Last week, my little girl came into my bedroom telling me that her head it itchy. I brushed it aside telling her that it might be the summer heat that is making her head sweaty and prickly. The next day, I noticed that she was constantly scratching her head and that is not usual. I calmly told her to sit in front of me and with my hair tied back, I scanned her head for confirmation. HOUSTON WE HAVE A CASE OF NITS AND LICE. Sigh. My worst nightmare and pet peeve has come true. I guess it is a right of passage for school age mums. In my case, I got it at the end of the "school year", well technically the Lil' Tiger is not in Big School yet but she is in Montessori School and we are on a Christmas to New Year Holiday, which means that she got "infected" by it when she was still IN SCHOOL!
I had a whole flood of bad memories coming back in my head, having personally dealt with Nits and Lice during my wee years, I remember the ITCH. Owh the itch, the constant scratching and bleeding of the scalp. The smell of the treatment that mum used and my grandma combing my hair with a red double sided fine tooth comb. I personally hate them with a passion.
Jumping up and down trying not to panic, as we were meant to go to the beach that afternoon, my good friend, Kelly, confirmed that we do have the case of Nits and Lice and told me to get to head to the Pharmacist at once to get a bottle of treatment. Now, although I am all for doing it naturally for my little girl, I was not prepared with how I was feeling that moment. Panic started to sink in and I wanted to get rid of it as quickly as possible. I am thankful for my friend for calmly telling me that everything is okay, all we need to do is treat it and go off on our merry way.
We got a bottle of Moov Lice Treatment and a metal blue fine tooth comb. Ahhhh the comb. So we meet again. We sat down in Kelly's bathroom with the Lil' Tiger and started combing her hair. It was horrible. It took me back to the time where I had to do the same. Poured the treatment on her hair and drove home. The treatment said that it only takes 10 minutes but I made sure that it stayed on for at least 30 minutes just to be sure that I nuke the little buggers!
We are now clear of Nits and Lice so I am now on preventative mode. I will need to treat it one last time before my paranoia will allow me to calm down.
THINGS THAT I HAVE LEARNT SO FAR
- Remain calm and try not to attempt to burn every linen and clothing items that have been in contact with your child. Instead, strip the bed down, put everything in the washing machine, wash it in a hot cycle with your usual laundry detergent and add a few drops of Tea Tree essential oil during the last rinse cycle.
- Remember, they hate Tea Tree and Lavender Essential Oil. So make them your best friend during this time of need. These are only used as a preventative measure. Meaning, I would only use them to help me prevent the Lil' Tiger's head from getting them. If you have an "infestation", I would strongly suggest you get a treatment from the pharmacist as usually the lice would have laid eggs and eggs are a bitch to get rid off.
- Now there are two train of thoughts with this but, one train says that Lice do not like dirty hair. They live and breathe in clean hair. The tip is to not wash your hair thoroughly every day but do it every other day or wash it during the weekend. This may go against my instinct but they say it works.
- If your child has long hair, and by long I mean below the ears long, tie it up. Braid it up and make sure there are no fly aways. This is where you become a ballet mum. Everything in a nice neat bun, hair clips and HAIR SPRAY! I may or may not send the Lil' Tiger to school in a bun the next time but Hair up and some sort of deterrent hair spray, which I will share in another post, is my first measure.
- Call and let the school know. Don't be a dick and send your child to school with Nits and Lice in their hair. Once you have confirmed that your child has an "infestation", be the responsible parent and call the school and FOR GOODNESS SAKE TREAT YOUR CHILD! I know of parents who send their child to school sick and this is not the time to be reckless. Lice spread fast and usually silently as it usually takes at least 6-7 days for an infestation to be detected and by that time it's too late. So do the right thing and CALL THE SCHOOL. It is okay to be known as the parent with the child who had lice. It is not okay to be known as the parent with the child who infected the whole class with Lice!
NATURAL HAIR DETANGLER & CONDITIONER (AKA THE SECRET LICE PREVENTER)
I adapted this Natural Hair Detangler & Conditioner from Live Simply to suit my needs.
Ingredients
- 1 tbs Aloe Vera Gel (make sure it is 100% aloe vera gel. I use Sukin Brand Aloe Vera Gel)
- 1/2 to 1 tbs vegetable glycerine (you can get them in most pharmacies, health food store or baking stores. Lil' Tiger's hair is fairly long so I used 1 tbs. you can half that amount if your hair is short)
- 5 tbs of boiled or distilled water
- 10 drops of Tea Tree essential oil
- 10 drops of Lavender essential oil
- 10 drops of Peppermint essential oil (this also help repels those pesky buggers)
- small spray bottle
How to
- with a funnel add all the ingredients above in the small spray bottle and shake well.
- use on damp hair and comb through.
- I have used it on my own hair, again with my paranoia, and it works well just as well.
I hope to God that you do not have to deal with Lice but I was told that every mum will have to go through it in some form or another. Now, if you would excuse me, I am off to wash my hair from the treatment. YES. I DID IT ON MYSELF AS WELL. Again, PARANOID ANDROID.
Have you been through an "infestation"? Share your tips and stories!
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