Lice can’t survive without two things: 1) warmth from the human body, and 2) human blood to feed on. Yucky, but true.
What can you do to prevent a case of winter lice? Here are a few recommendations.
- Avoid head-to-head contact. Lice do not hop, jump, or fly. They crawl from hair-strand to hair-strand
- Tell your kids not to wear other people’s clothing—even clothing that isn’t worn near the head. Hair can fall on any piece of clothing, including gloves and socks.
- Wash winter clothing—coats, scarves, gloves and hats regularly. Keeping these clean is one of the best ways to prevent lice from finding your children.
- Check your kids’ heads for lice before sending them back to school, and after they come home each afternoon for the first week or so after school starts. That is the time when they will be at most risk.
- Use lice prevention products. Lice Clinics of America offers lice prevention shampoo, conditioner, and spray. The products contain essential oils that attack a louse’s “olfactory” nerves. In other words, lice can’t stand the smell. The shampoo will smell pleasant to you and your child, but not to lice. Since lice move to new hosts primarily through head-to-head contact, they will avoid a head that smells like this shampoo.
- Talk to your friends. Silence about head lice is one of the critter’s best friends. People don’t like to talk about lice because of their unearned connection to poor hygiene. Don’t let that stop you. Tell your friends what you’re doing to prevent lice from happening to your children, and encourage them to do the same. Anyone who has dealt with lice in the past will appreciate it!
If your kids do get lice, keep calm. It’s not the end of the world. Lice Clinics of America Los Alamitos and Lice Clinics of America South Bay uses an FDA-cleared medical device that is clinically proven to kill live lice and 99.2 percent of eggs in just over an hour.