I didn't think there was a limit (unless imposed by my husband) to what I would share on social media. Turns out I was wrong. There is and I discovered it the second week of December.
Griffin was sent home with head lice.
If you follow me on social media, you saw nary a word about the incident.
Both boys had been itching for several days but, when a cursory look over their head didn't reveal anything, I just figured it was dry scalp. In reality, I didn't know what I was looking for.
Griffin had it. Amos had it. I had it.
(Take a moment to shudder. It's cool. I get it. I can wait.)
Immediately, Nicholas and I did what we do best. RESEARCH! I learned there are a lot of myths about lice.
We took what we learned and spent all day tackling the lice. I'm proud to report Griffin went back to school THE NEXT DAY and got a clean head check - as did Amos. I was cleared by my beautician as well.
What I'm saying is I brought down THE HAMMER on that lice and here's what you need to know.
Forget the pesticides!
For one thing, the current scientific knowledge is that most lice are resistant. Even the most effective pesticide takes days (or weeks) to work, so if you want your child back in school then waiting for a pesticide to work isn't realistic. Plus, I couldn't have used them if I wanted to because I'm pregnant and if a chemical is too toxic for me and my growing baby - not sure I want do douse my preschooler and kindergartner in it anyway.
Don't obsess over your house.
Lice cannot survive off a human host for longer than 24 hours. Wash the obvious things - sheets and pillow cases and stuffed animals - and vacuum your couch well. However, do not waste time and energy obsessively stripping and cleaning every surface in your house.
DO obsess over your child's head.
There is one way and one way ONLY to truly get rid of lice and that is to kill the louse and remove their eggs (called nits). PERIOD. Now, there are easy ways to do this and hard ways to do this but it has to be done if you don't want to be back in the same position two weeks later.
Start with this treatment to kill the louse.
We used the Nuvo Method for Head Lice to kill the actual bugs and it worked like a charm. We followed the directions EXACTLY and repeated the treatment once a week for three weeks as instructed. Now, this treatment says you don't need to remove nits to kill the lice but you DO need to remove nits to go back to school hence my next advice.
PRO TIP: Use Cetaphil SKIN Cleanser not FACIAL cleanser. The skin cleanser is cloudy. The facial cleanser is clear and is IMPOSSIBLE to comb out and blow dry into the hair.
BUY THIS COMB. BUY IT NOW. SERIOUSLY. RIGHT NOW.
The best way end head lice is to get rid of the louse and their nits and KEEP them out. If there is a better way to do that then combing them out one by one, I haven't found it and neither has the internet.
Here's the rub. There is basically ONE comb that does this effectively - as in catches on the nit and pulls out the hair it's attached to. Otherwise, you are left to pull the little buggers off with your fingernails. That comb is The LiceMeister® Comb and (with few exceptions) it is only available online.
Because you have time during a lice outbreak to wait a couple of days for the comb to arrive in the mail!
After using our fingernails, we finally received The LiceMeister® Comb in the mail and - true to its word - it removed the actual nits. It's amazing. It works. You will need to comb through your child's hair morning and night for two weeks to assure the lice are gone so you might as well use the best comb to do it.
Nicholas keeps threatening to buy The LiceMeister® Comb in bulk and start handing it out at birthday parties.
Just trust us. Buy it. If you don't ever need it, GREAT! But if you DO, you'll thank us for already having it on hand.
Constant. Vigilance.
I found four nits on Griffin the evening he received a clean head check at school. I found five on Amos. I found one single nit on Amos ONE WEEK LATER.
The lesson?
Do your best Mad Eye Moody and maintain CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Check those heads in the morning. Check them in the evening and keep checking them for TWO WEEKS.
What's your best advice on treating head lice?
