Don't Tear Your Hair Out!!!

...journey through headlice hell, and beyond!

Finding out that your child (or you!) has headlice is among the lesser Kodak moments of a lifetime. Having been through it (and lived to tell the tale) along with a bit of research I have found what I feel is the best an safest solution to a *lousy* experience.

Chemical Treatments

Always remember that any product you use to kill lice, natural or not, is a poison and should be used with caution. If you do choose to try this type of treatment there are a few safety tips worth mentioning.

Never use if pregnant or lactating or have a pre-existing medical condition such as asthma or epilepsy.

Never use on a child two years of age or under.

Never use repeat treatments. Discontinue use at first sign of product failure.

Never use near eyes or face.

Never use shower caps or plastic bags.

Never leave your child unattended while being treated. Never use products containing Lindane (Kwell). It is a potent neurotoxin. See www.lindane.org for more information.

Never apply in the bathtub or shower as it increases exposure.

Never use household sprays. Almost all headlice are on the head.

Never use on open wounds. (many children have them from scratching)

Never use as a preventative measure.

Never use *just in case*. Always be sure that diagnoses is correct.

What Alternative Do I Have?

The NPA (National Pediculosis Association) has endorsed a product that I have tried and found to be *The Answer*. It is a nit comb called the LiceMeister that has been registered with the FDA as a medical device.

I have done initial treatment of a child's head in approximately 20 minutes. Previously it would have taken 2 or more hours, in addition to time taken for the chemical process. Needless to say I was THRILLED to find it and to have something to recommend, as to be honest, I was getting discouraged in trying to find a successful solution

As Barbara Colorosa says, *You Gotta Make A Plan*, so here's the plan for anyone wrestling with this dilemma.

The 4 Step Plan

1. Take the child into a room with good natural lighting, or even better, outdoors. (If indoors, a well lighted bathroom can work well, the child can get quite engrossed (or at the least grossed out!) at what's been hiding out in his/her hair and it reduces the risk of *loosing* any in the carpet or furniture. It is also handy as the LiceMeister is best cleaned using unwaxed dental floss, or a tooth/nail brush and the sink is a very handly place to do this. I wouldn't recommend trying to put anything else betweent the teeth in case it separates them, reducing effectiveness. It's a good idea to drape a towel over the child's shoulder's or have him/her change his shirt afterwards.

2. The LiceMeister goes through clean well brushed hair the best. Also if it is time for a trim or haircut, this is a good time to do it if you can do it yourself or get it done at home. Gently and repeatedly comb through the child's hair with the LiceMeister, continually checking and cleaning the comb as it collects nits and lice. If the hair is long, do it in small sections, hair clips are helpful with this. It is still necessary to check manually for lice and nits that do not come off in the comb, but most will be removed with the comb and repeated *treatments* will clean the head in a very short time, I find as effectively or more so than chemical treatments.

3. While doing this throw the bedding of anyone who has been infected in the was, drying with a hot dryer. Also any hats, coats and clothing that has been worn or lying around recently. This is also a good time to remind the children to keep all of their clothes put away as soon as they are washed.

4. Do a thorough vacuuming of the house including furniture, stuffed animals, mattresses. Bagging is not necessary, concienscous vacuuming sufficient.

Repeat steps 1-2 at least 3 times for a few days, in the morning, afternoon and eving is good, two screenings int he afternoon can also be done at first if time and patience permits. In front of the TV can be a little easier on the child after initial treatment.

Persistence is absolutely necessary. The best use of your time is spent on the child's head. Lice prefer to stay there and don't venture off if they can help it. Daily vacuuming around furniture and areas that the children are known to loll/roll around on can be helpful. If the bedding is clean, it can be thrown in the dryer on hot for 15-20 minutes daily until you are nit free.

And that's the plan. If yor heavily infested, most should be gone the first day. Some *hangers on* and hatchlings may be detected in the next few days and daily screening is recommended for a week after the last sighting.

More On Prevention

Of course after doing all of this, it is very easy for your child to become reinfested if they are to come into contact with another infected person or personal item. So the best defense is always a good weekly screening, more often if you are aware of an outbreak in your area.

It is not recommended to use any chemical treatment as a preventative measure. Continued use of a pesticide in any form can be potentially dangerous. This includes natural treatments such as Tea Tree Oil. Girls with long hair may be convinced to wear their hair up to reduce the risk of hair to hair contact.

Also, any outbreak should be reported to the school and any person or organization that the child has been in contact with. It's no fun, but necessary and much better appreciated than silence. Feel free to copy or pass this newsletter on to other schools, day cares or bulletin boards (where permitted of course).

