You have been walking around with and itchy scalp for a few days now. You wash your hair and it does not help. At last you ask your mom to have a look at what is going on and she makes a gruesome discovery.....you have lice on your head!!!!
Can the earth please just open up and swallow me?? The embarrassment, what will my friends say? Am I dirty or what is going on? Am I going to have to shave my hair?
You can rest assured, lice are not dangerous and it has nothing to do with your hygiene, they are just highly contagious and can spread easily from one person to another.
Most people think that it is only little children that get lice, but it can be teens as well as adults. If you are in touch with somebody who has lice, you are a candidate to also get it.
Lice can multiply very quickly so the quicker you discover them the faster you can do something about it.
How will I know I have lice?
Your scalp will itch and you will be able to see the lice, but before you see lice you will see their eggs attached to the hair strands. These eggs (or nits) will look like dandruff but will not be so easy to remove.
How was I able to get it from somebody else?
It is a myth that lice jump from one head to another if there were no contact between the people. Your heads have to touch or you must share a hat or brush. Lice can even live away from the host (person) for up to 2 days, so you can also get it from sharing a pillow and other bedding.
You will not get lice from your pet and even if your hair is the cleanest in the class, you will also get it if you come in close contact with somebody who has lice. This is why it is so common among young kids. They sit close together and push their heads against one another and share their hats or hair bands.
Now what do I do now?
Luckily the chemist has a lot of different lice shampoos and it will tell you exactly how to use it to get rid of those terrible little visitors.
Using a fine tooth comb to get rid of the lice and nits will be necessary and this is no fun when you have long hair, but these are one of those times when you will just have to "suck it up", because living with lice is a far worse alternative.
If you prefer to go the natural way, believe it or not mouthwash and vinegar will do the trick.
Even though it is difficult, try not to scratch your head too much, because it can lead to infection. If you suspect or feel that you have sores on your head from the scratching it is a good idea to get some antibiotics to clear it up/
Some no no's
Do NOT spray your hair with any type of pesticide
Do not wash your hair for at least two days after the treatment.
It is better not to use a hairdryer after you have applied the medicated shampoo. Some are actually flammable - Lice are bad enough to deal with, you do not want your hair on fire too.
It is not necessary to use more than one type of medicated shampoo at a time. The lice is not going to go away faster if you use more than one kind of shampoo.
How do I make sure not to infect myself again?
You have now washed and combed your hair and are quite sure you got all the lice and nits. It is very important that you wash all your bedding, because there may be a few left behind that will just climb right back on your hair and then you start the whole problem all over again.
You can also soak your brushes and combs in the medicated shampoo for at least an hour.
If you have driven in the car in the last few days you will have to vacuum the car and while you are at it you can just as well vacuum the carpets in your house.
Just remember, head lice is just a huge hassle but is it no reflection on you as a person or on your hygiene. Ask any adult. Very few of us have gone through our childhood without getting lice from our friends or after a camp.
Some creepy crawly things are just part of life. Now you have the information and you can make sure that you do not get it again.
