*scritch*
*scritch*
I've been bug and egg-free for days, and I cannot. stop. scratching. Or checking my bedding. Or freaking out every time I see a wee tiny black spot of something in the bathroom.
We have been visited by head lice, and we have been hit hard this time around. I'm still working through it with the kids, and trying desperately to not be sick in my mouth every time the comb brings up something new and crawly. You see, the chemicals MAY kill the bugs. So we try the chemicals. And they killed maybe 65% of the bugs. The others just got angry, flailing wildly as I pulled them from their hairy nests. Apparently, these ones are RESISTANT. Dear LORD. That's all we need. Resistant lice. These are lice that will continue to thrive long after the apocalypse, assuming we don't all lose our hair due to radiation poisoning.
The internet says that combing every day with a metal nit comb will also get rid of them.
Have you ever tried to comb through 15 pounds of hair? I'm serious. My son has more hair than a Wookiee. Now, imagine combing through that with a tiny comb, one dredded clump at a time. And the girl just screams incoherently at me every time I hit a snarl. There is a lot of screaming.
(i am UNBELIEVABLY itchy right now.)
I'm still finding eggs (though fewer and fewer) and live bugs (though not every day). As disgusting as this process has been, it's given me the opportunity to spend more time with my son than he's let me in months. We're having conversations during our half-hour nitpicking sessions, instead of his hiding in his room, avoiding the world. My daughter has no end of topics about which she loves to chat with me, but my boy is very often too introverted for his own good.
In a roundabout way, I guess I have to be a little thankful for our infestation. Disgusting head lice, thank you for giving me the opportunity to engage with my kid. We both promise we'll continue to make an effort to connect daily even in your absence. Be gone now, please.
*scratch* *scratch*
ReplyDeleteJust reading this made me itchy. I picked up head lice while I was pregnant with Trouble and managed to catch it really early (one treatment and two days of combing) but it was still horrible, and every day when I brush Mischief's hair, I check for signs. I'm relatively lucky because she's small enough that I still do her hair every day.
I don't envy you right now. After bedbugs, head lice are the last thing I would wish on anyone.
I had lice twice as a kid, and you know my hair. Now imagine my hair all one length, not thinned or layered, and to my waist.
ReplyDeleteMy mom is a saint.
Me? I'd give my son $100 to shave his head.