How To Protect Your Student From Head Lice
Back packs and notebooks and….head lice?! Oh my!
Don’t let head lice get the best of you this school year.
Back to school time is a fun time of year for the entire family. From choosing the new school clothes to picking out the supplies, seeing old friends and meeting new teachers, families enjoy getting back into the swing of the school year routine. But one small thing can put a damper on your excitement: head lice.
Head lice are small insects that invade the heads of humans and live off of their blood. Children can get head lice from school, church, sports activities and dance classes, summer camp, friend’s homes, and more. It can happen easily and be very hard to get rid of.
Parents dread the thought of it happening to their family. A few years ago I was in the same position. With several children in school I knew the possibility of head lice was there, but I didn’t know what to do about it. I employed the method that millions of parents utilize: Positive Thinking! I hoped that by thinking “happy thoughts” the head lice would somehow pass right on by my children.
I’m sure you’re not surprised to hear that positive thinking did NOT keep my kids from getting lice. When I finally discovered it, we were in the midst of a major infestation, and my screams of horror could probably be heard throughout my neighborhood.
For many years I had used a lot of natural and holistic remedies for my family’s health needs. I was well aware that the chemical lice shampoos commonly found in stores are dangerous pesticides with serious health risks for children, so I was not willing to use anything like that on my kids. I had to find some reasonable alternatives to solve our problem.
First, for my toddler boys, I knew they were not going to sit through detailed combing of their hair, nor was I willing to have them wear plastic caps on their heads all night long. They got quick buzz cuts in the kitchen, and half my problem was solved. Next, for my older children, I turned to the internet. I tried all manner of folksy head lice remedies, from mayonnaise to olive oil to vinegar. We found that all of these ideas failed miserably to get rid of the lice, plus they were messy, smelly, and inconvenient.
Thankfully I learned from another mother about the wonders of the Robi Comb. This battery operated lice comb actually electrocutes head lice! As we started combing through each child’s head we were amazed at the tiny, newly hatched lice that were being executed. Most of these tiny creatures were so small and nearly transparent that we would never have seen them until they grew much closer to maturity. It was so great that the Robi Comb was getting rid of lice we would not have even seen!
The other great advice I got was to use a metal egg comb instead of the wimpy plastic ones that come with many lice kits. A good-quality metal comb will not have teeth bending left and right or breaking off. Also, the better metal combs have rounded ends so that your child’s head is not being harmed by the teeth. We found that combing with the Robi Comb and the metal egg comb was the simple solution to getting rid of lice. Just sit the kids down in front of a movie and comb, comb, comb until your problem is solved! Simple, reliable, and safe!
Once we got past our head lice adventure I started educating myself about head lice in an effort to figure out how to make sure we never had to go through an infestation like that again. I spent many hours researching the subject because I wanted to know if there was a way to prevent head lice in the first place. I discovered that there are many herbs that are natural repellants to lice, and I started learning how to formulate them in a way that could safely and conveniently be used by families.
After more than a year of tweaking, testing, and having friends try it out, I came up with a winning product that is now available to offer parents the hope of never dealing with head lice again.
Eventually my husband and I decided to start a business featuring educational materials, the Robi Comb, and my wonderful No-Lice Hair and Body Spray to help other families stay “lice-free every day the all-natural way.” In March 2005, Supermom’s No-Lice Advice, was born. It’s been rewarding to be able to provide families with a low-cost, safe alternative to chemicals, and to spread the good news that there is something even better than positive thinking to keep head lice away!
As featured in Show #9
Author bio: Erica Johns is owner of Supermom’s No-Lice Advice, a business dedicated to helping parents prevent and eliminate head lice safely and effectively. Her web site is http://www.nolice.blogspot.com. Erica lives with her husband and six children in Central Kentucky.
School Lunch Reform
