Head Lice Happened to Me

by | Sep 13, 2018 | Lice Treatments, parenting | 0 comments

This is just another story of a family who endured head lice. Sharing my experience and what I learned from this trial helps me think that it was maybe worth going through.

We live in a small country town in Texas. My children attend school in a 2A division with only a couple hundred kids in each school. I have one daughter who is 15, a son who is 12, and a daughter who is 10.

My oldest daughter is a High School cheerleader. She loves being a part of the squad, attending football games and feeling like a part of the community through cheering. Part of the comradery of the cheerleaders is that they spend a lot of time together after football games, often spending the night at someone’s house altogether. It never occurred to me to talk to her about not sharing pillows, blankets or brushes at these parties. That was my first mistake.

After a few weeks of football last year I was braiding her hair for a game. I noticed a few white flecks that seemed to be a little different than dandruff, but I just shrugged it off and forgot about it. That was my second mistake. But, in my defense she hadn’t been complaining about itchiness, I saw no signs of head lice and so I actually thought it was residue from hairspray or something similar.

After another few weeks, I noticed a few more! This time they looked more suspicious to me and so I took some time to get a comb and thoroughly examine her scalp. She had head lice! I could see not only traces of nits, lice eggs that had been laid onto strands at the base of her scalp, but I actually found a few adult lice crawling around! I couldn’t believe it! How could this happen? I felt sick. She was so embarrassed. I promised her I wouldn’t tell anyone about it.

As most parents do, I felt overwhelmed. I sent my husband to the drug store where he bought a couple bottles of over the counter shampoo. We washed her hair multiple times in the sink and then applied the special shampoo and scrubbed it really well to hopefully kill all the head lice. Then after her hair was dry I combed through it again and peeled off as many of the nits or eggs that I could find. It seemed like the problem was under control and I knew I would just check again in a few days. This was my third mistake.

Little did I know that the products we washed her hair with are not only useless against some forms of head lice, but they don’t kill the eggs that I missed. It is almost impossible, like literally infuriating to go through a thick head of long hair like hers and try to pick out every single little egg. Obviously, I missed a few and the problem just came back!

I checked my other children for a few weeks, and just went ahead and washed their hair with the shampoo to make sure they were clean. This was my fourth mistake. They all three ended up with head lice. Now my problem had turned into an absolute nightmare. I had no idea what to do, I was losing my mind.

Finally, after talking to a friend on the cheerleading squad (it turns out several of the girls had contracted head lice) I found out about Lice Clinics of Texas. Their unique process of killing head lice in a one time 90-minutes process seemed too good to be true at first. Now, after having experienced it first hand I am a believer! I can’t imagine what we would’ve done if this cycle would’ve continued any longer. I am so grateful to have had their expertise and knowledge about how to actually get rid of the problem!

What I Learned:

  • Check ALL your children often for signs of head lice. Not just the young ones.
  • Talk to you kids about ALL the dangers of contracting head lice, not just hair brushes.
  • Don’t rely on over the counter shampoos that are not effective.
  • If you see suspicious white flakes, take a closer look. Ask for a head lice check from a pro if you are uncertain.
  • Don’t be afraid to talk to friends and parents about the situation. You never know if they are dealing with it also or can offer help!