Thinking about Head Lice Prevention

Well its been a busy week and I haven't blogged as much as I would like. This week one of the things I've been thinking about is lice preventation. When people ask me about how to prevent getting head lice I never know what to say. I went my whole life without getting them until my children came along. How did I avoid it? I remember the nurses using the wooden picks to check our heads and one of my friends was always teased about having the cooties. So it must've been going around! One of the parents this week told me that she religiously sprays her children with a tree oil combination before sending them to school. It must not have been working because one child definitely had head lice! I remember when my family got head lice I put tea tree oil in the shampoo and conditioner too. I stopped doing it a long time ago and have been lice free for two years. Catching lice is akin to having a friend with a cold. If you are in the area when they are contagious and they sneeze on you, you'll probably catch the cold. If your friend has lice and you put your head near them you'll likely catch it too.
I wish there was a way to prevent head lice. If there was maybe we could finally wipe out lice! Your best way to avoid getting lice is to keep your hair to yourself. Keep it in braids or a ponytail. Wear a hat. Most transmission is from head to head and not from objects. If you've had lice you know how hard it is to get them off your head. I was itching for at least a week until I actually caught one and discovered that I had head lice. They don't want to be in your coats and hats. They are very specialized creatures who want to be on your head and your friends heads.
The other way to reduce your chances of catching lice? Keep your hair dirty! Ooh I didn't think that would go over well. The theory is that when your hair is greasy the eggs have a harder time adhering to the hair shaft. I'm not sure that is true. Lice have been around as long as humans and goodness knows that our ancestors weren't bathing every day - so you'd think they would've died out with all that dirty hair! Lice don't discriminate but may prefer clean hair over dirty hair given a choice? Anyone want to be a guinea pig and do some lice experiments? Well I hope to blog again before to long. Hope you are lice free!