Summer guide: Keeping Lice out of your kids head.
This is probably my least favorite subject to write about however dealing with lice has unfortunately become a way of school life for most parents. You may think you’ll never have to deal with it…then the letters start coming home notifying you that some mystery child has been found with it and all must be on lice alert. This started as early as nursery school.
We were lucky to never have to deal with it but enter first grade. These kids share everything. Water bottles, hats, scarves so it is no surprise that it is these pesky parasites are hard to banish from schools. This past school year after seeing my boy constantly itch I found an egg. I never received a letter that lice were in the classroom yet I found out later that there were two kids with full on lice infestation. This goes to show you that it is becoming so common that checking for lice needs to be something we as parents do weekly if not daily. Luckily, my son never had full-blown lice but the little he had was enough to make be a vigilante about keeping us lice free. Now that summer camp is upon us being on it is important and makes sense especially financially as just what I spent in laundry and dry cleaning to assure we didn't have eggs was pricey. I know parents who have spend thousands on ridding lice on their kids.
I asked Lena Gorelik, the Founder of Lice Free Noggins for a few facts and tips on care. I called Lena when after a few treatments on my boy. If you live in the New York City area I found Lice Free Noggins to be fair in price, quick to get back to me and honest about how to deal with lice. A big plus is that their products are natural.
Facts via Lena Gorelik
- Head lice do not fly. They have legs and grasp the hair shaft close to the scalp.
- Head lice is spread from head to head contact.
- Kids do not get lice due to poor hygiene; they do tend to occur more in crowded space, which means for us New Yorkers this is not great news.
Helpful tips on preventing head lice
- Frequently check your child's hair
- Lice Free Noggins encourages using a daily spray/lice repellent as Lena said …”if the lice detect the repellant they will not go onto the hair’. Motherburg recommends Fairy Tales Hair Products, I spray my son daily with their Rosemary Repel Conditioning Spray. I also have Lice Free noggins Comb Out Spray just in case we get hit with lice.
- Encourage your child to not share hats with other children.
- If your child has recurring lice, using a lice comb (Lena recommends the Nit Terminator) do a comb out using a thick conditioner such as pantene at least once a month on your child.
- If at a camp-keep nap-bedding sheet in a large zip lock bag especially when transporting from camp to home. Wash nap bedding in hot water.
- Head lice can be throughout the head but they do like behind the ears and neck.
Photo: Fujikama/Pixaby
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