May 22, 2007
no lice were harmed in the writing of this post
Yesterday we had a playdate with my friend Leslie and her boys. We told the boys to go in another room and play nicely and sat down at Leslie’s kitchen table to visit. She was pulling things out of her son’s backpack, looking for his homework and whatever else he had brought home from school. I was talking to her toddler when I heard her gasp.
“No! NO! Aaaggh!” She was staring at a sheet of paper with a horrified look on her face. “NOOOOO! LIIIIIICE!”
Are you itchy yet?
She gave me the piece of paper and said, “I can’t even read it. You tell me what it says.” I skimmed the paper and said, “Blah blah blah, child in your child’s class has lice, blah blah blah, signs to watch for, blah blah blah, okay then!” I looked up and saw Leslie scratching her head. “Itchy?”
“YES I AM,” she said.
She called her pediatrician, just to check in and see what she should do (answer: nothing, just watch to see if her son was acting itchy) and then she and I sat at the table and scratched our heads. Literally, not in the thinking-about-things kind of way, because lice! itchy! even when they’re not actually ON your HEAD.
Leslie’s son came in the kitchen and she said, “Was anyone in your class absent today?” No, he said. “Anything different about anyone?” He stared at her. “Anyone get a haircut?” Yes, he said, everyone!
Then he ran off to play.
And we scratched some more.
Leslie said, “How will I know if he has lice?” I said, you mean other than the fact that he will be SCRATCHING HIS HEAD non-stop?
“If I were you,” I told her, “I wouldn’t ask him if he’s itchy, because then he WILL be itchy and you’ll never know if he has lice.” And we scratched some more. “So if he starts scratching, what do I do?” she said. I read the sheet from the school again and said, “Nit comb, special shampoo, launder everything . . . You can blow dry his hair, I think that helps. Oh, and you can slather his head in mayonnaise and wrap it in plastic. That will kill them.”
“MAYONNAISE???” she said, horrified.
I decided not to tell her about the part where it drips down your neck.
Posted by Susan @ 7:02 pm • Uncategorized
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May 22nd, 2007 at 7:45 pm, Pinks and Blues Says:
Good to know about the mayo - not that I’m hoping to use it anytime soon for a lice remedy - but good to know - JUST IN CASE! Hmmm… let me see, I haven’t stopped itching my head since I read the post!
Love your blog -
Audrey
Pinks & Blues Girls
www.pinksandblues.com
http://www.pinksandbluesgirls.wordpress.com
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:16 pm, chris Says:
GAGGING
and itching
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:18 pm, SusieJ Says:
Now my head is itching. But, so good to know about the mayo.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:30 pm, Jeana Says:
Well the little bugs running around in his hair are usually a tip off…
(shuddering)
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:34 pm, lifeinsuburbia Says:
I feel itchy too.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:46 pm, Mir Says:
You’ll be pleased to know I’ve since learned that PLAIN OLD HAIR CONDITIONER works just fine, too, and smells a LOT better. Just slather, slather, slather, and wrap.
And no mayo ear!
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 pm, Mimi Says:
itchy itchy…
So your son is in Mir’s son’s class. Interesting school zone!
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 pm, Lisa R. Says:
Don’t get me started. Just listening to my sister tell me about how her new apartment came equipped with fleas and turned her ankles in red bumpy, ITCHY ridges, had me scratching before I even got off the phone. And she had visited recently, surely she must have brought them along, and what about yesterday, when my foot itched like mad? (Oh, yeah, I WAS wearing my aunt’s knitted booties, the ones with the yarn she’s reused three times. Ahem.
May 22nd, 2007 at 8:56 pm, Kathy/ Lessons from the Laundry Says:
Yeah, we’ve seen this letter too. My neighbor was actually so paranoid that she did give her daughter the treatment. She said it was preventative…but honestly, maybe you just don’t want to tell everyone your kid has lice. I don’t get itchy…I get squirmy thinking about it. Did you see Oprah yesterday when Dr. Oz was talking about Tape worms and Pin worms…there are worse things than lice!!
May 22nd, 2007 at 9:48 pm, Val Says:
A friend of mine had to treat her daughter for head lice. The treatment they used (from Wal-Mart) resulted in very shiny hair. I like shiny hair. Maybe I’ll try it?
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:34 am, Rebecca Says:
We got a nearly identical letter 2 weeks ago (I’d say it must be going around, but the odds that the same case of lice has jumped the pond is pretty slim, not that I’d put it past those little buggers). I’ve been frantically pawing through my kids’ hair and scratching my own head ever since. As yet, no sign of them here either. But isn’t it amazing how itchy the mere *word* lice can make a person?
May 23rd, 2007 at 7:37 am, Magpie Says:
I hate mayonnaise - so lice destruction sounds like a good use for it!
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:26 am, Lisa Milton Says:
I was chosen to pick nits at my afternoon job at a daycare way back. It was awful.
Maybe this tramautic teenage experience will stave off round two - I hate those ominous notes from the nurse.
One can only hope.
Stay bug-free. (Waving a fist in the air.)
May 23rd, 2007 at 8:26 am, okiemom Says:
What works? Mayo. Olive oil and/or tea tree oil. HOT blow drying (not for little kids). Strong dandruff shampoo. Coloring their hair. Combing is the key w/all methods. Hair cutting is only foolproof fix.
This is from a mom whose two girls w/LONG thick hair had a two-week infestation a few years back. Believe me, we tried it ALL–even prescriptions–before we got rid of ‘em for good. UGH!
May 23rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm, Rocks In My Dryer Says:
Oh my word, that makes me itch. My oldest son got lice once from sharing a communal batting helmet at a kindergarten t-ball game. It was easily one of the WORST experiences of my life.
We learned that better than mayonnaise is vaseline (wrapped in plastic). No drippage, but it’s a booger to wash out.
May 23rd, 2007 at 3:02 pm, Jen Says:
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Sorry. It’s just too funny right after Mir.
Oh. I just guaranteed that my children will get it, didn’t I?
And yes, I am scratching my head, dammit.
May 23rd, 2007 at 9:48 pm, Karianna Says:
Oh, crud. Yucky. Icky. Bleech.