Will we get lice?

[Anonymous]

So my teen DS went out in a group and one teen in this group had lice two weeks ago. Now this teen claimed it was ok, since now it was only eggs. I am totally paranoid now and think my head is itching the whole time. My kids never had lice, I had them once as a young kid and it was terrible, and now I am going to be so mad if we get it. Am I right thinking that we can easily get it from "just eggs?"

[Anonymous]

Eggs are harder to transfer unless you are sharing hats. Still, I'd proactively comb through everything.

I thought once we were out of grade school we were pretty much finished with lice scares. Ugh.

[Anonymous]

Doesn't matter if it is "just eggs" because some louse was there laying the eggs. What matters is if your child had head to head contact. Apparently, teen lice is on the rise because of all the selfie taking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Eggs are harder to transfer unless you are sharing hats. Still, I'd proactively comb through everything.

I thought once we were out of grade school we were pretty much finished with lice scares. Ugh.

What if their hair just touched? It was one of those haunted places, girl with a long hair? Yes, I know, I am going nuts, I already washed the sheets and DS got a very short hair cut.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't matter if it is "just eggs" because some louse was there laying the eggs. What matters is if your child had head to head contact. Apparently, teen lice is on the rise because of all the selfie taking.

I knew it! That is what I said, where did the eggs come from and if it was two weeks ago why are there still eggs in her hair? Here I am scratching away, I swear I am so worked up about this, I need help.

[Anonymous]

Get a lice comb and comb out their hair carefully. See You Tube videos on how to do it appropriately.

When you get treated for lice typically they say to keep combing for a week or two since if they missed any eggs (nits), they will hatch and then you have live lice again.

[Anonymous]

You should calm down. I think it's highly unlikely you have lice, and, even if you do, it's not a big deal.

First of all, eggs won't transfer -- they are firmly attached to the shaft of the hair with a glue like substance. They won't move unless they are dead and all dried up.

Eggs do suggest a live louse (although maybe not currently -- the live louse may have been dead -- they only live about a week. The eggs will often stay on the hair shaft for a long time after the louse is dead, if they are non-viable eggs that are not going to hatch.)

A live louse can transfer if the kids heads are together. But remember that they do not fly. So the kids have to have their heads together long enough for the little thing to crawl from one head to another. It's most common with little girls that like to snuggle up together, or kids that have their head together for a long time because they are looking at a smartphone together. I don't see a haunted house as a big risk, unless they were lying down together pretending to be dead or something.

And then it's unlikely that your daughter would transfer to you, unless you are co-sleeping with your teenager.

If you are worried, buy the terminex lice comb. Put conditioner in your hair. Comb through small pieces of all your hair and wipe the comb on a white cloth. If you have any lice, they will show up on the cloth. They will look like little sesame seeds that move around rather quickly. Under magnification, you will be able to see legs. You can check both your daughter and yourself this way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eggs are harder to transfer unless you are sharing hats. Still, I'd proactively comb through everything.

I thought once we were out of grade school we were pretty much finished with lice scares. Ugh.

What if their hair just touched? It was one of those haunted places, girl with a long hair? Yes, I know, I am going nuts, I already washed the sheets and DS got a very short hair cut.

Well if your son's hair is short, you will have a much easier time spotting eggs. Depending how short, you may not even need a comb. Just check his head for a few days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should calm down. I think it's highly unlikely you have lice, and, even if you do, it's not a big deal.

First of all, eggs won't transfer -- they are firmly attached to the shaft of the hair with a glue like substance. They won't move unless they are dead and all dried up.

Eggs do suggest a live louse (although maybe not currently -- the live louse may have been dead -- they only live about a week. The eggs will often stay on the hair shaft for a long time after the louse is dead, if they are non-viable eggs that are not going to hatch.)

A live louse can transfer if the kids heads are together. But remember that they do not fly. So the kids have to have their heads together long enough for the little thing to crawl from one head to another. It's most common with little girls that like to snuggle up together, or kids that have their head together for a long time because they are looking at a smartphone together. I don't see a haunted house as a big risk, unless they were lying down together pretending to be dead or something.

And then it's unlikely that your daughter would transfer to you, unless you are co-sleeping with your teenager.

If you are worried, buy the terminex lice comb. Put conditioner in your hair. Comb through small pieces of all your hair and wipe the comb on a white cloth. If you have any lice, they will show up on the cloth. They will look like little sesame seeds that move around rather quickly. Under magnification, you will be able to see legs. You can check both your daughter and yourself this way.

Thank you for all this info. It was my DS with the lice teen. Yes, I am overacting, bcs I have really long hair and so does my DD. But, it doesn't look like my DS has any lice in his really short hair right now. As bad as it is, DS had an interest but girl didn't, so that might be a huge plus for our hair health! I am trying to calm down. I am not scared of much, snakes, bugs, nothing really upsets me, but lice does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eggs are harder to transfer unless you are sharing hats. Still, I'd proactively comb through everything.

I thought once we were out of grade school we were pretty much finished with lice scares. Ugh.

What if their hair just touched? It was one of those haunted places, girl with a long hair? Yes, I know, I am going nuts, I already washed the sheets and DS got a very short hair cut.

Well if your son's hair is short, you will have a much easier time spotting eggs. Depending how short, you may not even need a comb. Just check his head for a few days.

I am going to do that. Of course, I am paranoid about touching his hair now. I know, it isn't rational, and nobody probably has it. I need to calm down.

[Anonymous]

totally normal to be paranoid. If you want outside help we used Lice Happens and found them to be very helpful. I bought a metal comb and do a conditioner comb out whenever I see either of my girls itching their head (8 and 6). Its not fun but manageable once you get into a routine of knowing what to look for.

[Anonymous]

Also if it turns out you do get them, there are new prescription lotions that work pretty well. Yes we got them this summer even though our youngest is 14, but Sklice worked well.

[Anonymous]

Also if it turns out you do get them, there are new prescription lotions that work pretty well. Yes we got them this summer even though our youngest is 14, but Sklice worked well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Also if it turns out you do get them, there are new prescription lotions that work pretty well. Yes we got them this summer even though our youngest is 14, but Sklice worked well.

Thank you for that tip! I will keep that in mind. I have calmed down, DS nor DD have an itchy scalp, but I do. Probably because I have it anyway, dry skin from allergies, but it sure feels like it is itching more...

[Anonymous]

You cannot tell if your child has lice by looking at his/her hair. My child had an infestation and I had no idea until it got to the point where he was itching his head -- in the beginning, it's not itchy. Call Lice Happens and order their comb. Ask them how to check for Lice. You will also need a magnifying glass and some paper towels. Trust me - the only way to know is to do a comb through of the hair and don't use a crappy comb from the drug store. Teens get Lice all the time from summer camps.