Where Are The Bugs, Mommy?

That is the question that Zee has been asking constantly for the last day and a half. It is a result of her little friend, L (who I babysit), bringing along some uninvited guests. You guessed it Head Lice.

I have been trying everything that I can to prevent a lice infestation at my house. L ended up with lice last week. She had not been here that much last week and not at all the day that the lice were found, so I was not overly concerned. Plus, her mom said she only found 2 or 3 and I know how meticulous her mom is about treating everyone for lice. Her step-daughter has come to their house for her scheduled weekend many times with head lice. She has always been able to keep it contained to the one child and has been able to get rid of it fairly easily.

Well, I guess there is something different this time. L arrived at my house at about 8:30 and sat at the table to eat breakfast. She reached up to scratch her head, so I decided that it would probably be best to do a head check. I have done so many of these in my years of working in daycare that I know exactly what to look for. I found one louse (singular form of lice) and 2 nits. At that point I stopped looking. It was more than enough for me to decide to send her right back home.

I had to take Jay to his summer day camp or he was going to miss his field trip. I very reluctantly loaded everyone in the van and headed across town to drop Jay off. While on the way there I called L's mom. I let her know what I had found and told her that I could drop her off at home. L's teenage sister was at home, so I dropped her off there. I them came home and started vacuuming like crazy. I went and bout spray for the van and the couch. I bagged up all dolls and stuffed animals and took them downstairs for their 2 weeks of isolation.

As a preventative I bought coconut scented shampoo for everyone to use. I have read that lice do not like the smell of coconut. If anyone has any other suggestions of how to prevent head lice I would greatly appreciate them. Also, any suggestions of how to get rid of head lice that I can pass on to L's mom would also be appreciated. Just leave any of these as comments.