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Lice don’t jump. They aren’t like fleas; they can only crawl.
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Lice travel from head to head through contact–kids wrestling, putting their heads together to read, sharing hats and scarves.
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Lice nest in the scalp and lay small white eggs on individual shafts of hair. Live lice and nits cannot survive off the scalp longer than 1-2 days. They need to feed several times a day.
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Lice cannot live on furniture, clothing etc. beyond 1-2 days
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Nits (eggs) cannot be brushed out of hair; they need to be gripped with fingernails or a lice comb and pulled completely off the shaft and disposed of.
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Once a nit is removed from a shaft of hair, it cannot reattach.
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Once a nit hatches, the louse takes 7-10 days before it lays its own nits. One louse will lay 4-8 eggs per day, and will live for 30 days.
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Lice like all different types of hair, and lice prefer clean hair.
Over-the-counter treatments (Rid, Nix, etc.) contain toxic chemicals.
100% of all lice tested in California are resistant to these over-the-counter treatments. In other words, they DO NOT work. There are natural remedies, like Scottie-Cootie by HappyHeads, and QuitNits. These are non-toxic, and QuitNits professes to kill the eggs too. The treatment takes four hours.
All fabric that has come into contact with the infected person’s head must be washed and dried on HIGH HEAT FOR AT LEAST 30 MINUTES. This includes pillowcases, blankets, hats, and scarves.
Any carpet, rugs, and upholstery that has come into contact with the infected person should be vacuumed.
EVERYONE IN THE FAMILY SHOULD BE CHECKED DAILY!
Tell your kids NO sharing hats/hairties, and no sitting with their heads together. Many people swear by natural products that include tea tree oil (shampoo, detanglers, sprays). Some of the brands mentioned above (HappyHeads, QuitNits) sell sprays everyone can used daily.
Be careful with tea tree oil – a little goes a long way and you don’t want to burn the scalp. Most important, CHECK YOUR KIDS EVERY MORNING before they go to school. I’ve been checking mine daily since he had it.
Last, but not least,
PLEASE ALERT THE SCHOOL AS SOON AS YOU FIND EVEN ONE NIT. Do not be embarrassed. This will help prevent new infestations, and keep it from spreading further.