Have a nice lice frame of mind without going buggy.

When you discover that you or someone you care about has head lice, you know that you are in for some work. You are discouraged because this little "surprise" upsets your family, your schedule, and maybe even your budget (it doesn't have to - don't buy the shampoos!).

However, there is something that is much more exhausting than dealing with head lice: it is the paranoia that some people create around the head lice. Hours of reading about head lice on the Internet. Days and days of cleaning, shampooing, and washing. Constantly monitoring the comings and goings of everyone in the household. Thinking every little itch must be a bug bite. This flurry of agitated activity is absolutely exhausting, not to mention absolutely unnecessary. THIS IS JUST HEAD LICE! Calm down. You will need to do some work to get rid of it - conserve your energies for more productive behaviours.
While paranoia is not productive, the same can be said of an attitude that is too relaxed. I hear people say, "Oh, head lice is just a part of life and you can never really get rid of it.", or, "What's the point of wasting time picking out the lice when my son is just going to come home from school with another case of it next week?" It is attitudes like these which have led to the head lice epidemic that we have in our schools. Having head lice is not in and of itself a health issue, but it is a very real social problem and can leave you or your child feeling like a outcast. And then there's the maddening itching, which leads to scratching, and the scratching can lead to wounds. (If these get infected, then you ARE dealing with a health problem). Choosing to do nothing, or choosing to do very little (i.e. using "shampoos" that don't really work) passes your problem on to others as well.

Stop the paranoia, but don't be ignorant. Don't freak out about head lice, but be prepared to really deal with it. Be diligent, and patient. Lighten up, but don't tune out. Have a nice lice frame of mind.