When Lice Check-In

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Lice. Just the word alone oozes grossness and shame. Not to mention the chills that encompass your body at the mere thought. And that itch! But lice are one of those things that only happen to other people. Not me. Not my child. Until this Spring Break, that is … when lice decided to check-in at Hotel My Son’s Hair!

Lice-Motel---When-Lice-Check-In

My son started his Spring Break with an ear infection and lurking lice. The ear infection, we spotted and treated pronto. But those stealth-like nits slipped right under my inexperienced nose.

Don’t let lice check-in under your inexperienced nose like I did.
Familiarize yourself with their life cycle and proper “eviction” here.

Lice 101:

*Lice are transmitted by close contact with another person who already has lice.
*An egg will hatch 7 – 10 days after being laid.
*A female lice can start laying eggs anywhere between 7 – 10 days after hatching.
*Their life span is roughly 30 days.

Lice aside,…we had a fantastic Spring Break in San Antonio, where Kaindan took part in the Dirty Rascals Adventure Run (it is a 1 mile obstacle course – the children’s version of JailBreak). He had so much fun! And he anxiously awaits the next one – but more on that on another post 😉 .

So our vacation comes to an end, and our routine schedules are right back on track. You might be familiar with the routine … early bedtimes and morning tantrums. BLAH! And just like every other routine Monday, we headed for swimming lessons.

We got there early, like every other time (Kaindan likes getting there early). I spot Kaindan scratching at his head, and I instinctively remember him being itchy the night before. But I had shrugged it off, thinking it was a sunburn from all the outdoor activities we had done while in San Antonio. But then the thought of LICE crept into my mind.

So I searched vigorously and as subtly as possible (and now thinking back, I probably should have walked him to the restroom for more privacy – but you know, I crack under pressure. Doesn’t everyone?!). And there it was. Our very first “hotel guest”! Yay!? 🙁

**check out a visual of a lice right here, incase you need verification like me**

I immediately cancelled Kaindan’s swimming lesson and went straight to the expert – momma! She checked him. Checked me. Checked Michael. And herself. We all got shampooed – to be on the safe side!

We did 2 rounds of shampoo treatments. One that day; and the 2nd about 10 days later.

*You can find Lice Treatment Shampoo at your local drug store including Wal-Mart, H-E-B, Walgreens, CVS, and most likely other pharmacies or online here.
*And make sure to brush the hair thoroughly in the next days to remove any eggs or recently-hatched eggs.

Lice Treatment

And let me tell you something,…getting checked and shampooed for lice (if you have long THICK hair – like me) is NOT fun! It can give you back problems quicker than a slip-and-fall! OUCH!

Tuesday morning rolls around, and I just wasn’t sure what to do …

Do I send him to school?
Does he miss out on school?

And of course, when I absolutely need it, no one answers the school phones in the morning. Seriously people?! I called all morning, for almost 1 hour straight. I was like the school’s psycho ex-girlfriend! And then finally,…they answered and I was directed to the nurse.

So, check this out … the nurse says to take him to school and into the nurse’s office. When we arrive, she informs me that she checked the students in his classroom, but could not disrupt lecture – which has me baffled. Because, I’m not sure how exactly she checked them without disrupting … hmm!? And the she proceeded,

“Between us, lice is not an acceptable excuse for an absence in the state of Texas.”

What?! Well that’s nice! Not! I came home that day expecting a letter to the parents in regards to lice … and nothing. Well at least, I didn’t get anything. So I notified the few parents whose phone numbers I did have, because I would have wanted to know. Maybe, then, I could have prevented it.

That was 6 weeks ago. I finally got over the excessive hair-brushing for lice 2 weeks ago, barely! Still, any allergy-induced itch (I get hives), I instantly think LICE. And I have my poor baby boy traumatized as well – I check his head at the sight of ANYTHING. Now he automatically asks, “Is it a bug?”

I contemplated publishing this post for 2 whole weeks – worried about the effect of publicizing my sweet boy’s personal life. Finally I came to the conclusion that THIS could happen to anyone. It isn’t something to be ashamed of (something that I want him to understand) – as long as you take care of it. It can happen to anyone. It does happen. It did happen – to us!

What better way to inform others than to share?! Our experience. Not lice! We evict those!

 

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Celeste
Call me snickelfritz! ...German, for “rowdy child”. It was a nickname given to me at the tender age of 11 by an old friend of the family; he swore it was a term of endearment! 19 years later, and the term still fits. And quite well, I might add! I’m your typical serving of of rowdy,…with a shot of social grace, and a dash of compassion – all on one plate! A mommy to an ever-growing 7 year old and fiance to a phenomenal man, I am happily lost in this beautiful bliss of chaos called life. I live for… …chaotic mornings and bedtimes with my sweet sweet baby boy! (he’s not a baby anymore; I know. but he is MY baby!) …blissful disagreements with my imperfectly perfect fiancee (oh yeah, I’m engaged. AHH!) …and days full of silliness on the job with my most favorite siblings (my only siblings! hEE hEE)! With my brother at JD’s Farm and Ranch and with my sister at Then Comes Paper.

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