HEAD LICE question, please help!?!
Question: There's a 3yr. old girl that has lice at the school I teach at. She is biracial so she has that curly-fine hair. She's Caucasian and African American. Anyway, this is her second time being infected. Her mom passed away and it's just her and her siblings, with her dad. Obviously no one does her hair b/c she comes to school with it uncombed everyday. Ok, because I care about this I offered to comb her hair. I told the dad that I'd comb her hair IF the lice was totally cleared out. This was yesterday I found out she had it, and this morning the dad told her teacher that he washed her hair last night and this morning w/ the special shampoo. I'm concerned b/c I don't think it's all gone and I don't want to hurt her dad's feelings by telling him "Your child still has lice. I don't want to do her hair anymore." I want to know what is the probability of me, an African American woman, catching lice from combing this little girl's hair?
Answers: There's a 3yr. old girl that has lice at the school I teach at. She is biracial so she has that curly-fine hair. She's Caucasian and African American. Anyway, this is her second time being infected. Her mom passed away and it's just her and her siblings, with her dad. Obviously no one does her hair b/c she comes to school with it uncombed everyday. Ok, because I care about this I offered to comb her hair. I told the dad that I'd comb her hair IF the lice was totally cleared out. This was yesterday I found out she had it, and this morning the dad told her teacher that he washed her hair last night and this morning w/ the special shampoo. I'm concerned b/c I don't think it's all gone and I don't want to hurt her dad's feelings by telling him "Your child still has lice. I don't want to do her hair anymore." I want to know what is the probability of me, an African American woman, catching lice from combing this little girl's hair?
Sweetie, you will probably not have to worry about becoming infested. Most Afican American women put moisturizer in their hair which makes their hair very soft and slick. If you put moisurizer in your hair, the lice will have a hard time clinging onto the hair. It still wouldn't be a bad idea to take precautions. Just clean your brush or comb with hot water and a disinfectant after you do her hair and you should be ok. Maybe you could get a comb that you will use just for her. I commend you for going out of your way to care for this child. I am in school for Elementary Education and stories like this make me want to be a teacher even more. Some kids only have teachers to look up to! You should be ok but if you are still unsure you can call a pharmacy to get more information.
Lice do not jump from person to person. They are passed by someone using anothers' brush or hair accessories by putting their heads together. It really makes no sense to go through all kinds of wives tales to ensure that they are gone. Using a treatment shampoo like RID and sitting in natural sunlight to pick out EVERY knit (egg) imaginable should do the trick. You should also re-treat the hair in one week as a preventative. As far as your home, everything should be washed in scolding hot water and you can soak your hairbrushes in a mixture of Clorox and water.
Give her lots of cheap shampoo.
You probably shouldn't be around her- I know this seems mean but the lice is probably not all gone. The only way to see if she has lice would be if you comb it and see the lice and their eggs in there.
I have never had lice but I was an administrator in a school and have had experience with children who have had it. I do know that you can catch lice just by being near someone as they do jump. So, you being in close contact with a child who has lice can result in you getting it. Also, you don't get rid of lice just by 'shampooing with a special shampoo'. All of those nits and eggs (look like rice and are very difficult to pull out of hair, feel like they are affixed to the hair) MUST be removed. The shampoo will not get rid of them so the father must have physically gone through with a fine comb and pull each and every one out or she still has it as those eggs will hatch soon. Additionally, he would need to launder bedding, couch pillows, winter gear etc. to ensure that those are gone from the home as well. Hope this helps. I would ALSO get a printout from online about LICE and distribute to all of the parents notifying them of what they look like and to check their children etc. If you are going to comb her hair do one important thing - have your hair pulled back in a ponytail. That is simple and not foolproof (or shall I say liceproof) but it will provide some measure of caution.
If you wear any type of hair product with an oil base, then the likelihood of you getting lice yourself is minimal. Lice actually clasp around the hair shaft. The oil base in hair products keeps the hair shaft slick, thus preventing the lice from clasping onto the hair shaft.
As far as a inexpensive alternative for the child, you can inform the father, that there are still lingering patches of infestation that can easily be remedied with vinegar washing and fine tooth combing on a consistant basis, if the RID shampoo, is too pricey.
OK, here we go! We have battled this problem with our 3 daughters, we live in upstate NY we first got the problem after moving into a trailer park, and our oldest girl at the time was around 6 yrs old, and playing with a girl down the road in the park, who had lice, and didn't tell anyone, nor did anyone in the park knew she had it, until it was too late for us, and I had to go to the nurses office to pick up my daughter, and seen the neighbor kid sitting there for the same reason: Now to make a long 3 to 4 year story short, and yes it took that long for us to get a handle on it!!!
Now I had gone to the extreme to GI Jane's all 3 of my girls, worked well as long as there is no live contact points, other wise is only good for a short course of action,
my cousin in NC suggested kerosene, and Dawn dish soap, I personally thought that would be literally stupid on my part, as a trucker, I know the effects of fuel oils on the skin, and that was a no go, and passed it up, and therefore
I DO NOT SUGGEST THE USE OF KEROSENE!!!
Now what keeps the critters under control, and the kid in school -
Put olive oil on the hair and cover it with a shower cap while sleeping, or for at least 2-4 hours, but the cap MUST BE KEPT TIGHT to suffocate the lice.
After the kid wakes up in the morning wash the oil out with Dawn dish detergent. Then inspect the hair under a 100 watt light bulb and a great pair of eyes, you want to SLOWLY comb through her hair with a fine tooth comb, a metal lice comb works well, and gently pull off with your fingers any lice eggs, or nits that you can see!
You can rewash with your favorite shampoo, dry hair, and with a spray bottle, (like for your house plants, or a old windex bottle ) spray a light mist of vinegar on the hair (its supposed to prevent them from returning)
OK, now the child is being treated, now it is time to treat the home ~
EVERY THING, and I mean EVERY THING the child can come in contact with from an ez chair to a bed, as well as the rugs MUST BE EITHER VACUUMED WELL..Any stuffed animals should be placed in an airtight plastic bag for two weeks. AND anything with fur, fur like, or hair should be put into bags as well, or opt to just trash it like I did...
RETREAT.... We finally retreated, and had to move out of the trailer park, funny, no lice now, and my girls hair grew back nicely....
the other thing with this girls family...make sure all kids are treated..if not they will just keep passing it back and forth like our kids did...
As far as you catching it...if your hair doesnt come in contact with hers or you dont use the same come or hats or anything else on your head...pillows, sheets, blankets..etc..you shouldnt have a problem...and also African American hair has one of the lowest chances of being infested with lice...