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Got Lice?
March 16th, 2011 | 
Author: By Melissa, Contributor, Confessions of a Dr. Mom (@melissa_drmom)
Last month, my son came home with a letter from school: Lice have been discovered in your child’s classroom. Ugh. Welcome to kindergarten. It was bound to happen. Head lice are extremely common in school age children. Head to head contact and being in such close proximity makes it easy for lice to spread quickly.
All the children were checked for nits by the school nurse and we were advised to keep checking our children over the next couple of weeks. I was walking on pins and needles for the next couple of weeks, because even though lice is fairly inconsequential in the long run, it can be down right annoying and labor intensive to treat.
Detecting lice can be difficult at first. It is much more common to find nits than an actual live louse. The nits, which are the lice eggs, are usually located very close to the scalp and are attached to the hair shaft. You can differentiate these nits from plain old dandruff or product residue by trying to remove them with your fingers. Dandruff and other products should easily come off, nits do not.
Itching is a sign of lice infestation, however, children can have lice for weeks before they start feeling itchy. They may complain that it feels like something is tickling their head. Check for lice near the nape of the neck and around the ears first, as they tend to appear here. Look under bright light and separate hair so you can clearly see the scalp. Do this around the whole head if you suspect lice. If you see any suspicious nits or lice, and they cannot be removed easily by hand, it’s quite possible your child has lice.
Okay, so now what? How should the treatment strategy go? There are various techniques and methods these days. Natural remedies are also on the rise and some prove to be quite effective. Here is the treatment strategy I was ready to employ, just in case I found lice on my son’s head:
- The mainstays of treatment are killing the lice and nits and mechanical nit removal followed by precautions to prevent re-infestation.
- Start with a medicated shampoo such as Nix. Nix is a 1% permethrin pesticide shampoo, it kills both the lice and the nits. It’s not always 100% effective, but it’s a good start. This is the safest of the pesticide shampoos.
- Follow the shampoo treatment with extensive nit combing. Special combs designed to remove nits should be used. Be sure to use on hair that is wet and either has some sort of cream rinse on the hair to make the nit combing easier.
- Keep combing until no nits come out. Comb daily over the next week with a nit comb.
- Use shampoo with tea tree oil to prevent re-infestation. It has been shown, that tea tree oil can prevent lice re-infestation.
- Between 10 to 14 days, repeat the initial lice treatment. You can choose to go with the same pesticide shampoo or try using olive oil or Vaseline on the hair and cover with a shower cap for 8-10 hours. Repeat nit combing until clear.
Try not to go crazy with washing all household items. Wash the child’s bedding, towels and recently worn clothes. Lice cannot live more than 1-2 days without a human host. If needed, put items that cannot be washed, such as stuffed animals, in an airtight bag for two weeks.
Most of all, realize that lice is extremely common in ages 3-12. It has nothing to do with poor hygiene or low socioeconomic status. Anyone can get it and any stigma associated with it is unnecessary. Your child may return to school once treatment has begun and nits have been combed out. This should be the very next day. Just remember that the next two weeks are important for ongoing treatment (nit combing and repeat shampoo treatment) and for remaining vigilant on checking for new nits or lice.
Has lice affected your children? What methods did you use to get rid of it?
Melissa is a board certified pediatrician, mom of two, writer, blogger and child advocate. She candidly shares her parenting adventures on her blog, Confessions of a Dr.Mom
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We used to always get those dreaded letters home from the school also. Now the school has made the decision, and I believe many others have also, that lice is not considered a ‘disease’ and no letter is necessary. I realize it is not a true disease however it is communicable and I think notification is best in order to stop the spreading. Kids are not even being checked anymore by the nurse or being sent home. This just causes it to go on and on. Crazy. Anyone hear of this new idea?
Yes Dalia, the thought is why keep the children home, it’s not a “disease”…and true it is not, but what a pain to get rid of if not controlled!
Each school adopts their own policy and I’m glad ours was proactive b/c the outbreak was limited to only two kids and this was precisely b/c of their vigilance in checking all the children and having those children affected be treated before returning to class.
The thing is, once treatment is started, the child can go back to school the very next day. There’s no need for them to stay home all week.
Melissa (Confessions of a Dr.Mom)´s last blog ..Fevers in ChildrenWhen to Treat
Every time someone mentions lice I get the heebie jeebies! I went through this when I was a kid but it the outbreak didn’t last long in our classroom. However, when my sisters were younger it seemed like it all the kids in their class just kept getting them. My one sister has very thick hair and we would comb through it for what felt like hours. Finally, my mom was so desperate after weeks and weeks of them coming back, my mom put vaseline in their hair. I have no idea why but it worked! Although they looked greasy for a while! I’ll never forget my Dad’s face when he picked them up for his weekend and saw their hair! Priceless! Definitely not an option I would recommend as a first resort but it worked for us!
Kasey´s last blog ..Spring Cleaning
Yes, that vaseline does work. Messy, but it works!
I too remember being checked in school as a child. Lice has been around for a long time. Seems we had frequent lice checks at our schools too!
Melissa (Confessions of a Dr.Mom)´s last blog ..Fevers in ChildrenWhen to Treat
Thanks so much for this great advice. One of my kids has been having recurring lice outbreaks that we have tried everything to get rid of (from mayonnaise overnight to prescription treatments and everything in between!). But, we didn’t know about using shampoo with tea tree oil. I will have to try adding that to our bag of tricks. It’s exhausting to treat and has really become a source of stress for our child with our constant head checking and asking about itching! Thanks again for the helpful advice.
Polly´s last blog ..Five Days Without My Smart Phone
It really can be exhausting and frustrating, I’m so sorry. I hope some of these tips help you and you can get rid of those pests once and for all!
Melissa (Confessions of a Dr.Mom)´s last blog ..Parents Say the Darnedest Things
I dread the day. I’m sure it will happen eventually. However, being a mom of four boys, I’m not totally opposed to just shaving their heads in the event of a lice infestation. Sure seems a lot easier – as long as the kid wouldn’t have emotional issues about it. I could talk it up with a nice shiny head wax – maybe a fake tatoo on the back of the head to make them look “dangerous” or something cooler than bald, anyway.
Bethany´s last blog ..Goo Goo Dolls Redemption
Haha! yeah, I’d be tempted to do the same with my son too.
Melissa (Confessions of a Dr.Mom)´s last blog ..Parents Say the Darnedest Things