L is for Lice!

It has happened...the most dreaded part of a child attending a public school!  We received an email the other day, and my heart skipped a beat.  Oh God! No...not my child!  Please not my child!

The dreaded "lice outbreak" in my daughter's school.  Not only did we receive notice that there have been children with these little pests in their hair from her school...but an additional notice has also come from her cheerleading studio!  I might as well go to the lice store and purchase the little nits and plant them in my daughter's hair myself!

Before I continue with my story, I need to give you a little background information.  I once ran the Student Services office (think attendance, discipline, etc) in a junior high school.  I was the one in charge of calling parents when lice was discovered in the student's hair.  I had become so afraid of these little bugs...that as a precaution I would wash my hair with RID every month.  I would stand in front of the mirror for hours looking through my hair for signs of infestation!  My husband got tired of me looking through his hair for the creatures as well.  My biggest fear was that his hockey team would get lice and everyone would find out it was me who gave it to them!

I never did get lice...thank God for that.  However, I still get nervous when I feel an itch, see a flake...or hear about an outbreak!  So you can imagine how I felt when the school (and cheer squad) notice came home.

A few things I have learned about lice:

• Head lice only live in hair and occasionally eyebrows and eyelashes.
• Head lice can survive up to 30 days on a human. Their eggs can live for more than 2 weeks.
• Lice on scalp and clothing may be difficult to see, unless the infestation is heavy. If you see something moving, it's called a louse.
• If your child's school sends out a notice of a lice outbreak...drink a bottle of wine!

Did you know that head lice is more likely to be found in clean hair?  Yes, it is true.  For all of you parents out there who pride themselves in the nightly baths their children take...you are actually a louse's dream come true.  Since my children are lucky to wash their hair once a week...this is actually a great line of defense for keeping lice away!

So here I sit, scratching my scalp as I write about lice.  So far I have not been able to see any signs of nits in my children's hair...but it doesn't mean I will stop looking.  I might pick up a box of RID (just in case)...and I have washed all of our sheets and towels.  I am praying we will be spared of any infestations...and my husband's team can grow their playoff beards.  However, would I be over-reacting if I purchased each of my children a pet monkey?

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