LICE -- really??

[hillview]

So on Sept 30 there was a lice outbreak at school. For the last 1.5 months there have been weekly lice issues at school. This morning DS1's class had all kids checked before going into class. 3 kids were sent home. In DS2's class 4 kids had lice.

So here are some questions. If your school has lice -- is it easy-ish to see lice in your kid's head? I get that it would be hard if you have no idea to look but if you do look, is it easy to see? I check my kids almost daily. I feel like I'd see it? Am I nuts?

Is there real/good lice prevention I should be doing?

TIA
/hillary

[crayonblue]

So on Sept 30 there was a lice outbreak at school. For the last 1.5 months there have been weekly lice issues at school. This morning DS1's class had all kids checked before going into class. 3 kids were sent home. In DS2's class 4 kids had lice.

So here are some questions. If your school has lice -- is it easy-ish to see lice in your kid's head? I get that it would be hard if you have no idea to look but if you do look, is it easy to see? I check my kids almost daily. I feel like I'd see it? Am I nuts?

Is there real/good lice prevention I should be doing?

TIA
/hillary

DD school has lice. Lots of it. Another round of kids found today. Including more in DD's class.

I think it is very easy to see nits. But, if you haven't seen them before, it might be a little tricky. They look like tiny tear drops cemented to the hair very near the scalp. As far as actual lice, those are harder to spot because they run real fast.

As far as prevention, well, maybe if every kid in the school wore plastic shower caps to school?! Seriously, I don't know. DD's hair is in braids or pig tails and I told her to put her jacket in her backpack, not on the hooks. We also sent her to school with her own headphones today so the kids aren't sharing headphones. I'm also trying to find inexpensive but decent headphones for the whole class. I bought the Fairy Tales rosemary spray and spray both that and hairspray in her hair every morning.

The reality is that if kids in the class have untreated lice or the parents treat and then send back to school before the lice are erradicated, it is going to spread and there isn't much we can do.

[rlu]

It's not easy to see lice - flip the head upside and shake hair hard and some "might" fall out. When I had them as a kid my mom would treat us and then we'd see them in the water, ick.

DS hasn't had any yet but every time a note comes home I search hard and use a tea tree oil shampoo in hopes that actually helps prevent. His hair is super blonde and it would be hard to see the eggs - I might see a louse easier but hope to never find out.

link to bing pictures http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=picture+louse+nit&qpvt=picture+louse+nit&FORM=IGRE

[JBaxter]

Supposedly lice dislike coconut and tea tree oil. When I was licensed for foster care one of the other moms said she used swave coconut shampoo/conditioner with a healthy dose of tea tree oil in the bottle. Also if you are exposed to lice mayonaise on you head w/ a shower cap for several hours kills the adults ( not the eggs)

[HallsofVA]

Just get a nit free comb, and comb out the hair every few days with it. We never did see the nits, until we ran a comb through the kids hair - after DD was sent home!

Oh, I also invested in a good magnifying glass and a mini microscope because we couldn't tell if what we saw was a nit or something else. I never realized just how much lint and fuzz you get in your hair until I started using the mini microscope!

Amazon sells the comb, and also has some great kits that have the comb plus mousse for $19 something, or the comb, plus some anti-lice mousse and some peppermint "repel" spray for $23. That's essentially the same thing that the Lice Happens lady wanted to sell us when we hired them to come check DD (and the rest of us!)

[Katigre]

If you search the board for "Lice" a few threads will come up (or search under my username - I know I've posted):

Here is what I would do:

1. Sternly talk with the boys about not ever.ever.ever letting their heads touch other children's heads. Try your best to make 'heads' another private 'no touching!!!!' body part ;)

2. Spray their heads with a mixture of water and tea tree oil every morning - this repels the lice. They won't like the smell (my DC don't) but I do it anyway.

3. Keep their hair shorter if you can