My Kid Has Lice. What Should I Do?

I still remember the face my mom made when she saw me at my grandmother's house. "What happened?" She cried out. My grandmother had shaved all my hair earlier because of head lice. She insisted that shaving my head was the only way to get rid of it all. I guess it does makes sense. But my mom, of course was furious. She wasn't buying it.

That was last week; and my mom still hasn't gotten over it... just kidding. I was around 5 years old when this happened. But my mom still hasn't gotten over it (nearly 32 years later). Fortunately, we don't have to take on the drastic measures my grandmother took. 

Dr. Jennifer Gruen from Village Pediatrics wrote for us a simple yet effective piece about head lice and how to get rid of it. Below is what she had to say: 

Lice is a very common childhood nuisance. If you child has been diagnosed with head lice, don't despair - take a deep breath, clear your calendar for the day, and read on.

Treatment of head lice is a two-pronged approach; you need to treat the live lice, and remove the eggs, or nits, that cling to the hair shaft. Unfortunately there is significant resistance to over-the-counter lice treatments, thus we recommend a secondary from of treatment as well if this is your second bout, or you want to be ultra-cautions.

You way want to review an excellent video prior to treatment; go the www.headliceinfo.com and watch "Head Lice to Dead Lice." Then proceed:

• Examine the whole family carefully for lice and nits. Even just one nit indicates infestation.
• Shampoo all those affected (or just the the whole family) with NIX - available over-the-counter and can be effective at killing both lice and eggs. Alternatively you can try LiceFreee!, a sodium chloride treatment that doe snot contain pesticides but will only kill live lice. Rinse with a dilute white vinegar solution. This will help loosen the protein that holds the nits in place of the hair shaft.
• Comb out any nits you may see. It may be worthwhile to invest in a fine, metal nit comb. This work is tedious, but a thorough removal of nits will ensure no recurrence. 
• Change pillowcases and sheets before treatment and one day following
• Use a vacuum and lint roller on couches, chairs, and car seats.
• Any items that have come in contact with your child's head should be washed on a hot cycle and dried on high heat OR dry cleaned OR put away in a bag for two weeks (i.e. stuffed animals). Lice cannot live without a live host.
• Check your child's hair daily for one week, then every other day for another week. Repeat treat at one week if you continue to find nits, and/or continue on to the "5 step olive oil battle plan" (based on smother head lice with olive olive at HeadliceInfo.com).
• Children may return to school once they have been treated and are free of live lice. Remaining nits should be removed as seen. But many represent dead eggs that were missed at the first comb-thur and do not pose a risk to other children. If you find live lice after treatment, you need to retreat prior to sending your child back to class. 

Thank you Dr. Gruen for this easy step-by-step approach to getting rid of head lice. If only my grandmother would have had this advice.

Dr. Gruend opened her practice, Village Pediatrics, in 2009. She is a contributor to the Survivor Pediatrics blog. But she prefers spending time creating fantastic kids birthday parties.