What To Do If Your Child Has Lice

Has your child been scratching their head A LOT and complaining that their head feels itchy? Chances are if your child has a consistently itchy head they might have a case of head lice. 

LICE! 

Don't panic - take a deep breath and know that you can and will overcome this. 

As you read this I'm sure you're fighting the urge to rip off bedding, wash EVERYTHING, vacuum and clean the house until it shines all while scheduling your child for an expensive trip to the local salon for a lice treatment. Or maybe you sent your husband out to buy every single louse removal product your local drugstore carries. 

I know that this was my first reaction the first time one of my kids got lice. Unfortunately, I was one of those parents who did do many of these things which only left me exhausted and frustrated, wondering when our lice problem would go away. After calming down and doing a little research I learned a lot about how to fight a lice infestation and began approaching it in a much more effective way. (I'm sure my washing machine is thankful!) 

If you find yourself in these same shoes here are a few tips and tricks I want to share with you so you don't freak out and can fight lice the right way. 

Lice love a warm hairy head and can't survive for very long away from this environment which is why cleaning like crazy is not necessary. If you must clean I recommend vacuuming the bedroom where the person sleeps and then throwing their pillow or special stuffed animals that sleep near their head into the dryer on hot for about 15-30 minutes. The hot air will kill any bugs or nits quickly. 

It's also a good idea to sanitize hairbrushes and combs too. To do this boil a pan of water then dip the brush and combs into the boiling water for a few seconds. Or you could put the brush and comb in a Ziploc bag, seal it, and put it in the freezer for 24 hours. Both methods are quite effective. 

Recommended Tools & Expert Advice

One of the best websites I found that educated me about lice and helped me to fight head lice is The Nice Lice Lady. Because she has 14 years of experience removing lice and was able to explain her process so clearly, I felt confident that I too could win the battle against lice. She recommends wet combing which requires a good lice comb and a cheap bottle of conditioner to start the process of removing any lice bugs and nits. The Nice Lice Lady reassured me that I wouldn't have to spend a lot of money to conquer this problem and all I needed were some simple supplies and a little perseverance.

This is my favorite lice comb. Find it HERE

Nits are the eggs that the lice lay on a strand of hair. They are tiny (like a single grain of salt), white, and glued onto the strand of hair by the adult lice bug. If you find a lice bug they are dark in color with six legs that stick out towards the front of its body by its head. They have an oval/elongated body.

Stop The Stereotyping

Unfortunately, head lice carry a negative stereotype in our culture because everyone assumes only dirty (unclean) people get lice. Let me correct the lie right now and tell you that anyone - rich, poor, clean, dirty, old, or young can get lice! Lice prefer a clean head of hair however it doesn't mean you can't get lice if you use hair products. 

Don't let lice define you or your child. Recently while "nit-picking" through my daughter's hair with the lice comb I mumbled under my breath "how gross it was". I was not calling her gross at all, just the lice. She heard me mumble and reminded me that "Yes, the bugs are gross but I am not gross". I am so glad that her identity and how she sees herself was not changed or defined by the lice crawling in her hair. It was just a temporary condition and she understood that with some hard work she would be lice-free soon. She is the same sweet, creative and fun young girl she was before lice even entered her universe. Needless to say, I was still so proud of her! 

The process of completely eliminating the lice from her hair has been a tedious one due to the numerous wet comings and nit picking but it has allowed me to spend a lot of one on one time with her which has been a true blessing. You don't just get lice overnight and like the Nice Lice Lady says "beating it will require an intentional but manageable effort over the next few weeks". Lice removal is a marathon and not a sprint - keep going, you can do this!

Here are the methods I followed to rid my daughter's head of lice and nits. I hope this method works well for you too.

How To Get Rid Of Lice

1. Wet your child's head and hair completely. I had my daughter hold her head under the kitchen sink while I used the sprayer to spray all of her hair. Ring out hair so it isn't dripping wet. 
2. Begin massaging conditioner (cheapest bottle you can find) throughout the hair making sure to get the roots. Comb hair out gently to get out all of the tangles.
3. Section off the hair into manageable sections. I use a few large hair clips to hold sections together while I work one section at a time. Be thorough and don't miss any sections.
4. Grab your lice comb, and pick a section of hair to begin combing through. I suggest starting with a small portion of the section you choose and working through one section bit by bit. 
5. Regularly wipe or rinse your lice comb off on a tissue or towel especially if you are combing out lice bugs. I found it helpful to rinse the lice comb regularly so that the conditioner doesn't build up and drip all over the comb. 
6. Keep combing and combing until each section is combed out. 
7. If there are a lot of lice and nits you may have to comb out your child's hair more often possibly daily until you see a drastic reduction in bugs. I have found it best to comb out my child's hair every other day unless she is really itchy - that's when I know a comb-out needs to be done ASAP.

You will want to do the comb out in a well-lit area or grab a light that you can shine near the hair sections you are working on - those little nits are tiny and can be hard to see!

Commit to doing a full head wet coming at least every other day for about 2 full weeks until you don't see any nits or bugs. If you find a nit after the 2 weeks start over and continue the wet combing schedule. 

I know this may seem a bit overwhelming and time-consuming but don't panic it is totally doable and manageable. For more tips and detailed instructions on how to comb properly please visit The Nice Lice Lady's blog. There are so many useful tips and advice to help you win this battle!

Has your family battled lice? Maybe you are in the middle of the battle as you read this - please feel free to reach out if you need a little encouragement!