Lice
Having read the title, I imagine it's not hard to guess what this post is going to be about. I was absolutely MORTIFIED last night at 11:30 to discover Dylan has lice. I have to admit, it made my skin crawl. I had noticed that a couple of nights ago, he was scratching his head like a man possessed. However, as I sometimes get Itchy Head from various brands of shampoo and mousse, I didn't really think too much about it. Last night, I noticed he was scratching again. And when I went to check on him when I went to bed, he was even scratching in his sleep. Alarm bells went off and I made a mental note to check his hair in the morning. However, all plans changed when he came staggering half asleep into my room at 11:30. I decided to carry out an inspection. There I was, picking through his hair like a monkey. And sure enough, there were little brown lice crawling around. EWWWWWWWWW! Andy and I zipped the poor kid straight into the bathroom and washed his hair over the sink with some strong medicated dandruff shampoo. I know that won't get rid of the lice, but it was the best option just before midnight. And I was hoping it would reduce the itchiness. Today we'll get some real lice shampoo and treat the whole family. In the meantime, I will be spending the day washing (boiling!) all the sheets and mattress covers, all the pyjamas, all the stuffed animals...what can't go in the washer will be put in the freezer. Dylan's bike helmet is in the freezer as we speak. It's not bad enough that the kid has cooties, there's just so much WORK involved. And the whole family has to be treated with this medicated shampoo that you have to use 3 times. I've probably got the lice as well because of the bedtime cuddling Dylan and I have been doing. Shudder.
Excuse me while I scratch myself....
Excuse me while I scratch myself....
posted by Yvette | 9:05 AM
4 Comments:
Seems to be a fact of life with school age children these days. Not much consolation to you, but nothing to be mortified about either.
Note to self: yet another reason not to have kids ...
Oh, how terrible! I'm dreading these days...
Would Dylan consider shaving his head? Some boys consider that to be a cool solution to this problem. That probably doesn't help the rest of the family though. I guess another question is would you consider shaving Dylan's head and getting rid of that beautiful hair?
Have fun with your laundry!
A bald Dylan? No way! The shampoo should clear up the problem right away, thank goodness.
Load #326 is in the washer as we speak...
I feel your pain. Lice is endemic here in Israel in the warmer months, and it COMPLETELY skeeves me out! My son had a BAD case of it once and I freaked out completely. The good news (via very experienced friends and my pharmacist) is that you don't really have to wash all the bedding, etc., they can't live on it (though I did it too, just in case).
We also treated it with a melted butter/margarine treatment instead of all the chemicals. Worked just as well or better, and more environmentally friendly (and cheaper too). Let me know if you want details.
Rosemary oil is a GREAT preventor - my kids don't leave the house without a few drops behind each ear and on the nape of the neck, and knock on wood we haven't had any lice yet, even though they've gone around both schools several times. (Crossing fingers, throwing salt over my shoulder, etc.)
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