Buggin' Out

I almost quit today.

Raise your hand if you almost quit today too. Doesn’t matter what. Your workout. Doing the dishes. Helping your kid with his math homework. Your job. A relationship.

Things get hard, people. And then—we have all seen that trick where the magician fluently pulls the tablecloth out from under a table adorned with your best serving dishes—well, life hands you the gawky version of this, where fine china ends up in perfect stained glass window fragments all over the floor. You think you have reached the end of your rope.

And then someone gets head lice.

You all just scratched your heads, didn’t you?

Who would have thought that there would EVER be a National Pediculosis Prevention Month? And what better time to discuss Head Lice Prevention Month then at back to school time! But first, I share with you my misery…

The unauthorized cell phone call from my 8^th grader goes like this:

Mom: “Hi babe, is everything ok? You aren’t supposed to have your phone on in school.”

Kid: “I know. I am with the school nurse. I put my head down on my desk after my test, and when I pulled my head up, there were three bugs on my paper. They hopped away really fast though.”

Where is that emoji with the REALLY HUGE EYES?!?!

Kid: “The nurse looked through my hair and said she didn’t see anything, but she wants me to go home now and have you check me the rest of the night to make sure I don’t have lice in my hair.”

On the way to retrieve my child from the school nurse, I stopped and bought the famous lice shampoo kit. There are SO many home remedies…like using oils to smother the lice, but I selected the shampoo kit that comes with the fine-toothed comb because unfortunately, this wasn’t my first rodeo.

Hey…this time there was a new product on the market right next to my box of chemical salvation. “Robicomb—Zaps Lice and Their Eggs, Not Your Kids.” BEST. SLOGAN. EVER! What the heck. If it does what it says it does, it is worth the 30 bucks.

You know how when you find a water leak in your ceiling, you pretty much know it’s 10 times worse than what you are looking at? Well, apply that to ONE identified lice bug, let alone three. You get my drift. It was a pediculosis party, right there on my kid’s thick head of hair.

And so, the EIGHT MONTH BATTLE commenced in the Wainwright household.  And there was yelling, and whining, and tears. And not a soul in the land would cut the thick hair of the child to lighten the load of the leader of the Wainwrights, lest the coalition identify the artisan as a possible party venue.

Pathetic.

That “kid” is now 19 years old, and he obviously doesn’t still have head lice. So, I am going to share some myths/facts about lice, and then share how I battled the little boogers.

Myth: Lice can jump and fly, so they are extremely contagious.

Truth: They can only travel by crawling. Keep your distance from who has them, and it’s easy to avoid them. Don’t share hairbrushes, hats, or hang coats/clothes next to someone who has them.  

 

Myth: One family member has lice, so we need to treat the whole family.

Truth: Everyone in the family should be checked regularly, but unless infestation is evident, no treatment is needed.

 

Myth: It is impossible to tell the difference between lice eggs and dandruff.

Truth: Dandruff is flaky and can be “dusted” from your hair with light strokes from your hand. Lice eggs tightly attach to an individual hair strand and can only be removed by using your fingernails or a fine-toothed comb.

 

Myth: I need to spray pesticides in my house to get rid of lice.

Truth: Basic cleanup is necessary, including washing bed linens and clothing, but the survival rate of lice without a host (that would be YOU!) is 48 hours or less.

 

Myth: I should seal up stuffed animals and pillows in plastic bags for 2 weeks to make sure lice are dead.

Truth: See the truth above! Lice only live 48 hours without a host.

 

Myth: If the school reports a case of head lice, I need to keep my child home.

Truth: It is great that the school has reported this. Just make sure you check your child’s hair daily.

 

WE thought for sure we were on top of things…and then SURPRISE! My kid would find another bug in his hair. This happened three times within that eight-month period. I was one that bagged up the pillows and obsessively cleaned. My son was originally shampooed and combed out in small sections. It took HOURS to comb through his thick head of hair. We started with three times daily, using the original comb that came with the lice kit. THEN, we used the Robicomb, and let me tell you, it was a game changer for us.

The Robicomb is battery operated, and when turned on, it makes an annoying buzzing sound. As you comb through the hair and encounter the lice, the comb ZAPS the bug and kills it instantly. You know this because the buzzing stops. You remove the comb from the hair and dispose of the crispy critter in the toilet, trash, or wherever you are comfortable throwing it out. By the way, the slogan? Liar, liar, pants on fire. Don’t touch the teeth of the comb while it is on, or you WILL get zapped!

Fine-toothed comb for lice eggs, Robicomb for any lice left. Three times a day, then two times, then once. Taper down according to your comfort level. The reinfestations? Make sure your school administration is checking GYM LOCKERS. The poor soul who occupied the gym locker next to my son’s locker was unaware of his unfortunate situation. The lice were crawling from locker to locker through the locker vents. Once the student and parents were made aware and treatment began, our reinfestations ceased.  

Those that have experienced lice infestations in your own family know how exhausting this process can be. After eight months of this, just like when I started this blog, I wanted to wave the white flag. Sometimes, a solution suddenly presents itself—in the form of a suggestion to check a gym locker, or a simple message with a compliment and encouragement to keep on going. Because of that, and you know who you are, I can continue to focus on helping all of you to…

Be Well!