70% of families have been struggling with the cost of living.
Irish children are reportedly going without headlice treatments because of the cost.
Parents are supposedly struggling to afford the treatments, according to Barnardos.
Parents are facing more struggles due to the cost of living.
Speaking to The Irish Mirror, Stephen Moffatt of Barnados said this is incredibly upsetting for children.
“In cases in which, you know, parents with children who have had head lice, just literally didn’t have the €10 to €15 euro to go out and buy that lotion.
“Things like that obviously affect kids socially, like when they go to school,” he explained.
Head lice and nits are incredibly common in young children.
However, they can be extremely uncomfortable. They live in clean and unwashed hair.
They spread very easily, especially in school settings.
It is important to treat head lice as soon as you notice them.
You can remove the lice by wet combing. This is what you should try when you first spot the lice.
You can buy a special fine-toothed comb online or from your local pharmacy to remove head lice and nits.
The HSE recommends:
- Use the comb on wet or dry hair – but it usually works best on wet hair with conditioner
- comb the whole head of hair from the roots to the ends
- repeat every few days for 2 weeks
You cannot prevent head lice, but you can avoid them by avoiding head-to-head contact. You should also keep your long hair tied up.
If there is someone with head lice in your home then you should check everyone else’s hair for lice.
According to the HSE, children do not need to stay off school if they have nits.
