winning the battles. losing the war.

lice.

we successfully avoided them for 8 years.  then in september it started.  the 3rd day of school i found lice on both kids.  so i treated.  and combed.  and washed the sheets.  and banished the stuffed animals.  and combed.  and retreated.  and then we were done.

i initially treated with the over-the-counter formula - fun with neurotoxins! - but after my usual googling i decided that for all forthcoming treatments i would go with the decidedly less toxic nuvo protocol.  it goes like this: wash hair.  dry hair. apply 16 ounces of cetaphil gentle face cleanser to hair.  comb excess cetaphil cleanser out of hair.  blow dry hair.  all in all, it takes about an hour and a half to do maddy, about half that time to do morgan.

then, mid-way through november, maddy reminded me to check her hair, because lice had been recently identified in class again.  and right off the bat i found one.  augh!  so, i treated, and retreated, and combed, and examined.  this time around, not so many, and morgan didn't get it, and by the day before thanksgiving, i declared us yet again, lice free!  i swear, two months ago we were lice free.

tonight, maddy complained of her head itching.  she has a recent scar on her scalp from a bad fall she took (4 staples) so i thought maybe that was it.  but the scar also happens to be where the critters like to hang out most.  i couldn't find any of the critters themselves, but i found one egg, and then another.  at first i thought they were old stragglers from the earlier bouts. but then i found another.  and another.  and you know, where there's smoke....

so tomorrow i am in for it again.  washing, drying, shampooing, combing, blah blah blah.  i'm just praying nobody else gets 'em (so far it hasn't happened, but...knock on wood).

Comments

[Becki]

I know lice aren't life threatening, and there are far, far worse things kids could get, but still--what a huge hassle for any family. We have not gotten them (yet), but my son is going to know what it's like to have a buzz cut if we ever do. I felt so terrible for my friend who had to pick through her daughters' beautiful, thick, curly hair every night for two weeks. How do you NOT miss some?

[Jeff]

Unbelievably discouraging. A drag, figuratively, and through Maddy's hair, literally.
There's a lesson in all this about being "nitpicky," but I have no idea what it is. So hang in there, sister. Maddy will be butch-cut -- or bald -- and covered with piercings and tattoos before you know it.
You'll look back and wish you could again comb her hair for hours.
(Buying any of this, or am I just making it worse?)

[laura]

Kathryn Harrison has this great essay about getting lice out of her kids' heads, and hiring those strange ladies who make a living physically combing out nits. It's typically Kathryn Harrison, sort of demented, but also very funny. Of course, I can't remember its title, or which collection it's in...because I am brain-dead.

[Britt]

Come on Robin...keep on bloggin'. I'm still pulling for you!