How Not to Get Lice From Your Child

You just found out that your child has head lice...what do you plan to do? Of course, you would love to don a hazmat suit, or better yet put your child in a hazmat suit, so that nobody else in the family will become infested. In fact, you need a way to clear up the lice in your infested child AND make sure that the rest of the family does not already have it or will not get it. Your next thought is how do I prevent the lice from infesting all of my family members?

You Need to Know What Lice Are!

If you’ve never seen lice in person, or had to deal with an infestation, you may be stumped when someone tells you that your child has lice. So what is lice? Head lice are a common ailment that affect all socioeconomic classes and are common in families of school aged children. It is a parasite that infests the head. A lice infestation consists of bugs that crawl from head to head, they do not jump or fly, and their eggs which are glued to the strands of hair that makes them difficult to remove. Lice are so prevalent that most schools no longer prohibit children with only nits (lice eggs) from attending class.

Lice Symptoms

If you fear that your child may have been infested with head lice, be watchful for the common signs. There are many common symptoms, but they do not always indicate that a lice infestation is present; if you see one or more of these, it would be prudent to check your child’s hair. These symptoms include, but are not limited to:

• Itching
• Crawling Sensation
• Trouble Sleeping
• Rash
• Bugs in the hair
• Little translucent eggs stuck to the hair

Should I Treat My Hair If My Child Has Lice?

If your child has lice, you may wonder “If my daughter has lice should I treat myself?” or even worse “my kid has lice will I get it?” When treating children, we always recommend treating everyone at the same time. If one person in the house has it, there is a high probability that at least one other individual will have it, so you’ll want to avoid passing it back and forth between yourself, your children, and their siblings. So when we’re asked “If my child has lice, should I treat myself” our answer is always yes.

How Not to Get Lice From a Family Member?

The basic principles that apply to avoiding head lice transmission at school or with your children’s friends apply when visiting family members, especially those with school-aged children. Following these tips will help you avoid getting head lice when visiting with family:

• Keep long hair in a bun, braid, or ponytail; this minimizes contact accessibility. Head lice need to be able to climb from one head to another.
• Apply a little bit of hair product to your hair, like hair spray or mousse, or LiceDoctors Peppermint Lice Repellant Spray, to make it harder for lice to grab on to the hair.
• Avoid sharing grooming tools like hairbrushes and ponytail holders
• Avoid head-to-head contact with loved ones when possible.

What If I Get Lice?

If you get lice, stay calm! We recommend that you bring in a professional service because you can’t check to see that all of the nits have been removed. It is certainly more cumbersome than treating someone else, but if you want to give it a go, we recommend the following steps:

• Apply the olive oil generously.
• Section your hair and get to combing with a good nit comb.
• Comb one section at a time until you are not getting any eggs or bugs out, then move to the next.
• Continue until you are done with all sections and then do a quick overall comb through.
• We recommend a follow-up plan in addition to the treatment you would provide yourself.

Have Lice? We Can Help!

From the minute you realize, “Oh no. My daughter has lice!” it’s just a matter of time before you get it as well. The fastest and most reliable way to not get lice from your child and avoid an outbreak in your household is to call LiceDoctors at 800-224-2537 at the first sign of lice; knowledgeable and experienced lice professionals will be at your home soon to find and remove even the earliest cases of lice.