First, a trigger warning: lice.

When I was in fourth grade, I had a major lice infestation. I discovered it when I was taking an exam, and as I was answering, one fell from my head to my test paper. When I went home, I got a suyod (a fine-toothed comb), and lo and behold, I ended up with two back-to-back sheets of coupon bonds covered with dead lice. Nits not included.

Since then, I waged a war against lice. Now, although my vision is poor and blurry, my eyes are still very sensitive to lice.

So imagine my horror when I was cuddling my three-year-old last Saturday and saw a big, black louse hanging on a clump of hair right in the middle of her forehead.

How We Got Lice

Before this, Sprout already had lice when she was just six months old. We suspected she got it from her part-time babysitter. But that was three years ago and all throughout her daycare, she never got lice again. Since they have no daycare sessions anymore, we’re pretty sure she didn’t get it there.

I suspect she got it from me. As for how I got it, I suspect the lice came from the elementary kids who frequented the library. (I told the kids I had lice and one girl happily said she has, too. Well.) But the thing is, it’s just Sprout and I who had lice. No one else in our household – the three of us sleep in the same room – and among our close relatives, including her cousins, had them. Obviously, that’s because I still cuddle her to sleep, our heads glued together.

Treatment for My Toddler’s Lice

Because of my childhood experience, and because here in the Philippines (at least), having lice is nothing extraordinary, my family knew exactly what to do.

First, we used a magic suyod (a fine-toothed comb made of metal that can *allegedly* remove nits) to immediately remove as much lice and nymphs (kayumad) as possible. My sister managed the combing while I used my ever-reliable eyesight and fingernails. Just in the first hour, we filled two sheets of bond paper. My poor child!

If you’re wondering how we managed to keep her still for the duration of this, I allowed her to watch YouTube on my phone. Yes, I understand the dangers of screentime, but lice is an emergency.

Next, I washed her hair using an over-the-counter Pyrethrin. This was more challenging for me, because she refused to sit in her tub and wanted to be under the shower the whole time. At this time, too, she was addicted to this “Bubbles, give me some bubbles” song on a Teletubbies video and wanted to play with the bubbles on her hair as I shampooed her. After massaging the shampoo on her scalp, I let it sit for ten minutes, per instructions on the packaging. I saw several adult lice getting washed away at the end.

After that, I used a newly-washed and sanitized suyof again to comb her wet hair. I also managed to comb out lots of dead and alive lice and nymphs at this point.

When her hair was sufficiently dry, I invited her to go to the duyan at the backyard with me. We would be alone here. As she watched YouTube again, I manually removed more lice and nits. I think I got out hundreds of nits.

The thing is, unlike in some countries, we do not have lice clinics or other professional establishments that manage lice. At least, as far as I know. Maybe that’s because lice infestation is an ordinary part of Filipino kids’ childhood. It still hurts that I allowed my three-year-old to have lice, but I also know that it’s not my fault. And I am actively trying to put a stop to it.

Obviously, I didn’t manage to remove all the nits and nymphs on the first day. So, for the next two weeks, I washed her every night and combed her using the trusty magic suyod. These past few days, I haven’t found any louse or nit, but I’m going to keep doing this as part of our routine.

Oh, and I have also been doing her hair in tight buns to keep her from touching hair with other people and transferring lice to them.

Treatment for My Lice

Managing my daughter’s lice is challenging, but so is managing my own. After all, I can wash her hair and pick out lice and nits on her, but nobody will do the same for me. My gameplan was to make sure to get out all the lice and nymphs first, allow the nits to hatch, then get them out again, making sure there will be no nymphs reaching adulthood and procreating.

So, I patiently combed my hair every morning and night. This was challenging and frustrating, given that I have long hair that I don’t want to cut for aesthetic purposes. But the patience is starting to pay off, since I have not found a single louse or nymph for the last three days. But, like my plan for my daughter, I have decided to make this a part of my hair care routine.

Cleaning House After a Lice Infestation

Aside from managing our heads, we also have to take care of our house. After all, because of the amount of lice we collectively had, I’m 100% sure some of them fell from our heads onto our sheets, clothes, and everywhere.

The first thing we did was stripping our beds and washing the sheets and drying them under the sun. Good thing it’s the summer and the sun is super hot right now. It’s a good thing, too, that we had to stay in my parents’ house for the week, so we were able to spray insecticide. We also put out our pillows and mattresses and did not use them for a week. I’m pretty sure the lice and eggs that fell on them would have starved and died without a host. We also vacuumed our room and beddings using a handheld vacuum and mite remover.

So, that’s how we’re managing the lice infestation in our household. I apologize for the awkward topic! But I hope that through this blog post, any new mom struggling with lice for the first time will know that you are not alone, that this is normal, and that this is manageable. It doesn’t mean you are a bad mom or that your child is gross. As long as you are doing everything to treat your child, you’re doing great.

Useful Things to Remember About Lice

1. Getting lice doesn’t mean your family is gross and dirty. In fact, lice tend to prefer clean over greasy hair, as clean hair easier to cling on to.
2. Lice are not asexual parasites. This means they need to mate. So, as long as you’re not allowing nymphs to turn to adults and reproduce, you don’t have to worry so much about the nits.
3. Lice get transferred from sharing hair accessories and clothing, or from heads touching.
4. Mothers who had lice as children have the tendency to have kids to will have lice. This is because it has been proven that lice prefer your blood. (Apparently, lice have preferred blood scents.)
5. Don’t hide that you or your kids have lice. Be honest to the people who will most likely be affected so they can monitor themselves as well.