Dealing with head lice is one of those activities that society has convinced us costs money. Our local health authority tells families that they must purchase lice "treatments" (pesticides) in order to get rid of these pesky bugs. And yet, people have been dealing with head lice for centuries and somehow were able to fight these parasites without the costly pesticides that we've only had available to us for the last 30 years. People would just pick the lice and nits off of the head, hence the term "nitpicker". You simply don't need to buy lice "shampoos" to deal with this problem.You also don't need my services. A huge majority of my potential business is turned away because I tell people how to deal with their head lice themselves. Still, sometimes people just want to spend the money for some extra piece of mind.
I've been reading the book The Moneyless Man by Mark Boyle. Mark lived "off the grid", without the use of money, for an entire year. It is a very interesting read with some great tips. With all the "Occupy Wall Street" protests going on in the states and the economic crisis all over the world, I do believe we need to be more conscious about how we use our resources.
In this spirit, I would like to barter my lice services. In other words, if you have a lice problem, I would be willing to exchange my lice removal services for something of value besides money. Here's the fine print:
1. I am willing to barter for items or services that I really need or want. What do I need? Who knows. What do any of us need? Haircuts? Lawn care? Obscure gift cards that you won't use? That ornate 1970's clock that your Aunt Maxine left you in her will that you can't stand? I'm open to interesting ideas. Your item or service should be of a value that is similar to what I charge for lice picking.
2. I am not willing to barter for everybody. Unlike Mark Boyle, I still choose to live in a society that uses money. I don't think that my gas company will continue to heat my home in exchange for lice removal services.
3. This is a limited time offer, available only to those in Edmonton, Alberta or surrounding areas. Sorry to those of you who read my posts in the UAE or Sweden. I'm willing to barter my services until November 30th, 2011.
Let the games begin!
Update: I have discovered, to my surprise, that many people are rather reluctant to barter. However, I now have a lovely dreamcatcher that I didn't have before. I guess I won't be living in a moneyless world any time soon.
Love your barter suggestion. It's something I've believed in for a long time, and not enough people are willing to do it.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I also want to say that I love your blog. I can't believe I've only just stumbled upon it after fighting the good fight with my grandchildrens' hair since early this year. We've just started yet another round and I was curious whether all schools in Edmonton had a constant lice problem or if it tended to hang around certain schools in particular. Didn't find that info, but I did find your blog and I was amazed that I learned a number of new things - here I thought I had done enough lice research to last me a lifetime when the plague first hit us.
Because my grandchildren love to sleep in "grama's feather bed" when they stay at my house, I, too, ended up with unwelcome visitors in my waist-length hair. After multiple treatments and endless combing and losing bucketfulls of hair I began to wonder if it was time for me to bite the bullet and shave it all off. Fortunately all the research I did convinced me there were other ways.
I greatly admire and respect you for taking on this so-necessary task and I love the humourous approach on your blog.
I hate the chemical treatments, but it is a requirement of daycare/school, unfortunately. More people like you need to raise the profile of this issue and hopefully bring it out of the dark ages. I've come to believe that we are all exposed to lice on a regular basis, whether they decide to take up residence in our head or not. I think lice is like other societal stigmas that will soon have to gain mainstream acceptance.
I'm a counsellor/provisional psychologist, and I have to wonder whether helping people deal with lice trauma may be a potential practice area! I know it has traumatized my family, particularly because of our apparent inability to rid ourselves of the creatures.
That's my rant. Thank you for the important service you provide and thank you for your blog. Good work!
Thanks so much for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteHelping people deal with the panic of having head lice is most of what I do. Much of my time is simply spent calming people down, giving them correct information, encouraging them in their abilities, and discouraging them from wasting their precious time, energy, and money on treatments and techniques that simply don't work. Those daycare/school policies on chemical treatments are exactly what is making this such a problem today. Our well-meaning authorities are telling people that these "shampoos" are necessary and effective when they simply are not, and the problem grows and grows.
Head lice have been around for a long time and they are not going away any time soon. But we must keep diligent. The battle against head lice will not be won with pesticides and panic, but with patience and persistence.
Spread the word.
Thanks!
P.S. Don't shave your head. Long hair can be more problematic, but it is not impossible because lice really just want to stay near the warmth of the scalp/neck. Read the blog posts about using a blow dryer and getting a good lice comb. And if you have further questions, give me a call.
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