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Children's health

27th Aug 2021

It might sound dramatic but I’m putting lice treatments in before my kids head back to school

Melissa Carton

I doubt even social distancing will stop the dreaded lice.

My children, along with most other children the country over, will be heading back to school next week.

After spending most of last year being taught virtually by their teachers, they are over the moon to be getting back into the classroom, and so am I to be honest.

The only thing I’m not excited about is the inevitable letter home saying there has been a head lice outbreak.

how to treat head lice

It seems like every year like clockwork, come around the second or third week of term there’s a headlice outbreak.

I honestly don’t even know how it happened last year given that classes were in pods, but almost every parent I asked said that there had been a lice outbreak at their child’s school.

Ugh, I’m itchy just writing about it.

Someone I know had all their children catch lice from school and bring them home.

I’m pretty sure at that stage you just have to burn the whole house down, you know, just to be on the safe side.

This year I’m going all in on head lice prevention with both my kids because I refuse to go anywhere near a lice comb this year.

Back in my day my head would be covered in tea tree oil, as apparently head lice hate the stuff, but let’s be honest going to school with a big oily head stinking of tea tree is hardly an improvement on actually catching lice.

I came across a lice guard gel from Little Green that contains tea tree but will not leave your child looking like they are about to be deep fried.

It goes in like a styling gel so very handy for spiking short hair or slicking back ponytails or buns.

I really am hoping that it does the trick because if they come back with lice this year, I’m moving.