Yup the 4 year old let it slip, “my head is itchy, I don’t want lice”.....WHAT!!I had no idea that for the past two weekends I spent babysitting for my favorite family, that they had a lice problem. That’s right lice
. I know it’s seems as if I’m being dramatic but I’m a full time nanny during the week for a 1 year old and I can’t just go to work and hope for the best. The family was obviously embarrassed and told me they treated everyone and were washing everything, but come on, you could’t warn me before I laid in bed with your daughter or brushed her hair?
So now I’m home boiling my hair brush, washing every piece of fabric I own and running to Target to buy lice
shampoo because after spending an hour in the mirror combing through my hair I saw little white stuff. Could just be dandruff, but I’m not taking any chances.
19 comments:
What a bummer. Parents should have warned u. But it something parents dont actually think of as "being contiguous" like chicken pox. My brother-in-law did the same thing, didnt tell me and the kids slept in my house overnight I work with infants- as a full-time nanny- so of course I panicked. Parents made a mistake and for sake of the kids- stay with them. If u have my doubts or symptoms- go to the doctor. Make sure parents pay for treatments if needed.
I've found with certain "ailments" that there is so much stigma around them that some parents feel the need to hide or cover them up. It's typically infections/viruses/bacteria that the average person/society associates with being "dirty" or "neglectful". Unfortunately, there are some people who'd rather cover up their child's ailment (for fear of looking like a bad parent) than do the right thing and warn people who come into contact with their contagious child.
Regardless of how hygienic or well taken care of a child is it's quite common to get one of these highly contagious diseases during youth. I wish more parents would put their pride aside and let the stigma slide and warn about things such as lice and ringworm, which are both very uncomfortable to develop, but can be easily avoided if the correct precautions are taken.
Sorry you are having to deal with this OP. Hopefully you don't have lice, and hopefully the fact that you were honest with the parents will ensure they communicate better with you in the future.
dealing with lice is a pain in the a$$. Just went a round with the little buggers and still paranoid that they will come back. They are more of an annoyance than anything, although it is one of those things you don't really want people to know about. As weird as it seems, it is comforting to know others had dealt with it too.
Just for added confidence: lice are repelled by rosemary. It does not kill the lice, but there are now shampoos available to use that will help keep them from coming back. I found some at Walgreens, but there are variaties available at Ulta and online stores. Google for more info.
Everyone makes mistakes:
parents know it is contagious. they simply do not want to lose their childcare. it is more important to them that they can get to work than if their childcare provider contacts lice and brings it into her own household.
I went to my colorist to get my hair cut and colored in the earlier this year and a mother came into the salon with her children, wanting hair cuts. One of the stylists lifted up the child's hair and "the uninvited guests" were the reason why they had to leave so quickly. I was fortunate enough that the children didn't hang their jackets up near mine.
throw your hairbrush away.
buy a new one at walmart for $2.00
YUCK! I've been there but for some strange reason I've never gotten lice.
Good luck OP and I hope it is just dandruff and not lice
About six years ago, i was a camp counselor for 5-9 year olds. I wound up getting lice from the campers, which as a sixteen year old girl was absolutely devastating to me. I purchased an over the counter lice shampoo and used that, without any results. At that point, i started to panic, because I have really long hair and was freaking out that i would have to cut it all off. My mom called our dermatologist, who told me to cover my entire head, every strand and my entire scalp, VERY liberally with mayonnaise and then put a shower cap on over my head. I was told to leave the mayo/shower cap on for 1-2 hours and then wash it out. Apparently the mayo suffocates the lice so they die. I did this, and not only did the lice disappear, but my hair looked amazing and soft and shiny afterwards. Hope that helps!
ughhhh!! this gives me the jeebies just thinking about it!!!
OP, you should do some internet research on lice (with a trusted site which is not trying to scare you so that you will buy their products!). The most likely way to get lice is to have your head in close contact with an infected head. It is really not that contagious.
