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There’s by no means a good time to get the dreaded lice memo out of your children’ college, but when we had to decide on one of many worst occasions to get it, it might in all probability be proper round now. Smack-dab in the midst of chilly, flu, COVID, and norovirus season (did somebody say quad-demic?), squarely through the January slump, and coinciding with a chilly snap throughout a lot of the nation that’s forcing children and fogeys into shut quarters. Positive, why not throw some head lice in whereas we’re at it!
Whereas head lice outbreaks are usually fairly localized inside colleges or districts (in contrast to, say, the flu and norovirus circumstances which are surging nationwide), we’re seeing a lot of lice chatter effervescent up on social media and amongst SheKnows’ personal parenting cohort. A brand new Reel from Caitlin Murray, the hilariously relatable mother behind @bigtimeadulting on Instagram, appears to completely sum up mother and father’ emotions about all of it.
Over a video of the momfluencer dancing goofily in her dwelling, Murray recorded a voiceover venting concerning the limitless battle this month has been. “Exhausting to consider it’s already January fortieth once more!” she stated. In between complaints concerning the freezing climate and the amount of her cooped-up children (“I can hardly hear myself assume”), Murray shared that she’d lately acquired “a discover from the well being workplace” yesterday informing her that head lice are “mainly crawling all around the whole college,” she stated. “So no less than we’ve bought that to look ahead to!”
And in response to her remark part, Murray isn’t the one one. “We bought the e-mail too. Dancing with you proper now,” one particular person wrote, whereas one other shared, “Simply had the lice final week!”
“What’s it with the lice this yr?!?” one commenter chimed in. “By no means in my 11 yrs of parenting have we had it till this yr and it’s a b**** to eliminate.”
Yeah… January is certainly January-ing. As if colds, the flu, COVID, and norovirus weren’t sufficient, it seems to be like head lice are going across the classroom too. It’s not precisely regular for this time of yr, both; in response to Lice Clinics of America, late summer time and early fall are usually seen as “lice season,” when children are again in class and in shut contact. That stated, they’ll survive by way of the winter months — and possibly the return to highschool after winter break, together with the chilly climate preserving many people indoors, have one thing to do with all these infestations.
Regardless of the motive, head lice have arrived — so what are you able to do about it? Effectively, to begin with, take consolation in the truth that head lice don’t unfold illness and aren’t thought-about a well being hazard, per the CDC… they’re simply uncomfortable and form of gross. They feed on human blood (Nosferatu, anybody?) and are normally discovered on the top, however may also hang around on eyebrows or eyelashes. Folks with head lice may not all the time expertise signs, however once they do, itchiness is the most typical. Different signs can embrace tickling or feeling one thing shifting within the hair, irritability, problem sleeping, or sores from scratching.
As a result of your little one may not have signs, particularly if they’ve a gentle or early-stage infestation, it’s necessary to examine them for lice if there’s an outbreak at their college or of their good friend group — even when they’re not itching fairly but. Which means snapping on a pair of latex gloves (or nitrile, vinyl, or polyethylene gloves for latex allergic reactions), shining a shiny gentle down in your child’s head, and utilizing your fingers to create partings and look at their scalp for lice or nits (aka eggs). Don’t neglect to look behind the ears and close to the again of the neck! (Right here’s extra data from the CDC on how one can examine for lice.)
For prevention, encourage your children to keep away from head-to-head contact as a lot as they’ll. As Dr. Natasha Bhuyan, household doctor and Nationwide Medical Director at One Medical, beforehand told SheKnows, it’s additionally a good suggestion to keep away from sharing gadgets like hats, brushes, or towels. She additionally recommends getting the entire household checked and handled if when one particular person within the family is identified with head lice, lest they run rampant by way of your loved ones. (Simply ask James Van Der Beek what that’s like.)
So what do these therapies appear like? They’re usually shampoos you will get over-the-counter or by prescription, per Johns Hopkins. You apply the therapy as directed, whereas noting whether or not your therapy is designed to kill solely grownup lice, or grownup lice and nits. If the the previous, you’ll wish to comb by way of your little one’s hair afterwards to examine for any remaining nits.
There are many therapy choices obtainable, however commenters on Murray’s submit referred to as out just a few particularly. “As somebody who’s on the opposite aspect of it… it’s Nix ultra for the win!” one particular person wrote. “We tried completely different manufacturers and kinds (shampoos vs conditioners) and this one was the one one which killed them in a single strive!”
One other commenter beneficial liberal use of the Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel shampoo and conditioner set. “When there was a HUGE lice outbreak at my son’s college, we had been the one of many few escapees!” they defined. SheKnows content material director and mother Cristina Velocci additionally loves the Fairy Tales Rosemary Repel conditioning spray as a preventative.
Different commenters advised tea tree oil hair products, which some studies have discovered to be efficient at treating and preventing head lice. (Notice that tea tree oil ought to solely be used topically, as it may be poisonous when swallowed, per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health) And ensure to machine wash and dry any garments, towels, or linens that an infested little one makes use of — and vacuum up the flooring and furnishings, too.
Lengthy story brief, a lice infestation at your child’s college might be the very last thing you wish to occur proper now. Given all of the therapy and prevention measures at your fingertips, although we promise it received’t be the tip of the world! And the tip of the month is coming, after which spring is simply across the nook… proper? As Murray says, “Simply carry on dancing. Pleased January Infinity!”
Earlier than you go, shop these pure chilly merchandise to assuage your children’ signs:
