Should I Worry About Lice?

You don't always see the bugs, themselves. When I worked at summer camp, we were taught to look for the eggs. If you've never had to check for lice before, you might want to talk to someone who has and ask them to check for you.

well, if you've poked about the scalps in question and not found any bugs, there probably aren't any. lice aren't shy.

obviously a trip to the doctor is in order since it's persistent and appears to be spreading.

to answer your question, one should always be on the alert for 'em, but 'worrying' about them is a waste of energy. you take sensible precautions, treat them if they show up, and go on about your life.

in your case i think it makes sense to worry about the itchiness, not lice per se.
khairete
S.

Sounds like you shouldn't worry

It could be an allergy to the shampoo. That's how mine starts and as I use it more it gets worse and spreads. If you're worried, take them to the doctor to have them checked but lice isn't the only cause of an itchy head.

If could be the weather change. My head has been itchy, and my body had been too. Fall is upon us.

What you describe in your SWH is lice.

When I worked at a Daycare Center, we were taught to look for white eggs in the hair and try to pick them off. If we were able to, without sliding them off the end of the strand, they were probably just dandruff. If we could not pick them off sideways, they were lice eggs.

Your kids have head lice, so now you need to treat them. When my son and I got lice yers ago we treated with a lice shampoo (didn't completely get rid of the lice) and then a few days later smothered our heads in mayonnaise for a few hours. It was gross, but the mayonnaise worked for us. There are lots of opinions on the best way to get rid of lice. I would start by talking to your doctor.

I'd ask the school to check. One of my kids had an itchy head for a while. We checked and checked. Nothing. No one we knew had lice so I figured dry scalp. Turns out she had it. Then we started hearing of other cases later. Until you've seen lice, you don't know what you're looking for. So could be something else but I'd want someone who had experience to look. After we discovered it, I told my daughter's friend's mom so she looked too. My daughter had just been at their house. Nothing. Two weeks later she finally saw it and the lice treatment person said she'd actually had it a very long time. So the mom missed it just like I did. Seems like it has to have gotten bad for people with no experience to see it. Maybe we miss the eggs and then they hatch and it gets bad enough even we see it. So I'd ask someone who knows what to really look for. If she does have it, the eggs have to be combed out. The shampoo isn't enough. And the best advice I got was to look in the sunlight. No artificial light works as well and it's so true. Once I sat my daughter outside, I could see her scalp so much more clearly.

Please go to headlice.org and research it there.

Head lice are at an epidemic level nearly everywhere. It's because we're so clean. They like clean hair so they can stick their little sacks to our hair shafts. If we were dirty they wouldn't be able to get them to stick and they'd die on our scalps.

Head lice are easy to spot. And I have sort of bad eyes...lol.

I use a magnifying head gear that I got at Hobby Lobby. I wash the kids hair in regular shampoo, condition it and comb all the tangles out, rinse it well, then leave it drippy wet.

Head lice are like us, they are critters that breathe air, like it warmer rather than cold, and don't do well when surrounded by water. They slow down to a sluggish level when they're wet and chilly.

I have them sit in front of me or lay them down with their head in my lap. Put a white/light towel over your lap. Then section off their hair in inch/couple of inch sections. Clip off the rest of the hair. Use a regular comb and pull through that small section of hair, look through the magnifying gear and check out the roots of the hair. Do you see any bugs? Nits? Are the nits white? No problem, slide them down the hair shaft with your fingertips. Are the nits black inside? Slide that one down the hair shaft but put it in a cup of water to drown the baby inside. If you don't see any bugs or nits on the hair shaft then move to the next section.

Try to move quickly and keep a spray bottle nearby so you can keep the hair wet. Learn to go through the hair as quickly as possible. That way you can get kiddo back up and going soon and they won't be tired of sitting or laying in the same place.

You guys might be allergic to something in the shampoo or conditioner too. Plus it's getting cooler and skin is starting to dry out for winter.

One thing I did was keep a small/tiny spritz bottle near where we did hair for the morning. I would put about 6 ounces of warm water in it and add some Tea Tree Oil to it. Shake it up very well!!!! Then I'd spray their hair while brushing it out and styling it for their day.

Head lice don't like Tea Tree Oil plus Tea Tree Oil is a natural substance that is good for people and healthy. Research it. Then "if" a bug climbs onto your kiddo during the day they will not take up residence on their scalp. They'll crawl right back off.

Put your child on a white towel or bead sheet and put a bright light or even a flashlight over their hair. Look close to the scalp near the nape of the neck and by the ears. It's proabably there.