**Warning this post is about lice, it will make you itch, only read if you need to!
It all started on a Wednesday afternoon, January 2nd, I was watching my friends kids. The kids were playing great and being so cute together! It was a calm and enjoyable afternoon. Delaney came over to me to tell me something, I could see something on the side of her head. So I told her to come closer, only to realize it was a small bug. I pulled it off and instantly just knew what it was, but didn't want to admit it. I sat her in front of me and started looking through her hair, I saw a couple more. I shuddered, I squirmed, I wanted to cry! I immediately texted Jeff (who was at work) and told him I am pretty sure she had lice....oh but I was almost positive that she has it, it was just a feeling deep down that I knew what it was. I texted my friends to let them know so they could come pick up their kids. They honestly couldn't have reacted better, because I felt awful, and they just laughed and were so kind about it saying things like 'you can't catch a break' and 'of course you have lice in your house'. It was nice to know that they didn't totally hate me for exposing their children to it, even though I had no clue. My friends picked up treatments for their kids to treat 'just in case', and I asked the how much it was. Oh it was a lovely $14 for the cheaper, generic kind....how in the heck am I going to treat my whole family by forking out that on top of the combs and the sprays and the other lovely stuff you are suppose to buy? Not what I wanted to spend money on! They picked up their kids and I picked up my laptop and began researching like crazy. While still checking her head in between. One time I pulled a 'bug' off and Delaney saw it, she freaked and was horrified! I felt so bad for her, as she kept asking me 'why would someone put bugs in my hair?' and was just disgusted!
Are you itching yet?! I totally am!
Things I found out: lice do not jump! I always assumed they did/was told they did...with knowing that, the only place we could have picked it up was at church. Possibly from the church benches?! During winter break we had only been to church and home, we basically just stayed at home with our family and enjoyed time together. I also learned that some natural ways work better than the treatments in the stores. Lice like clean hosts, so even though you feel totally gross, it doesn't mean you are gross!
I found lots of natural ways to treat lice. I decided this was going to be the route were would go. So I read a ton and found what I thought, with the help of others, would be the best option for our family. So I compiled a list and texted it to Jeff for him to pick up on his way home. I sent him this text:
- Cetaphil
- metal nit comb
- clips to separate hair (for the girls)
- lice killing spray
What would have cost us about $100, possibly more, only cost us about $40 going the natural way!
Then I sat each of my kids down and searched their heads. I thought Grant might have had something, he had itched a little and had some 'marks' on his head that I thought might be from it (later we found out he did not have any). Other than that the boys seemed to be clear, although I checked their heads a couple of times, I just couldn't be so sure. Jeff came home with the 'goodies' and I started going to work on Delaney's hair. I was suppose to go to Cub Scouts that night, but since I had been home with it, Jeff took Haden and went for me (we didn't send Grant because at that time I wasn't sure about him). I hope that people know I would never send my children anywhere if I thought they were contagious, I keep them home if I think they are the least bit contagious, so this time was no different! Jeff was clear and I had a few lice in my hair but that was it, we are thinking I picked them up from being so close with Delaney throughout the day.
Still itching? Just the word makes my skin crawl!
How we treated the Big 'L' word:
**We washed every piece of bedding, blankets and stuffed animals in all of the bedrooms in HOT water.
**We dried everything on high heat.
**We sprayed with a lice killer spray on all of the beds, couches, pillows, floors, etc.
1. We started with a 1:1 ratio of apple cider vinegar and water wash. Pouring it on Delaney's head and scrubbing (Delaney and I were the only ones to do this).
2. We rinsed her hair out and then I combed her hair with the nit and egg combs while in the tub (rinsing the combs in a bowl).
3. Then I combed through all of the boys' hair....totally clean!
4. I combed Delaney's hair again just to get as many eggs and nits out as I could!
5. We then coated everyone's hair with Cetaphil (yes the skin cleanser or face wash)!
6. Jeff used the blow dryer on high heat to kind of dry the Cetephil and heat helps kill lice.
7. We went to sleep, and slept with the Cetaphil in our hair. There wasn't any grease marks left on our pillows or anything.
8. The next day we rinsed out our hair and showered everyone and then combed through our hair again. Everyone was clear and only finding some dead lice in Delaney's hair!
9. I continued to comb Delaney's hair twice a day until I didn't find a single lice or egg, which was 2 days later when we got a clear head.
10. Breath, relax and know that you are not the first or the last person to battle these little bugs!
Tips for combing through girls hair:
We used clips to section the hair off and just worked with each little section at a time. Making sure we thoroughly combed through each section. Once each section had been combed through with each comb (the lice and the egg combs), then we re-combed through the entire head all together.
We are going to treat Delaney and I once a week for the next three weeks just to be sure. I will continue to comb everyone's hair every couple of days for the next couple of weeks. We want to be sure that we are in the clear!
**Please be kind to those who find out they or someone in their family has lice. It's not a fun thing to deal with.
**Please if you find out you have lice, tell those you have been around! Don't keep it a secret. Although it's gross, it happens and you don't have to be embarrassed!
Some helpful links I found:
- http://southpointpediatrics.blogspot.com/2011/07/new-safe-treatment-for-lice.html (Thank you Bethany for sending this to me)
Delaney and I sitting with Cetaphil on our hair.
I am happy to say this nightmare didn't spread to anyone but my daughter and I had a few. Also that we were able to clear this up rather quickly! I think it shocked everyone how fast we got rid of it! I don't think she had it that long before we found it.
If you are battling with lice, I wish you all the best! These things worked great for our family and I hope it helps you too!!
Now go itch your head really well, because I know it's itching just thinking about it!
