Dealing with Lice and Nits

What could be more irritating than the lice and nits on your kids' head? If this has not yet happened to your child, chances are, he or she won't get exempt, because these parasites know no gender, age or status. It infests anyone.

In some places, this a big deal among parents. A child can be subjected to ridicule, or much more, left alone by his classmates and playmates if he is found out to be with nits and lice. School administrators would usually advise parents whose kid has the infestation to clean up the child first before sending he or she  back to school.

I guess everyone had her own personal encounters with nits and lice. Hence, it would not be difficult to tell whether or not your own son or daughter has these. And what's the biggest sign? Of course, head scratching.

This is always a trouble for me, because every time my househelp goes home to the province, she gets back already infested. And who gets to suffer? My family, especially, my kids.  So, we now normally ask and check our househelp if she has lice. And if she has, we let her use lice-killing shampoo, or worse, ask her to cut her hair, if she happens to have a very long mane.

The life stages of head lice can be divided into three. It starts as nits or lice eggs that hatch after seven days before they turn into nymphs. Nymphs are the most itchy and very difficult to find that even a fine-comb cannot sometimes prove its purpose. They grow into adult lice in about another week.

Head lice survive on human blood. Its life span is about 30 days. If a louse (singular form of lice) falls out of the head, it will surely die in about two days, without its blood-food.

This infection can be treated by over-the-counter medicines usually in the form of creams or shampoo. But the most effective counter measure, however, is more on prevention.

Because kids are the usual victims of these parasites, we should teach our children some hygienic tips, like the non-sharing of combs, hats, scarves, and other personal belongings such as hair clips, pony tails or head bands. Also, treat members of your family having lice or nits as soon as possible before the infestation spreads to every one in the house.

At the first sign of nits on my kids, I manually pick on these irksome "grits" immediately and wash their hair using a head lice shampoo. Years ago, Quell was the only lice shampoo that I knew of. I am thankful that there are other choices available in the market now. For this kind of problem, my family uses Licealiz.

A product of Lamoiyan Corporation, Licealiz is definitely Philippine-made. The shampoo boasts of its conditioning formula that leaves hair soft, and a soothing coolness on the scalp. It is also non-toxic, hence, parents should not be bothered if frequently used, although it is recommended to apply the same twice weekly.

With this kind of product, gone are the hard days and hassle treatment just to get rid of those crawling irritants from our kid's head.