What's that? Lice, you say?!

Take a deep breath. This might gross you out, but the more you know, the less likely you are to become victim to this ancient plague. I know, it sounds super scary, but lice can actually be managed with the right precautions. Last year, I had only one case of head lice in the first week of school. I gave some suggestions to the parents of my class and we never had lice again. How do I know? We checked!!!

You might be wondering how I know so much about lice. Well, as I child I fell victim to lice...NINE TIMES! Yes, my mother had a routine down pat to treat me, my room, the house, and the car. My nice little private school had to be bug-bombed and we weren't aloud to return to school for three days. My mother was determined not to battle it for the tenth time so she did her research. This is what she found:

• Essential oils of lavender and eucalyptus keep the little devils away. The ancient Egyptians used this and it worked!
• Lice actually love CLEAN hair. Dirty, oily hair is too hard for them to walk on and it isn't ideal for them to lay their sticky eggs on (called nits). I'm not saying that your child shouldn't bathe (ewww!), but maybe alternate days that you wash hair. It's actually better for your hair NOT to wash it every day.
• It takes two weeks for eggs to hatch after they have been laid. IF your child does have lice, they will get checked two weeks later in my class to catch the buggers before they infest your child.
• If you use a hot hair dryer to blow the hair dry, neither eggs nor bugs can survive the heat and will die. You don't have to do this every day either, once a week will suffice.
• A layer of hairspray to keep hair tucked in and close to the head will also help keep them away. The hairspray is another thing besides natural oils of the scalp that creates a hostile environment for lice. 
• Hair should be worn up and away from the face and shoulders to keep hair out of reach of the unwanted visitors.
• Simply not sharing hairbrushes or hair accessories can also do the trick. 

I hope that this left you more educated than grossed out. Just be vigilant and check your child if there has been a case in the classroom. If (and hopefully never) there is a case of head lice in the class, every child will be checked and you will be informed. If you should ever have any questions about how to treat lice effectively, please feel free to ask! If anyone can relate, its me! If you are curious about what lice and their nits look like, there's always google!