This past weekend we had some uninvited guests. I was practicing with curlers in Anara's hair when I came across three small, gray bugs. My mom confirmed that they were lice and I found them on both Violet and Anara's heads. I was so grossed out! I wanted a quick cure and opted to go with a pesticide. We used Nix on all of our heads (except Edison) and found bugs and nits in mine as well. Anara definitely had the worst infestation with over 30 bugs and I don't know how many hundred nits. We picked for a couple hours and I am still finding nits (hopefully dead ones). I have no idea how long she has had lice. I put barrettes and pony tail holders in their hair almost everyday and have never noticed anything. Poor Anara had little scabs on her head from digging and I hadn't even noticed her itching. Now of course I notice every time either of the girls touch their heads. I haven't stopped itching and I am just hoping they are gone.
I am pretty confident we got them from our neighbors. I have seen the mom picking the girls hair on a few occasions. They have long, thick hair that is probably a haven for lice. My initial response was not to let the kids play but that only lasted a second. It would be ridiculous and there would be hurt feelings and broken hearts. And, lice is probably the least thing I should be concerned about them picking up from the kids. Yesterday they came over to play (outside this time) and for some reason Violet busted out the firefighter hats. Oh well. Just one more bit of control for me to let go of here in the neighborhood.
8 comments:
Sorry Amanda. The cure is so time consuming. As a former school nurse (I spent the majority of my time on lice unfortunately) I would say to keep picking. Put a video in and do 10 minutes a head (or more if you all can stand it) a day. If your Nix said to retreat in 7-10 days do it. Although they like to claim they can kill nits, they really don't. The only sure way to prevent reinfestation is nit picking. They love the nape of the neck and around the ears so those are very good places to check. A once a month check is a good idea, especially now that you know what you are looking for.
You can teach your kids, as I did in school, that although sharing is good, there are somethings that are not good to share with others. We don't share our drinks or used kleenex because it's not good to share our germs. We don't share hats, combs, or towels because bugs like to ride on them. There does not have to be a stigma associated with lice...just like moquitoes, they don't care who they bite. And just like germs, they can spread. But they don't jump and they don't fly so we have to stop them from hitching a ride.
You are right - they are not a health concern but they surely are a nuisance that requires much patience and energy to get rid of. Now I understand what nit picking really means.
We had to deal with this twice when Laura was in preschool and early elementary. Her hair was waist length and very thick. We spent hours picking with her laying on the floor in the sunlight so I could see the nits. I believe we had to do the same drill with Clarissa. Now personally, I kind of liked parting and combing and picking even though the bugs creeped me out. What I hated was tearing my house apart to launder all the bedding, vacumming the beds, sofas, cushions, and bagging all their stuffed animals, dolls and pillows. I forget now just how long you're supposed to keep them sealed up. Now I don't know which neighbors you may be referring to, but if I remember correctly, lice don't typically like African/American coarse curly hair. They prefer silky hair. Well, good luck and keep checking.
We had to deal with this twice when Laura was in preschool and early elementary. Her hair was waist length and very thick. We spent hours picking with her laying on the floor in the sunlight so I could see the nits. I believe we had to do the same drill with Clarissa. Now personally, I kind of liked parting and combing and picking even though the bugs creeped me out. What I hated was tearing my house apart to launder all the bedding, vacumming the beds, sofas, cushions, and bagging all their stuffed animals, dolls and pillows. I forget now just how long you're supposed to keep them sealed up. Now I don't know which neighbors you may be referring to, but if I remember correctly, lice don't typically like African/American coarse curly hair. They prefer silky hair. Well, good luck and keep checking.
Typically, anything you can't put in the dryer on high heat for 20=30min. or vaccuum you should bag for 2 weeks. It may be overkill, as lice can't live without their blood/food source, but who wants to take the chance on how long they can live? I had a number of black kids with lice. They are harder to find on black kids hair because it is so tight and close to the head, but they had it too. The craziest thing I could never figure out is how in siblings who shared a bed, one boy had them and his brother did not. But their sister did. If you lived close by I'd come help nit pick. My anal retentiveness makes me good for the job. Road trip Melissa?
I heard, probably incorrectly that lice couldn't attach to hair of African Americans, and that it was found less commonly in hair that was subject to lots of heat (curling iron, for example) and gunk (hairspray, gel, etc.). That may or may not be accurate. But you can bet I used a hot hot curling iron on claire for quite sometime after that episode.
PS...the good thing about lice: we all got our very own brush/comb/mirror set. That was awesome. Mine was a mauve color. Yes!
Yes, I have also heard from the neighbors that "black folk" don't get lice. They can but it's rare. The neighbors who shared lice with us are the Hispanic kids next door. With the thick, long beautiful waste length hair. They are always digging. Marcos (the boy) said that I just need to spray cockroach spray on their heads two times.
Thanks Joy for your advice. We have been nit picking like crazy and thankfully yesterday I couldn't find one. We will see what today brings. I could use a good nit picker for myself :)
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