In other industries people talk about the "hot" markets. In the lice business, we talk about clusters. Lice, as you may know, tends to travel through social circles, schools and towns. At any given time, anywhere from 1-3% of school aged children have head lice (depends on where you find your statistics). This means that chances are decent that your child will come in contact with it at some point during their younger years. Those pesky critters rely on us for survival, and we are all too happy to oblige by not informing our friends, family and classmates. Not notifying the folks we may have exposed deprives them of the opportunity to be properly checked and it also helps to spread lice further and faster. In addition to not notifying properly, improper treatment is a large factor in lice spreading through communities. Children who are not being treated properly will continue to spread head lice to friends, family and classmates.
If your community is experiencing an outbreak, there are things you can do to prevent your children from bringing it home.
- Perform twice weekly head checks with a good solid stainless steel nit comb
- Use a repellent product, peppermint is an effective lice repellent (as is citronella).
- Keep boys' hair trimmed neatly (take THAT Justin Bieber!!) and girls hair pulled back in a single ponytail high on the head or low in the back. Braids and buns are even better!
- Recognize that despite your best efforts, your family may still experience head lice and that it is not due to a personal failure on your part.
IF lice hits your home, treat it with safe and effective non-toxic products or seek professional assistance AND INFORM ALL OF YOUR IMMEDIATE CIRCLES! This last step will help keep you from being re-infested by a social contact who may have acquired head lice from you.
Reach out with any questions on twitter
@njlicelady, or by email
njlicelady@gmail.com.
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