We recently suffered through lice in our home for the first, and hopefully last, time. These are some of the lessons we learned.

1. If your child is complaining of an itchy head, make sure you are wearing your reading glasses when you check his/her head.
2. If you see white specs attached to the hair shafts, get prepared to be disgusted because there will likely be creepy, crawly bugs as well.
3. Call a friend who has dealt with lice before. My friend had a lice kit complete with multiple fine-toothed combs, a magnifying glass, and a variety of shampoos, conditioners, and treatment sprays.
4. Call the school nurse to report it, so other parents can be informed and check their kids’ heads. (Otherwise it keeps spreading!). When she tells you no one else has reported any lice, you can tell her with confidence that at least one other kid has it!
5. Hope for good weather so you can keep your infected kid outside for as long as possible.
6. Keep everyone off the couch for 3 days. (Lice can’t live for more than 48 hours without a host.)
7. Wash all bedding and throw everything you can into the dryer for 30 minutes - throw pillows, comforters, etc. Once items are clean, keep as much as possible put away/aside for a few weeks, so you don’t have to deal with it again.

8. Don’t leave white vinegar in your hair for 12+ hours unless you want your hair to be dried out and lightened.
9. The Cetaphil treatment is the way to go!

10. Remember to repeat treatment at 1 week and 2 week intervals to be sure all lice are eradicated. (I did not replace throw pillows or excess blankets for several weeks to minimize risk of reinfection - and need to rewash.)
11. Be thankful if you have introvert children who don’t mind being told to stay in their rooms as much as possible.