This weekend I got to go spend the weekend with my cousin Jennie aka "The Lice Lady of Atlanta."
We had a good time and I got to follow her to a bunch of her lice client homes where I saw and helped de-lice many a child, teenager or mom. I was not exactly expecting to do lice but apparently we are getting in to rampant lice season. When I arrived at the Atlanta airport and got in the car with Jennie, she said, "You are going to hate this cousin, but we have 3 lice clients to go to right now..."
I was like, "You've got to be kidding me!"
I have never had lice before (knock on wood). But I heard right before I left Katy on Thursday morning that there were some lice cases at my son's school last week. I am definitely going to be proactive in checking! Some things as a mom that you might not know about lice that you may find interesting or helpful:
*Most school nurses do not catch all of the lice cases. Especially the nits that are the eggs laid by the lice that attach to the hair.
*Lice only are transferred with head to head contact...which mean that elementary children and younger are at the biggest risk because they always talk or sit with their little heads touching. If a bug gets on a pillow or chair and you sit there, you can catch it. They can only live for about 24 to 48 hours off of a scalp which is the lice's food source. Lice don't jump or run around your home.
*Lice cannot be killed by washing your hair. They can hold their breath for up to 8 hours. So baby pools can be a breeding ground for lice.
*Some doctor prescribed treatments can kill the bugs themselves, but nothing can kill the nits. They have to all be combed out of the hair. If you miss one, you will not be rid of the lice. Most of the prescribed treatments have pesticides in them that can harm small children if they are allergic, and can really irritate the scalp.
*Human lice cannot be caught by animals or animal lice by humans.
*There are three types of lice: Head lice, Body lice, and Pubic Lice. Head lice only live on the head. You cannot transfer it to other parts of the body.
*Lice like clean hair and scalps the MOST! All of the houses we went to were very nice and very clean. We are talking $500,000+ homes in the suburbs of Atlanta.
*Using hairspray and hair mousse and other hair products does help to keep a barrier from the lice getting to your head. They also hate the smell of mint, there is a product on my cousin's website that you can use. Mousse your kids up and hairspray them rubbing the mousse on the scalp before school.
*During the spring and summer it is a good idea for everyone to do lice maintenance even if you don't have it. Especially after camps, parties, and times when your kids have been with other kids. Slumber parties are not the best idea during this time. We went to one house where the little girl had it, then we checked the very clean teenage girl, and of course she had it too. She had a friend spend the night with her who was watching her be treated....the friend choose not to be checked, they had slept in the same bed. ICK!
* You can do maintenance by helping your child in the bathtub or shower. Just condition up their hair and run a lice comb through it for about 5 minutes around the crown, part, neck and hairline. Don't rinse out the comb but use a white paper towel to wipe the comb gunk off. Looking and folding after each wipe to see if you see any nits. They are tiny dark brown ovals. You can order the special comb off of my cousin's website. If you do find nits, you can also order the foam product from the website to treat them. If your child has it, it is worth paying someone to come to your home to treat you. If you live in Houston, and have the comb and foam on hand, I can show you how to comb through the hair.
* I am going to order the comb today and I got some foam that I brought back just in case. Her comb works much better than the ones you might get at Walgreens or CVS. It is a professional patented lice comb. It makes a big difference.
*Lice has been declared a national epidemic. Almost second to the common cold in children. There is something called the Super Lice that is a strain that is very hard to kill with prescribed treatments. They have become immune.
One thing I found funny while doing lice calls was that we would be elbow deep in the lice foam, combing lice out of sections of hair, and the mom of the house would then ask us if we would like a snack or a drink. We would politely say, "No thank you." But gross, who would want to eat something when your hands were entrenched in lice ridden hair. I'm sure I would offer the same thing though.
I will tell all of my friends that you all should order these three things to have on hand just in case, especially if you have elementary aged or younger aged children:
http://www.liceladiesatlanta.com/lice_ladies_store.html
These products are all natural with no pesticides and completely safe for young children. They have an enzyme in them that decinagrates the exoskeleton of the lice bug and loosens the nit glue so that the nits can be combed out. It is a fragrance free product.
The foam is good for up to a year and if you don't have to use it, you can give it to a friend. The comb will last forever. You can e-mail Jennie or me if you need to de-lice and I can help explain to you how to comb.
Hope you don't have to de-lice your home but if you do call a professional and Happy Licing!:)
CB
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