Head lice or nits.

Within the first month of school I can pretty much guarantee that I will receive the letter.  I’m sure you’ve received it too.  It’s the letter that states something along the lines of, “Dear Parent, This is to inform you that there has been a case of head lice in your child’s class room…”  Not the letter we like to receive.  In fact, the first time you receive that letter may induce panic and anxiety in some parents, but don’t fear – it really isn’t the end of the world.

The fact of the matter is that most children will come into contact with head lice when they begin school or day care.  And most children will have lice or nits at some point in their lives.  The important thing to remember is that it is not dangerous.  It is, however, contagious and very annoying.  If you have a child that is about to enter daycare or school, you might want to educate yourself on how to protect your child from getting head lice and how to deal with it when and if it does happen. 

There are many good websites online that can be beneficial.  Most of them will include a fact sheet about head lice that you can either print out or download and keep on your computer.  Personally, I like to keep a couple printed lists to give to people who find out my child has head lice and then panics about how their child was just here last week and should they take them to the hospital?  This is most likely to happen with parents who have younger children that are not in school or daycare.  Because there are so many websites out there, it is best to look for the ones that have either “.gov” or “.org” in their address.  These are the ones that are most likely to have the most accurate, recent, and up-to-date information.

There are many ways to get rid of head lice and you can decide on your own which one is best for your family.   You should remember that once you have given the first treatment, you can not stop there.  Your entire family should be checked and treated if necessary.  Then you must take care of all the blankets, pillows, stuffed toys, and combs and brushes.  Yes, this does include furniture.  Don’t fret though – there are simple sprays that can take car of anything that does not fit in the washing machine.  The most important thing to remember is that extreme heat and extended cold temperatures will kill any live nits or lice.

Get your facts straight by either talking to your family doctor or getting a fact sheet on head lice from a reputable online organization.  This will ease your mind..  Head lice can be very annoying but educating yourself on the subject will help you to gain control of the situation in a short time.