Help lice in our school

[Pikester]

I guess I shouldn't have read this thread. I've got the heebie jeebies and the itchy twitchies!

 

[holly7347]

I guess I shouldn't have read this thread. I've got the heebie jeebies and the itchy twitchies!

Me too I've been itching ever since I started reading it

I had lice a couple times in grade school. I had LONG THICK hair and it was a nightmare. I still remember my mom washing my hair in one of those nasty OTC treatments then sitting me on a chair in the kitchen by the window so she could see better. And all my poor stuffed animals being packed away in plastic bags. One of my friends kept getting it over and over and over. Her mom was checking her hair but they weren't really doing all the other stuff like getting a new pillow, washing sheets daily etc and she just kept reinfecting herself.

I am glad I saw this thread though. My DD#1 starts kindergarten in 5 weeks. She has the same long thick hair I did at that age. Plus she is just so darn sensitive and hates me to comb her hair anyway. It would be horrible for both of us for her to have to sit still for hours while I comb through her hair. I would need a few drinks before starting that whole process At least now I know to tell her about sharing her coat/hat and other hair accessories and I wil put her hair up and spray it with hair spray before sending her off to school. We do have some tea tree shampoo I'll have to dig out before school starts.

 

[tink2]

Well, I'm a second grade teacher and about 4 years ago- you got it- I got head lice from a student who kept it. My OCD husband freaked out and we soon learned it was not the end of the world and everyone can get it- though I certainly go to all kinds of pains to avoid it now and don't wish it on anyone!!! My dd was in k at the time and we would sometimes use the same brush (before I knew I had lice) and so yes, she got it too. It was a nightmare b/c we all freaked out and I cleaned the house like a mad woman for about 4 weeks! We joke that I vaccumed the carpet so much it tore up the vaccum cleaner!!! (it really did die about a week after it was over!)
DD wore her hair in pony tails for the next 2 years every single day to school and we use so much hair spray it is ridiculous! She was in 3rd grade last year and I finally gave in and let her wear her hair down some- she begged and begged and none of her other friends ever wore their hair up. So, even more hairspray was applied each morning- dh says the ozone layer above our house is gone!
We use the fairytales during the school year- mainly just shampoo and conditioner. Don't know if it really helps or not, but it does help me feel better anyway and we haven't had a problem since.
Anyone can get head lice. Just try to get it through your children's heads not to share hats of any kind, not to play with each other's hair and not to let other girls play with your hair (as a teacher, I see that as the hardest thing for girls to follow through with), not to swap jackets (especially the ones that have the 'fur' on the hood), keep bookbags off the floor if the room is carpeted, etc. etc.
Good luck to everyone and I hope we can all stay free of this problem!

 

[tlbwriter]

I don't know if this has been mentioned, but my dd is b-racial and got it last year. OMG we battled those suckers for 3 weeks. Her hair is very thick and very curly so the knit combs were impossible, I had to just hand pick them one at a time.

But this year, once winter hits we will be putting a small amount of pink oil moisturizing lotion in her hair. Her hair really doesn't need this, but supposedly the lice don't like that stuff so they stay away. Once I started using it last year she didn't have any further problems.

Yes, lice actually prefer squeaky clean hair (or so I've read), so hair that has a little bit of oil might help repel them. You might consider using tea tree oil, or mixing some with your pink oil, since this is supposed to help as well.