I don't think it is necessary to wash everything. It is really easy to make a difference between dandruff and lice eggs, as lice eggs will stick in your hair, whereas dandruff will go away if you comb it. I have had to deal with the problem, and I am not too big on potentially toxic products, so I used olive oil (which is a bit less messy than mayo). Apply it liberally to your hair, get some plastic wrap around your head and wait an hour or so, then use a special fine-toothed comb. If you do get lice or eggs on your comb, be sure to repeat the operation in a couple of days. Good luck
ahh, so sorry! Parents need to tell you about that stuff. One of the families I babysit for had lice over the summer and then in the first week of school they found one egg in their daughter's hair. They did the right thing and let the school know, even though it was just one egg, so the school sent a note home. The sad thing is it was probably from another kid whose parents didn't want to tell!
at least it wasnt pinworms, nothing like a itchy butt hole
Yet another classy comment from Monkey Shines.
Outbreaks of head lice are quite common in the tt private schools here. There is actually a woman who is called "The Lice Lady". When someone has lice the school hires her to come and she inspects all the students, and anyone who has them is sent home. I think she makes a pretty good living!
Before you go back, you need to make sure that they are really effectively treating. Sometimes people try to take short cuts by just using the shampoo, but combing out with a fine tooth comb daily is important to get rid of nits, and they need to wash all linens in hot water and bag up soft toys or things that can't be washed and leave it for 4 weeks.
Thanks for the advice. I brought the shampoo kit and had my boyfriend search my head for 10mins. He thought I was crazy. We didn't find anything but I washed my hair just incase and cleaned everything.
I'm only their babysitter on weekends and parents aren't working. When I put the little girl to bed I have to lay with her until she falls asleep, which is why I was so paranoid I got lice.
You had every right to be paranoid and next time you call them, make sure you ask if the lice are completely gone. I think I'd probably still give the girl a thorough head-check even after getting there!
For some reason, my sister and I used to get lice a lot when we were kids. In elementary school, I would get it every time there was an outbreak and then usually pass it on to my sister. I've read that the little buggers are attracted to certain ethnicities more, so maybe us being Indian had something to do with it? I know it wasn't because we were rugrats because my mother is obsessed with cleanliness. She would always immediately alert the school and our church when we'd get lice so it wouldn't spread anymore and we'd usually take a couple of days off to do washings and comb-outs.
I've had it twice since being an adult and working in childcare, so I try to be very careful about letting children play with my hair or sharing pillows with them. My hair is so thick, combing out all those nits takes hours, and the Rid shampoo irritates my asthma.
I'm going to promote what worked for me. I bought the brand Licefreee! Gel (yes, 3 e's). It is non toxic to humans. I bought it at Walmart for less than $10. I only had to buy one treatment per child. I applied the gel (love the gel because there is no dripping) and left on for appointed time. I washed (with regular shampoo & conditioner) my girls hair. I blow dried and flat ironed their hair. Then I used the nit comb on dry hair. I started with a very small section at the nape of the neck and slowly worked my way up in small sections, tying off each completed section. I only washed the bedding once and I didn't bag up any toys. This worked for me both times that my girls got lice. If your child has very long or thick hair, you will need 2 boxes. I have heard that the treatments do not destroy the eggs so I believe using the flat iron was part of the success, the heat will kill the eggs.
UGH I do not like lice what so ever. I got them often as a child and had short hair so they give me the hee bee jee bee's. Then one day I'm laying down with my niece who was 5 or so and she scratched her head and told me Grandma said she had lice. She had long hair that was loose and she was laying on top of me with my long loose hair. Yeah YUCK but neither of us had them. Then when I worked for her dad (divorced parents) his daughter was attracted to them and he'd freak out because of my long hair. I told him he could search my hair if he wished but since I didn't itch I wasn't going to cut it just to please him. Never got them thankfully though I did spend hours combing them out.
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