March 2018 - EASTERN OREGON PARENT - 13
Treatment and prevention of a lousy situation
By SUZANNE KENNEDY
“My head itches.”
These three words
are guaranteed to strike
fear into the hearts of
parents everywhere.
Lice. Just the mention
of the word makes you
itch. You’re probably
scratching your head
right now.
Lice don’t spread dis-
ease, but having to deal
with them is an incred-
ibly time-consuming and
emotional experience.
There are many rumors and myths
out there … so let’s set the record
straight.
Lice are tiny, wingless parasites
that crawl very quickly. They can’t
fly, hop or jump from person to
person. They survive by feeding on
the blood of a human host. Once
off their host, they will only survive
for a day or two. With more than
12 million reported cases of lice in
the US each year it’s estimated that
1 in 4 children will deal with them
some time in their life.
Surprisingly, lice like clean hair
more than dirty hair, and don’t care
if it’s dyed or bleached. You can
often see the distinctive teardrop
shaped lice eggs (nits) along one
side of a hair shaft. They look like
grains of sand and can often be
mistaken for dandruff; however,
nits stick to the hair shaft and can’t
be blown off, like dandruff.
According to Lice Knowing You,
Inc., 90 percent of any infestation
is on your head and 10 percent is in
your environment. The head should
be your focus, but you should do
some things to guard your home
against re-infestation.
Wash all the bedding of the
ed by a super-sticky
substance that makes
the egg stick to the
hair. Pesticides like Rid
and home remedies
like olive oil saturation
still require manual
removal.
Gather your weap-
ons: paper towels,
a metal lice comb, a
spray bottle filled with
water, 3 or 4 claw hair
clips, latex gloves (or
similar), a flashlight,
Family
Health
checked hair separate from the
unchecked hair. Use the flashlight
on the front and back of each small,
thin section. Because the nits are
sticky, they shine under a flashlight
beam. They are only about the
size of the point on a dull pencil.
Pick out any lice or nits by pinching
them with your fingernail and pull-
ing them all the way off. They will
look like tiny black dots on
infected person, includ-
the tissue. Move through
ing blankets and mattress
Lice Prevention
the rest of the sections.
pads, in hot water. If
Discard the paper
• Do not share hair accessories: rubber bands,
the infestation is severe,
towels
or tissues carefully.
headbands, brushes and combs.
vacuum and quickly iron
Do this once a day or once
the mattress. Place stuffed
• Long hair should be kept in braids or ponytails.
every other day until you
animals in the dryer on
find no nits or lice. Once
• Do not share hats, coats, hoodies, sweatshirts,
high heat for 30 to 40
you find no nits or lice for
scarves, etc.
minutes, or a bag them
a week or two, you are
and stick them in the
• Children should not hang coats next to each
probably okay.
freezer for 8 to 12 hours.
other, but rather put them in a backpack if cub-
If you are willing to
Hair accessories such as
bies are not available. Never put coats in piles!
travel to a major city,
combs, brushes, hairbands,
you can visit a clinic or
• Head-to-head contact is the most common way
headbands, helmets, etc.
salon created for the sole
head lice are passed. While lice prevention
should be bagged and
purpose of helping your
products are not completely foolproof, they can
put in the freezer for 8-12
family get rid of lice. Lice
be effective in keeping lice away. These rely on
hours. Vacuum and wipe
Knowing You, Inc. is such
essential oils, which have been proven effective
off all furniture where the
a place in Portland. Their
in repelling head lice.
infested person sat, includ-
staff is knowledgeable and
ing car seats, couches and
• The number one method of prevention is to do
friendly and able to talk
carpet. The good news —
once-a-week head lice checks.
even the most desper-
you only need to do each
ate mothers down off the
of these things once.
ledge. Their products are proven
and a regular comb. Thoroughly
Meanwhile, back on the head.
effective and pesticide free. Visit
wet the hair and comb out all the
You must manually remove every
tangles. Divide and clip the hair into liceknowingyou.com for more infor-
louse and nit off the head. Leav-
mation.
4 to 6 sections. Start at the front
ing even one can lead to another
________
infestation. The bad news – there is of the head and work your way
back. In each section, comb the
no product out there that kills the
Suzanne Kennedy is a former middle
hair in all different directions with
nits. Manual removal is the only
school teacher who lives in Pend-
the
lice
comb,
wiping
it
on
paper
sure way to get rid of a head lice
leton with her husband and four
towel each time. Then go through
infestation. Nits are protected in
children.
that
section
bit
by
bit,
keeping
the
their little sacs, which are surround-