A lice infestation almost always sucks up a lot of your precious time, energy, and money and this is because very rarely does a parent knock out the infestation with only one try. This means that just when u think you are in the clear, you discover...
You may notice the symptoms right away. Your child has been itching their scalp. You have noticed them doing this more than a few times the last couple days. So you muster up the courage to check for yourself and to confirm your fears. Your child has contracted head lice. You know this because when you look at their scalp and at the base of the hair shaft, about a half an inch or less from where the hair grows into the scalp, you see a small white or sometimes brown little pod or seed looking thing called a knit stuck to the strand of hair. These are the eggs and when these hatch, a small infestation will turn into a very large and hard to handle one.
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Perhaps once long ago, you yourself also had lice and if this is the case, then you know that you do not want your child to have to experience this. And so you embark on a mission to rid your child of these pesky pests, determined to succeed on the very first try.
You begin by washing your child’s hair with a specialized lice-killing shampoo. This requires the shampoo to set in the hair for ten minutes. You want to lather up the hair, and wrap it up nice and tight in a towel. As the shampoo works its magic you now must turn your attention to the home.
Gather all the bedding, towels, stuffed animals and clothing your child has come into contact with and bag up all of it into large black plastic garbage bags, tying them tightly closed and placing them on your back porch. You will leave them here until you have time to wash each bag of linens/ Clothes in hot water, drying them as well. You do this because the only true way to make sure they were all dead is with extreme levels of heat.
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When time is up, rinse the hair. This is when you will have to carefully comb through each strand by sectioning the hair into very small sections , and removing any lice or nits you find. Make sure to clean the comb after each stroke, preventing any lice from escaping. Many will even ‘pop’ the nits between their finger nails killing them instantly. This no doubt is for a select few I know, so make your own call here.
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This is a time consuming project, but an important one to do correctly because by eliminating any potential hiding places for the lice, you ensured their complete eradication. You must make sure to vacuum the entire house very well and then immediately empty the vacuum into an outdoor trash bin.
You shouldn't stop there, though. You should reach out to the school and inform them about the lice outbreak, urging them to take necessary precautions. The school should respond promptly, sending out notices to all parents and conducting thorough checks on all students. This is how to create aa lice-free environment for the children.
