Preventing Head Lice and Hair Lice in Your Family
How To Prevent Head Lice
Having hair lice is not a sign of neglect or being dirty! I cannot stress enough that you should NOT feel guilty if you child gets headlice. Nasty Hair Lice bugs can be a problem for kids of all ages from anywhere, poor or wealthy, no matter how often they take baths or showers.
You can, however, prevent kids from getting lice – or from becoming reinfested with headlice – by taking the following precautions:
- * Tell kids to try to avoid hair-to-hair contact at school (in gym, on the playground, or during sports) and while playing at home with other kids. This can be tough if wrestling is in the curriculum. Plus, you never know who has it or who doesn’t as kids are always scratching their heads anyway!
- * Tell kids not to share combs, brushes, hats, scarves, ribbons, barrettes, hair ties or bands, towels, helmets, or other personal care items with other kids, whether they may have lice or not. If your child plays on a baseball or softball team, you can buy him or her their own helmet for around $30. This makes them “cool” anyway.
- * Tell kids not to lie on beds, pillows, or carpets that have recently been used by someone with lice.
- * Every 3 or 4 days, examine members of your household who have had close contact with a person who has lice. Then, treat those who are found to have lice or nits close to the scalp. You can many time knock out an infestation early before it becomes a problem or annoyance.
Can We Completely Eradicate Head Lice?
If your child has had a bad infestation of head lice, then you know that it can be a tough task to completely get rid of it in your home and on your family members. If you feel like you’re following every recommendation and your child still has lice, it may be because:
* there are still some nits left behind
* your child is still being exposed to someone with lice
* the treatment you’re using isn’t effective
There’s no doubt that they can be difficult bugs to get rid of. If your child still has lice for 2 weeks after you started treatment or if your child’s scalp looks infected (with pus or sores), call your doctor.
If the infestation of lice lasts for a while, be sure to let your child know that it is a common problem and not to be embarrassed. It’s important for kids to understand that they haven’t done anything wrong and that having lice doesn’t make them dirty. It is also a good idea to encourage them that it will be gone soon enough, and it is almost a right of passage to get head lice at least once as a child.
The key for you, the parent, is to be patient and consistent in everything you do. Follow every direction given to you by your doctor or on the treatment labels. You can get rid of head lice in your house and family!