About The LiceMeister

The cost of the LiceMeister is $25.00. At first I thought this seemed like a lot of money, but it is much less than one can spend on chemical treatments, it can be reused and is useful in prevention and treatment. And most importantly, it works. I wouldn't try anything else (after doing so already) before trying this out. Besides, proceeds go toward the NPA which supports various children's charities so I consider it a wise investment as well as a charitable donation to a worthy cause.

 **combs can be boiled in between uses**

Considerations: I found the LiceMeister very effective and easy for initial comb outs and very useful for subsequent ones and screening, but it is still very important to keep a good eye out. Some nits and lice will have to be *handpicked*, especially the ones very close to the head. While screening the hair I found the comb removed a few nits that I didn't see when looking. I also did my own little experiment out of morbid curiousity to see how the plastic combs compare. I ran the plastic one through first, which removed very few. When I then used the LiceMeister, it was speckled with nits. Don't attempt to save money by treating with plastic combs, they just don't do the job.

There was some difficulty in removing all of the nits from the comb but I suppose this design is why it is so effective in removing them from the hair, so I'm not complaining. (I finally just started using my fingernail and it doesn't seem to be affecting the effectiveness of the comb, but I'd do this at your own discretion)

Help Is On The Way...

Headchecks at schools and daycares are of utmost importance in eliminating this nuisance. Our school does one after each holiday.

If you are interested in volunteering I'm sure the help would be greatly appreciated. I also was able to obtain the LiceMeister at wholesale cost to have on hand for parents in need by contacting Bonnie Byers (in Canada, the contact is different for other countries...see www.headlice.org and click on the LiceMeister) She was very helpful and supplied me with 6 combs to be paid for as they are sold as I told her I was helping out at the school. I also took information into the local drugstore and they will be stocking them also. (update: to my knowledge, they have not, go figure!) It's a great bonus for parents who can then save money and also not have to wait for them to arrive in the mail or have to drive a great distance to find a supplier. (that's what I did originally and even that was worth it)

Another thought that I will be taking to my school and you may be interested in concerns head checks. The sad truth is that headlice are very hard to get rid of and some parents are very time challenged. When I helped out at the school I was *just itching* to comb out those nits that I was finding. School policy is to put kids with only nits back in class and send those with live ones home. Firstly, where there are eggs, there are a good possibility of live lice. Secondly, I hope to come up with a plan whereby we collect a few extra volunteers to do a comb out where needed right at the school. It is possible that permission slips will be needed beforehand, not too much of a hurdle in my opinion.

Anyone reading this article who would like to help out their school or organization in organizing a headcheck or providing combs or anyone needing aditional help can email me at [email protected]

Most of the information for this newsletter was taken from the site of the NPA (National Pediculosis Association) at www.headlice.org

 It's a great place to go for additional information and information on locations or ordering a LiceMeister. I also have them here.

LiceMeister Results update: Well, we've done two headchecks at the school now. I offered to sell the comb with an option to buy it back for 1/2 price so I could get a few loaners together. Guess what? Nobody wants to part with it. And I know why, I wouldn't part with mine for all the tea in China. There is nothing more frustrating than *knowing* that you've gotten rid of all of them, just to have them appear again a month or so later. When their around and fairly prevalent, there isn't much of a guarantee that your children won't be reinfected. It's happened a few times, and my comb has been like gold to me. Now that it's been tested by a few parents here, I can feel even more comfortable recommending it.

I have recently started working with essential oils to make skin creams and soaps etc. I am going to try to formulate something that could possibly be sprayed on the hair as a deterent so that reinfestation is less likely. I'll keep you posted.

Still Scratching Your Head?

* Dried up headlice and nits have been found on Egyptian Mummies (or is that Mommies?) Cleopatra had her own gold nit comb.

* Live lice die within 24 - 48 hours if off host. (that would be us!)

* Nits are viable for approximately a week off host.

* Females can lay 3-10 eggs (nits) per day.

* It takes 7-10 days for them to hatch ad another 7-10 days for them to mature and reproduce.

*Headlice have 6 legs, are wingless and 2-4 mm long.

* They can crawl 1 foot in 1 minute using thier claws to scurry along the hair shaft.

* Nymphs (babies) resemble grains of sand after dining on blood. They are transparent before that.

* Nits resemble white, silver/greyish or black sesame seeds and are cemented on an angle to the hair shaft.

*If it can be brushed or blown off, it's not a nit.

*Average lifespan is approximately one month.

*Most nits are found behind ears and nape of neck within an inch of the scalp, but can be found throughout.

* The empty egg remains on the hair shaft after hatching.

* Human lice must have human blood and will not live on pets. (At least Dracula flies away when he's finished.)

* Eggs are destroyed at 125^ for 10-20 minutes.

*Freezing temperatures will also kill lice and nits after a few days.