7 ways to prevent the spread of nasty head lice
Head lice – argh! Such pesky and irritating little creatures, just the thought of them makes you itch. They spread so easily, it’s no wonder they’re rife among preschoolers and primary school kids. So if you don’t want your child sent home from daycare every week, then here’s what you can do to help prevent and stop the head lice spread.
1. Avoid head-to-head contact
Head lice are wingless and can’t fly, hop or jump, so the only way they can transfer from one person to another is crawling via direct contact. For this reason it’s really important to encourage your kids not to get too close to the heads of others when playing or doing sports, something which children tend to do naturally.
2. Don’t share what goes on your hair
It’s not just from hair to hair that head lice travel, they can also crawl from an object onto hair – although they can’t survive for very long away from a host. Nevertheless, to be extra safe be sure to advise children not to share personal belongings with others if they are items which touch the head. Include in your list combs, brushes, hair bands or elastics, bandanas, hats, head scarfs, scrunchies, hair clips, hoodies, towels and bike helmets.
3. Tie it back
If your child has long hair, be sure to keep it tied back in a ponytail or bun when at daycare or school (or any other times when they might be around other children). The less available their hair is, the less chance there is of head lice coming into contact with it and spreading.
4. Kill lice quick
If you have discovered dreaded head lice on your child then you need to act FAST. There are lots of different products and confusing methods out there, but Hedrin 15 is super easy to use and only takes 15 minutes to work – how good is that?! It comes in either a liquid or spray gel, doesn’t require any combing, is odourless, skin friendly, can be used on children from six months old, you simply wash out after 15 minutes, and most importantly – it kills lice AND their eggs quickly. So rather than letting your child suffer, risk lice spreading or wasting time on ineffective treatments, do as the tagline says: “Don’t scratch your head… Use Hedrin instead!”
5. Rid your house of lice
Killing lice head on is the best method, but if your child has had them then it’s best to also do a bit of a sweep of the house to kill any others lurking around and prevent them coming back. So gather up pillowcases, bed linen, hats, clothes, stuffed animals and towels; machine wash the whole lot in hot water and tumble dry on a high heat.
6. Skip sleepovers for a while
Head lice LOVE a good slumber party. So if there’s been an outbreak of head lice at school or daycare, then it’s best to keep your little ones at home at night time to avoid them having head-on-head contact with other children who might have lice.
7. Separate belongings
Another good idea is to encourage your kids to keep their belongings like hats, jackets and scarves, separate and out of common areas like closets, hooks and drawers. This might seem unnecessary, but trust us, you can never be too careful!
(This is a sponsored post for Hedrin)
