Lice-- Round FOUR

Yes, I said ROUND FOUR. And I am PISSED!!!!!!

L came over late on Wed. Her mom let her sleep in and had L's older sister bring her over at about 11:15. She has been nit free since coming back after last week's nit-fest so I didn't worry about checking her right away. I checked her at about 2:45 and you guessed it, I found nits AGAIN!!! This is getting to be truly ridiculous!! I am about to the point of telling her parents that I can no longer take care of her.

It is not that I don't like L or her parents. It's just the fact that I am having to spend so much time, energy and money on trying to prevent my family from getting lice that it just does not seem worth it anymore.

Here is what I have to do each time she comes over with nits.

• Wash all blankets, towels, etc. that L may have come in contact with.
• Remove all stuffed animals and baby dolls that have hair. Put them in trash bags and store them for at least 2 weeks.
• Buy spray for the couch, chairs, van and car seats.
• Remove and wash Sissy's bedding. (She is now sleeping in the playroom.)
• I clean Sissy's bed, in the playroom, kitchen, dining room & bathroom with a bleach solution.
• Vacuum, vacuum and vacuum some more.
• Check my entire family for signs of Lice.
• Wash everyone's hair with coconut shampoo.
• Throw away any hair ties that were lying around.
• Soak all combs & brushed that may have been removed from the bathroom cabinet in alcohol or a bleach solution.

I have yet to bring any of the girls' toys out that I bagged up the first time L came over with lice over a month ago. My girls who are used to having lots of babies and animals to choose from now have 2 naked baby dolls that they can play with. I bagged up all of the baby clothes too. Nits do not need to eat and it takes about 14 days for them to hatch, so any that are laid on any kind of fabric, synthetic hair, etc. can still cause an infestation to occur later. Once the nymphs (name for an immature louse) have hatched they will die if they do not feed within 48 hours. I have decided that I will not open any of the bagged up toys until about the 3 week mark, just to be safe.

I know L's mom is extremely frustrated with the situation as well. I know that she is spending a large amount of time and money to take care of the problem. But on the other hand, there is something that has been over looked. They either have not treated something or L is coming into close contact with someone else who has lice. Nobody in her immediate family or my family for that matter have lice. So we know that she is not getting it from any of us. I know she is tired of having to send someone to pick L up or leaving work early to do it herself, but if she were in school right now she would be sent home each day that they found evidence of head lice.