Thursday, December 18, 2008

Heeby Jeebies

For the fourth time this year (since September) Mae has come home from school with a note saying that someone in her class has (umm. how do I say this without grossing everyone out?) Freaking HEAD LICE! Ewww! My thought the first time this note came home was, who's dirty parents brought home fucking crabs? I know that's not completely fair but after 4 times I'm starting to think this is a problem. Really, this in not OK and I am angry, to the point that I would consider home schooling , OK, not really but I'm pissed!

Seriously head lice, who even gets that and why are they bringing it to school? I was at work last night, and when I got home I checked the pile of school papers right away, saw the note, grabbed Mae and picked through her head, no lice but she did have these mysterious bumps all over her neck, back and tummy. At this point I start to freak out. Mae was quickly whisked into the shower, her clothes and winter gear thrown in the washer with Fels Naptha soap (in case it's some other irritant) in hot water. It doesn't seem like head lice, but how the hell would I know, we've never had it. The bumps she has look like a poison ivy-type hives thing but who knows. I made sure she washed really well in the shower, gave her some Benadryl and slathered her in lotion because my hubby thinks it's just dry skin. Dry skin, my ass. That kid has something, and it's creeping me out.

My hubby and I were discussing how this happens and what the hell to do about it. He said that when he was young (for the boys at least) you could tell who had the head lice because they would come to school with shaved heads. Well, that's not going to work for us, Mae has the most beautiful golden blond hair that is finally at a manageable length, and hell if I'm letting anyone shave her head. I can't even think of it without itching and examining my own scalp for creepy crawly bugs. This was not on our Christmas list and I hope we figure this out before Christmas otherwise we're all getting lice shampoo in our stockings.

Leave me a comment if you started itching while reading this post...sorry about that.

4 comments:

A Christian Mom said...

Yeah, lice is never fun! My oldest brother dealt with this, with his two girls for months! Every time someone at school got it... so did his girls. I helped my SIL de lice the girls once. I was so grossed out, but my SIL didn't seem phased by it, at all.

I doubt the bumps on your daughter is lice, though. I don't "think", or at least I've never heard of it, that they bite the skin like that.

Anyway... good luck! I hope you don't have to deal with it! Truthfully, if it was me, I'd be buying shampoo & bedding spray, just for precaution! lol

Wild Child said...

Even the cleanest kids get it, and younger kids get it more, because they play so close to each other their heads may be close enough. I'm sensitive on this subject, because my poor son got it. I don't know how. You just buy the Rid from the pharmacy, shampoo carefully, and use the comb. Then it's check, check, check, hard, but you can do it. Wash everything in hot water. We took the stuffed animals from his bed and wrapped them up in airtight plastic bags for over a month. We got rid of it. They aren't as hard to spot as you think. Your kid will start scratching ALL the time, and when you look, they will be walking around. UCK! Never again. Since it's hat and coat season and the kids pile hats and coats close to the others, it is bound to get passed on. Some parent isn't trying hard to get rid of them.

MC95 said...

I had a girl in my 6th grade class who had it. what really sicked is her last name rhymed with lice. I still remember the whole school bus shouting, "SHERRY TICE HAS LICE!"

Tell me more about Fels Naptha! I know I am alergic to perfumes in laudry detergent, which I guess is common, and now fabric softener sheets. We bought bulk sheets, and two days later, I had a couple hives and about 2 dozen red spoltches all over my body. Wallgren's benedry is cheap and I will probably take over 200 before we cycle through all the affected clothes.

Also when I was in the Coast Guard boot camp, at 18, they shaved everybody's head because all those people living together, about 1 out of 50 groups of 50 people breaks out with lice. Sometimes I guess you just cant help it... (i've never had them).

Anonymous said...

Kailey got the letter on her 2nd day of school -- welcome back to school!?@?