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06 February 2009

What's nice about lice?

NOTHING is nice about lice. Holy crap let me tell you about this crazy week- I'll try and put it all into a nutshell...
This cute gal here with Pierre and his kitty (declawed) casts lovingly signed by family and friends, another story entirely... has somehow contracted lice.
I noticed Monday morning when I was doing her hair, 1. looked online to be sure, 2. called the doctor, 3. ran to the store- 4. did the Nix treatment, 5. did the comb through. (but not very well 'cuz I didn't really get that part yet) Started doing laundry nonstop, washing everything I could fit into the washer in hot water, scrubbing sinks and vacuuming... The rest of the family is sans lice- thank heavens. I carry a pen around all day to itch my own head which itches constantly.

Tuesday- I finally figured out the comb thru process and the importance of the beloved lice comb. One comb thru session= 3 hours. I cannot believe what the comb gets out, the tiny nits waterproof-glued to each hair follicle. Just when you think there can't possibly be any more nits... you find another one.
I find out her class at school is clean, the only place I can imagine she picked it up is at the dollar movie theater in Provo. Gross- make you think twice about the movies, an airplane, hanging your coat up next to others...
Everything I read about lice has huge discrepancies- how long they can live away from a blood source, what is a nit, the life cycle etc. Different brands of treatments, websites, people all claim different things- but the experts do agree on 2 things: 1) lice cannot jump, only crawl 2) every single nit must be removed from her hair in order to be completely lice free. It could take 7 days or 10, 14, 20... I still don't really know.


Wednesday- Talked her into cutting off as much hair as possible without making her look weird, we cut off about 6 inches- it's still very cute.
I can now honestly promise that I will never snicker or be amazed when I hear so-and-so just shaved their daughter's head because of lice, the thought actually crossed my mind, if she was one of her brothers all her hair would have all come off on Monday. More combing thru, about three times a day, fewer and fewer every time but still at least 20 nits in each comb session.

Thursday- I heard about the 'mayonaise treatment' (or Vaseline) from a good friend-it apparently suffocates the lice. We gave it a try last night. She smelled like a ham sandwich- what lengths to be rid of this... Including when I failed to properly wash out the mayo (needs dish soap or the like) this morning, sent her off with wet hair- she came home in the afternoon looking like she'd just stepped out of the shower. Oops, a bad case of the greasies. It's a good thing M is such a good sport. She's taking all of this in stride and with a smile on her face.
We continue to comb thru about 3 times a day- vacuum, scrub, launder everything in hot water and toss and turn at night having bad dreams about being infested myself. So far the rest of us are good to go. Now we are going to try the tea tree oil concoction and see what luck that brings, and keep combing thru...

Friday- oh and to top it all off, I just found a giant black widow spider on the stairs to the family room as I was vacuuming for the 5th time. Are you kidding me?? This house is a death trap.

7 comments:

Curt, Lace and Harper said...

I am so sorry to hear all of this. I saw her playing outside yesterday. I thought her hair looked so cute. I got lice when I was little from school. It sucks so bad. Yeah no more dollar movies for the Daily family. Okay we haven't been for years, but we really wont be going now. Poor M what a good little sport.

marcikay said...

I saw her today, and was like "CUTE new hair!!"
Really, the hair is great..
That is my BIGGEST nightmare, with all the long hair on my girls..
Sorry..
And I'm not gonna type it out here.. but the word verification right now?
a BIT of an inappropriate word..

Bess said...

I am so itchy just reading this. Ummm maybe church? I hope not since she was in my class on Sunday. So sorry for you. Definitely on my list of things I hope never happen at my house. I am glad she has been a good sport though.

Colett (*.*) said...

That seriously sucks, now my head is itching!!! Love the tiny kitty casts.

Precia said...

Oh man I'm glad we haven't been around. I'm sure Soph would have it those two love each other! I remember having lice as a kid I think I actually liked the extra attention from Mom and Grandma!

noelle said...

I asked M if she wanted to watch a movie as I combed thru her hair yet another time and she said, "No, I like talking to you." I think she's loving the extra time together, and that's all good with me too.

Q was checking my hair the other day and I was in heaven... a lovely head massage- I almost fell asleep.

I guess we needed lice to bring us all together again.

Olsen Family said...

I loved your comment Noelle about her spending time with you. We just get so busy!

Poor thing!! I want to see the new hair cut!

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