some reason.. I don’t know what it is, but…my head is really itchy.” Caleb, my 8-year-old, came into my bathroom and literally before my eyes, my WORST fears were alive and well on my child’s scalp: LICE. And it didn’t stop there. I HAD IT, TOO.
It didn’t take long to discover them. Them. More than one. Dozens and dozens of little tiny bugs crawling through our fresh, clean hair. I ran to the bathroom mirror where I had been itchy the most. There they were behind our ears. Little white particles and tiny lice bugs. I couldn’t help it; I would like to say I was cool, calm, and collected. No. I am sure the neighbors heard my shrieks. If anything, Caleb was the calm one.
“Hey, Mom. It could be worse. It’s not like it’s spiders.”
Might as well be.
I couldn’t believe it. Mine were far worse than Caleb’s. From what I could see, they were trapped in my hair strands. I Googled, YouTubed, sent my fiancè off into the night.
“Get something. ANYTHING! I want to go with you; NO, I want to stay here!” I paced around our bathroom, itching. I couldn’t stop itching.
I couldn’t make up my mind of what to do next. Irrational. Itchy. And traumatized. Every blog said something different. Should I really sleep with mayonnaise on my head? I seriously considered it.
YouTube videos consoled me as I picked tiny lice bugs out of Caleb’s short hair. My hair would be a different story. It’s long and beautiful, growing out for my wedding. I wanted to cut it ALL.
Returning successfully with a lice kit, my fiancè went to work. Caleb and I wet our heads with a solution from the kit. The solution was supposedly ready to stop lice in their tracks. We let the solution sit, and meticulously combed every strand. My hair was hopeless. Those little white particles were EGGS. I had too many to count.
Because we discovered the lice in the night, there was nowhere to go for professional help. I desperately needed professional help. I called my best friend and she recommended Lice Clinics of America. I went first thing in the morning.
We returned home after hours of a heated air treatment. I stocked up on preventative oil treatments for the week. More hours were spent on the house.
I read:
Vacuum the carpet and furniture; wash bedding and clothing in very hot water; place pillows in a dryer at highest heat setting for 20 to 30 minutes; boil hair ties/hair brushes for 10 to 20 minutes or freeze them in a plastic bag overnight. Head lice cannot survive off of a human head for more than 24 hours.
This was a whole ordeal. Caleb was not in school, I took a day off of work. We focused on getting rid of the lice FOR GOOD!
First of all, looking back, I will say this experience made me a stronger person. Having lice in my hair gave me a great freak out, and maybe we need those once in a while to appreciate the NON-freak out moments. And on the bright side, I learned:
How to Deal with Lice
- Lice spread through direct head-to-head hair contact within seconds.
- Anyone can get them and they prefer clean hair. I was surprised by this one.
- Lice love to hang out behind ears. This is where I found the most eggs. Gross. But helpful and easy to spot.
- Dogs do not play a role in spreading lice. I did tons of research on this thinking our bulldog gave it to us from something outside. I was wrong.
- Lice can live on any human head, kids AND adults.
Regarding the lice center and reporting to your child’s school, the lice center gave us a lice certificate to alert Caleb’s school he was treated. It is critical to give your school updates. They will send a notice home to parents to check their kids for lice. YOU WANT THEM TO DO THIS! Lice at schools can become an outbreak and it is important to be a part of the solution. Get help and get rid of them as soon as possible. Caleb’s elementary school was very proactive and did report many findings of lice. I check Caleb everyday.
Good luck if you catch any lice in YOUR hair, and don’t worry, it’s not a forever thing but very important to take care of them ASAP. They lay eggs and spread quickly. There are tons of lice shampoos, oils, and care products out there to help keep those pesky guys away!
I bought tons of different items off of Amazon in my night of desperation before I could go to a treatment center. I actually have FIVE different lice prevention shampoos hanging out in my shower because I still use them in rotation.. just in case. The shampoos smell great, especially the tea tree oil ones.
I thought it was important to write this post true to my experience, and I told myself to be bold about it when taking the time to write it, because getting lice can have a nasty stigma and looked down upon. It’s NOT a fun experience so I ask you to be supportive of anyone you come across who has it. Be sensitive.
Special thanks for the amazing support from my fiancè who spent hours combing out Caleb’s and my hair.
More info on lice here.
