It's lice season - What you need to know

by Bethany Sanders (Subscribe to Bethany Sanders's posts) Oct 21st 2008 10:00AM

Categories: Health & Safety Babies, Medical Conditions, Home Remedies

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It's the note that fills parents with dread: A student in your child's school (or worse, classroom) has lice. If lice have a season, this is it. Kids congregating and co-mingling, working and playing with their heads close together, and letting their coats and hats share the same space ... well ... it's a lice paradise.

Itching is the number one clue that your child might have lice, but because the itching is caused by an allergic reaction to the bites, a child may itch little, if at all. Lice and their eggs (nits) can also be spotted at the nape of the neck or behind the ears. Nits are round and "stick" to the hair.

Keep in mind that while lice are a major headache, they aren't a health threat, so don't panic. Lice shampoos (which are actually pesticides, so read directions carefully, do not overuse, and keep out of reach of children) are a common form of treatment. But while a shampoo will kill the live lice, it won't destroy the nits. It's important that a child with lice is checked every single day for nits, and that the nits removed by hand. I know. A major headache, remember?

Many parents are concerned about the safety of lice shampoos and want to try a non-toxic home remedy. Dr. Greene has some suggestions for parents, but it's important to note that these remedies may not actually kill the lice, but instead force them into a dormant state. So if you do try one of these methods, be sure to use a lice comb every day to rid your child's hair of dead or dormant lice and nits. The lice comb is now your best friend until this ordeal is over.

As HeadLice.org points out, any home remedy used after a pesticide treatment may alter how the chemical treatment works and should be avoided. Basically, do your research well before you choose your lice removal method.

Read more about lice prevention and tips for treating an infestation, including the mountains of laundry you'll now be doing. And take a deep breath ... soon, this will all be over.

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Comments (6)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Sarah 10-21-2008 @ 10:42AM

Excellent recap. We just got our dreaded note for our kindergartener, that someone in her CLASS has lice. Then found out this morning that it had been going around the school for a few weeks prior, and all the kids had already been getting checked daily!
One other point: If your child has long hair, ponytails or even buns are a must! They provide much less surface for the bugs to climb onto in the first place.

Jenn 10-21-2008 @ 11:54AM

We got that note a few weeks ago about my daughter's preschool -- luckily it was that the sister of someone in another class had it. But ever since then, MY head has just been itching, with that icky crawly feeling where you just KNOW you have the little buggers (but really don't).

Ellen from MindBites.com 10-21-2008 @ 12:01PM

It is so hard not to panic when you get the dreaded call or email from the school. My daughter's first grade class just had a massive outbreak of lice and it was all throughout the entire first grade.

The school looked like a sci fi scene where all backpacks were sealed up in giant zip lock bags every day and there were parent volunteers checking every child's hair, every morning. In my daughter's class, there were 17 out of 21 students who caught the nasty bug. We were one of the lucky 4 that did not catch it. We used the Lice preventative shampoo from Cool Cuts 4 Kids and it seemed to ward them off. The shampoo has tea tree oil in it which is a natural lice deterrent.

One of the mom's in our class had her children stripping down on the front porch each day and washing everything in hot water each night along with twice daily lice checks. Wow, some people are vigilent. Her son got lice anyway so it just proves that there is not much you can really do except to be aware and check frequently.

I would like someone to make a quick "how to" video on head lice, what they look like, what to look for, how to treat, how to use the lice comb etc. for parents who have never dealt with it before. I know that I would be interested in purchasing it in a second if I could get all the answers in one place from a knowledgable source.

If you know anything at all about lice or anyone who knows, upload your instructional video here http://www.MindBites.com. The video will go up for sale and the proceeds can either be dontated to charity or banked in your account.

Gia 10-30-2008 @ 1:26PM

We have just had a case of head lice in my house this weekend.
My son had been complaining of his head itching last week. I checked him when he first complained and didnt see anything. I told him to use conditioner, I believed it was dry scalp since I didnt see anything.
Friday after I sent him to bed he came to me and said my head is really itchy. I asked if he used conditioner and he had. So I started to check his hair again. I found he had lice eggs.I expected lice to be white like people say but it was a light color brown. the eggs were too, the eggs were a little reflective too. My sons hair is brown too so it was actually a little difficult to see the bugs and the eggs.
I went out got the lice treatments and stuff. We immediately treated my son. Because it was hard to see the lice we chopped off his hair. We checked the other kids and everyone else in the house. No one else had it. My sons been grounded for the last 2 weeks so he must have gotten it from school. I immediately informed the school of everything and the circumstances also. Just in case we also informed all the neighborhood kids & their parents.

My mom and mother-in-law told me a few other ways to get rid of the lice without using the usual chemical treatments. My mother used to pull back my sister and brothers hair and coat their hair with gel everyday for a week. It smothers the lice and their eggs.
My mother-in-law said that you can use mayonaise. She said not miracle whip but mayonaise. Apparently the oils in the mayonaise also smother the eggs and lice. You have to leave it on for at least an hour.

Terry 10-21-2008 @ 5:21PM

I can remember being in primary school (in Scotland) that the 'nit nurse' would come around checking everyone's hair to see if they had lice. Now though, this has been banned because it may harm a pupil if they are found to have lice..... I can't believe this excuse, surely if it's treated quickly it would stop it spreading.

I now have a sone, aged three, who mixes with loads of other kids in nursery. I went to the local chemist and asked for some shampoo but was told that because he didn't actually have any head lice there wasn't any shampoo they could give.

She did howeve recommend tea-tree shampoo and said that for some unknown reason the lice don't like the tea-tree in it. So, the local shops were raided and we now have an ample supply of the shampoo in the cupboard.

And yes, I can't stop scratching my head after reading this post.

Samantha 10-22-2008 @ 8:56AM

I remember a year ago when our little one was the one with lice so we were the cause of the note. Still do not know where or when she got them but, we found a great comb that worked wonders for us after the store bought shampoos did not do a thing (and their cheap plastic combs may as well just be thrown away).

I think ti was called the NitFree Terminator and we bought it onlien at a friend's recommendation from http://www.kleen-free.com. They have a few other chemical free lice products that we have stocked up on so we are armed and ready now although I really hope to just be throwing them out rather than using them.

Sam