If you are already scratching…stop it.

It is absolutely a four letter word that strikes fear in the hearts of moms (and dads) with school age children everywhere.

Don’t turn away now I want to share some facts and myths about this little blood sucker so that you do not totally freak out if/when the letter comes home to you from school!  First, an admission, since we are all friends here at the internet.  ToxicAvenJen was once a victim of this little bugger, and spent a lot of money to rid my house and family of any remnant of its presence.  So why did I spend extra when I could have gone to the grocery store and picked a product off the shelf, there are two reasons; most importantly my young affected child I strongly desired not to put a pesticide on that would seep into the body, also both mother and child have sensitive skin and allergies, and finally, at that time ToxicAvenJen had long hair that I already spent good coin on coloring and highlighting and was unsure if the common treatments would fry my hair, requiring a whole new look that I was unprepared to acquire.

First, how did they get on my child or myself.  So, they don’t hop or fly. They do crawl, really fast.  Usually the spreading occurs due to sharing of hats, sports protective gear, hair brushes/combs or close proximity to an affected individual (think twice before that next selfie).

Other Fun Facts:

1. Animals do not spread head lice, people do
2. Lice can only live a day or two without a host (head)
3. Lice can survive underwater for hours, but it is unlikely that they are spread in a pool, so probably not good swimmers
4. New studies have shown that 80% or more of lice is now resistant to the nasty pesticide laden prescriptions of days past, however be cognizant that the new formulas are made with more powerful products with other chemicals of course they are FDA (US) approved
5. ToxiAvenJen prefers to at least start with a low cost, natural product that has other uses which also reduces waste and smells good

What to do, and not to do lice comes to visit

1. DO NOT FREAK OUT!  Yelling or crying does not help…really does it ever?
2. DO disinfect brushes, combs barrettes, anything used on the head by disinfecting in hot water (130 degrees F)
3. DO Wash and Dry the linens that have been in contact with the affected in HOT cycles
4. DO – For things that cannot be washed or dried in a machine vacuum them and place them in a bag for a few days, maybe vacuum again for good measure…remember head lice cannot live without a host for more than a few days.  Remember, you don’t need to BURN or TRASH anything, the lice will die with a little simple inexpensive care.

With so many returning back to school I hope you find this helpful.