It was a normal day, nothing too out-of-the-ordinary happened… we woke up, had breakfast, played, went to the park, came home for lunch, then I dropped my oldest off at school. The little guy went down for his nap, I worked, and then she came home from school and nonchalantly said, “Mom, my teacher has a note in my bag for you…”
My interest was immediately piqued. Based on her demeanor, I didn’t think it had anything to do with her behaviour (she knows not to be proud of acting badly!), so I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
I opened my daughter’s backpack and almost crawled out of my skin at the sight of the word “LICE” popping out at me from a standard school form letter. It was the dreaded, “There’s a case of head lice in your child’s classroom” notice. Ewww! (Yes, I know, it’s an extremely juvenile reaction, but I couldn’t help it!)
What did I know about dealing with lice? I’ve never had it before; I’ve never known anyone who has had it before. Sure, my daughter didn’t have it, but how could I be sure she wouldn’t get it? All kinds of crazy thoughts were swirling around my head… we’ll have to burn everything… what if it gets in her carseat?… what if the baby gets it?… what if I get it?… arrrrggghhhh!!! Yes, I momentarily “lost it” mentally, but soon I regained my composure and did what most people do when they are ignorant about a topic…
I Googled it.
I was quickly armed with knowledge so I’d know what to look for, how to spot lice. I also got some insight on how to deal with it should I (heaven forbid!) ever have a case of it in the house. Immediately, I asked my daughter – who has very long hair – to flip her head upside down so I could check her hairline, near her neck and ears, for signs of any little critters. Thankfully, there were none.
Since then, there has been another case of it in her class. This time, I wasn’t so freaked out by the letter… just annoyed that lice would reappear amongst her schoolmates so quickly. We have taken every precaution possible, notably putting up/pulling back her hair every day. Considering she used to despise me styling her hair, this measure wasn’t the easiest to follow. Although, to her credit, when I explained why I had to braid her hair every day, she was very mature and didn’t put up a fuss. Even 5-year-olds know that having bugs in their hair isn’t something to aspire to! Arming her with knowledge about how lice spreads has been fruitful so far – no lice to speak of. (**Knocking on wood**)
Fast forward a few weeks and I wouldn’t exactly say I’m comfortable with the thought of lice (it still completely grosses me out), but I’m getting better. And, any of the parents that I’ve spoken to who have dealt with it say it’s not as bad as you think. To this I say, “Really?”
Let’s hope I never have to find out.
OMG… I can just about feel your pain. I know NOTHING about lice and hadn't even thought of the car seat aspect until you mentioned it. EEK!!!
Thank goodness DD is lice-free, and lucky she has a smart, info-savvy mama who takes good care of her. As for me, I foresee buzz cuts in my boys' future!
Reading this makes me instantly itchy! I had it when I was in grade four – I remember it so clearly, my mom spent HOURS combing my long hair with the tiniest of combs. All my stuffed animals were bagged for weeks and the house was scrubbed!
I've also had the luxury of using one of those combs on my DSD and scrubbing our house after she came home with it.
You are doing all the right things mama!
Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lena! I have a feeling I may have to deal with it at some point… it seems to go from school to school and it seems like an inevitability. 🙁 But, for now, I'll count my lucky stars that I don't…
Oh my… you poor thing… long hair and lice is NOT a good combination. But, you survived it – and without having a buzz cut – so there's hope for me, if I ever have to deal with it! Thanks for sharing your experiences!
I have the same reaction as you do every time I hear the word. Ick! And to think that I taught Kindergarten!!!
I put my daughter's hair up every day for school. I put some lice repelling gel in it and I spray it with hairspray.
Lice is gross and sometimes it really is hard to get rid of and it enters the school every stinkin' year! WHY oh WHY?!
Ick!
I've had it. I had a friend when I was younger who got them, and her mom never cleaned it up. My mom got rid of it in our house (with 3 girls it wasn't easy), then I hung with the girl and got it again. It happened a couple of times and my mom flipped. She told me I couldn't hang out with my best friend any more. I was heart broken, so what did she do? She got the girl to come over, and cleaned her hair, and her brother's hair, and told the Mom to get it out of the house! Yes, that's the kind of Mom I have. LOL
When my son brought home that letter, and I asked if he played with his friend that day he said "No, he had to go home early today, he left right after we all got lice". LOL I freaked too! The funny thing is my son has a hearing problem which causes a speech and language problem. He told a few people he got lice at school, before I trained him to say "We got CHECKED for lice at school, I do not have lice" LMAO
Lice is not fun. We've had it twice now…once this year and once last year.
Even if you take all the precautions (hair up, etc), there is still no guarantee. Sorry, moms. Been there, done that. Staying diligent should help you keep on top of it though.
Thanks, Wendy… I know the day is coming, I just don't want to deal with it! LOL
I didn't know there was such thing as lice-repelling gel, MTM!! Can you tell me what it's called? Thanks for sharing!
Oh, your Mom sounds fab… a real "take the bull by the horns" kinda lady. I like her already!
Re: your son's experience – I did the same thing, Shari – I asked if my DD had played with the girl I suspected had it. Luckily, she said no. 🙂
Thanks for sharing!
There's no guarantee for avoiding these suckers but adding tea tree oil in shampoo can help I hear….
Oh man. Growing up our family had lice a couple of times. We didn't have the fancy lice shampoo then and I'll always remember the smell of ammonia as the smell of lice treatment. LOL.
Thankful that I have boys with short hair LOL. Buzzcuts FTW.
And great, my head is now super itchy. LOL
Oh the dreaded note. lol! The worse one I ever got was the very first day of school in September. Sometimes I think they send the note home just so parents will do an inspection.
We've dealt with lice a few times and it is a lot of work, but we got through it. I do a lot of head checks around here and we use lice prevention shampoo.
I recall getting that letter. I so paniced and freaked out. I was at the pharmacy so quick it would make your head spin. I went over board on cleaning and disinfecting everyting in the house including all of us. lol funny now…wasn;t then
I had lice when I was in my teens. I told my mom over and over again for weeks that my head was itchy every night and she said, "You need to wash your hair more often." She believed me when her own head started itching! lol She was breastfeeding, we had five kids in the house including a nursing toddler…it was a BIG hassle. But really, no, it wasn't that bad. Just special shampoo, lots of laundry, combing out the eggs with a special little comb…it's time-consuming to deal with, but manageable.
i seriously fear lice like the plague. praying that we never get it here!!!
We've had three incidents this year in school, but so far so good. Boys are much easier – letter comes home, head gets shaved. Done!
(and now I feel itchy)
I think I would have had the similar reaction to you. As I read your post, I cringed upon reading the word "lice".