Question period...

Many questions have come up in recent comments and conversations. I think that there are others that might have similar questions, so I thought I'd answer some questions here to the best of my ability.

Question: I combed and got rid of the lice but found no nits.  Am I lice free?

Answer: Where there's smoke there's usually fire and where there's lice, there are usually nits.  Not always, but you should keep on wet combing every few days just in case a missed nit turns into a unwanted bug.  When you have been regularly combing for 2 weeks with no new bug sightings, that's when I think you can breathe a sigh of relief and reduce your combing to routine lice checking.

Question: Two months ago we had head lice and we beat it but now my daughter has it again.  Why?

Answer: I don't know.  Either something was missed the last time your daughter had lice or she just got it again from someone else.  Beating lice once doesn't mean that you will never get lice again.  Just take a breath and start combing.  Remember, don't waste your time on ineffective busy work - no extra laundry washing, vacuuming, or bagging up toys.  Just get those suckers off the head.

Question: Is there anything I can do to prevent from getting head lice?

Answer:

Head Lice Prevention: Is There Such a Thing?

When I talk with families that have gone through a cycle of head lice in the home, they always want to know what they can do to keep it from happening again.  Questions like, "Should I shampoo with tea-tree oil?"  "Should I spray my furniture?" "Should I ban my child from having sleepovers?"

I think people should forget about "treatments" for head lice prevention.  Claims about various natural repellents have not been sufficiently proven as effective or even safe and they are certainly not regulated. In my travels, I have seen many a case of head lice where the family used rinses and sprays as prevention but still found themselves with active cases of head lice. These so-called preventative treatments are costly.  Spending tons of money, changing our household routines in significant ways, or limiting the activities of our children only gives more power to the head lice paranoia and does little or nothing to actually protect us.

What do I do with my own family to keep head lice at bay?  Once a week, my kids and I

Lice Advice via Classic Sitcoms: If it's "All in the Family" take it "One Day at a Time"

It was a dark and stormy night. Well, it has been a dark and stormy night; we even had tornado warnings today. It is 10:30 pm. I just put my son and middle daughter to bed. Why so late? Because I found head lice on my daughter's head. Yes, no one is immune from head lice, not even the children of The Nice Lice Lady. But I wasn't freaked out or upset(though I wish I had noticed it at 7:00 pm instead of 9:00 pm.) I was quite happy - random lice checks work!

My daughter had been scratching the back of her head earlier this evening. She noticed that I saw her scratching and said, "C'mon, Mom, you don't need to check - it's just a mosquito bite." I may have replied by saying, "But, my darling daughter, you must understand that regular assessment for the condition of pediculosis capitis, or head lice, is the most effective way of detecting the condition before a more serious problem arises." Hmm. I don't think I said that. I think I said something more along the lines of, "Get over here; you know the drill."

I looked in the itchy spot but found nothing. Because we were going to start supper, I reminded myself to do a more thorough check later. Which I did. At bedtime. Yawn.

I found one egg on her bangs. So, I knew we had to do the whole big lice thing, the crazy production, the...just kidding. Head lice are a treatable problem that you have to take seriously, but it doesn't mean that you have to go crazy. You may be surprised at what a non-issue this is in our house. Here's what we did...

Time is on your side.

Nit-picking is the most effective way to get rid of your head-lice problem. So, why are people so reluctant to do it? You might think that a lot of people are really grossed out by the bugs. But, for most people, that's not the issue. They don't want to get down to the business of nit-picking because they feel "they just don't have the time".

Yes, nitpicking takes time. It can an hour or two, or even longer if you do it all at once. But if you think that there is any treatment that can speed up the process for you, then you are very mistaken. The "shampoos" will not kill all the bugs and will not kill the eggs. You will have to use more time and more money dealing with the problem again in a matter of days. And, as you know if you have ever used the so-called treatments, their instructions state that you still have to pick out all eggs and bugs. So, you see, absolutely no time is saved by using a commercial treatment.

The good news is, you don't have to have a 5 hour marathon nit-picking session that causes your hands to cramp up and your eyes to blur. An adult louse only lays 3-10 eggs in a day - that may seem like a lot, but you can pick faster than that. So, if you can't deal with your family member's head lice problem in one or two longer sittings, here's what I suggest. Pick for as long as you can over a number of days. Even 15 minutes here and 20 minutes there every day will get you ahead of the game. Your priority is to pick out any bugs that you see. Then grab the eggs as you can. A real lice comb will speed things up even more. Be sure to keep things relatively clean , take basic precautions so that other people in the house don't also get head lice, and do regular quick head checks on everybody and you will be fine. If you keep doing this, then there will come a day very soon when you will no longer see any bugs or eggs.

You can call me for more free info. And if you want to have me come over to pick, I will gladly take your money. But it probably isn't necessary. You can always find the time to deal with this. Just do it.

The Buddy System

So you can't afford to have me over. Still, give me a call. Maybe I can give you a better idea of what to look for. One of the first things you need to look for is a buddy.

I have a buddy. You see, just as I check my kids' heads every time they scratch, I get my buddy to check my head when I scratch. My buddy is my husband. Now I haven't had head lice since before I got into this business, but because of this business, I ask my husband to check my head every day. Nothing says, "I love you" like a willingness to check for bugs and eggs. Seriously, men, if your lady has head lice and you are understanding and offer to do the picking, you will be in for some lovin'! Ok, maybe at a later time when you all feel less buggy.

If no one at home can pick your head, maybe you know someone who has also been through the frustrating ordeal of head lice. Another parent at your child's school, perhaps? Be bold - ask for help. Invite the friend for dinner or munchies, put on a good movie and make a night of it.

Sometimes the best time to find a nit-picking buddy is when you don't have head lice. If you hear of someone you know having it, offer to pick first. Then, you can ask them to return the favour at a later date if lice ever happens to you.

Lice Lesson #2: When in doubt, check it out.

Does your head itch? Did you just see your child scratch her head? Take a quick look in the itchy area. Any bite marks? Eggs? Live bugs? Besides these random checks, lice checks should be a part of your daily routine. I do a quick check on my kids when I brush their hair in the morning and when they brush their teeth at night. I also do a thorough combing through everyone's head each week.

What You Can Do: Understand the difference between vigilance and paranoia. Don't go crazy and grab your child's head every time they brush the hair out of their eyes. But if you see extended or repeated scratching, get in some good light, and do a check.