This was on my old blog which is now hard to reach. I forget
the url, the password, the blog id...you get the drift. But I seem to need the
info every time there is a lice alert in school. So posting it here...
And yes, I sent my child to school today slick and greasy
with shiny hair smelling of coconut and neem oil... Still stunned that the poor
child didn't complain.
Nit picking...are we?
Nit picking...are we?
Written -Summer 2011
About the same time last year, a lice alert appeared in the school newsletter. Children in the affected classrooms would receive an email it said. I checked my email with baited breath and heaved a sigh of relief when I saw no emails from the school. The summer break commenced and with it commenced incessant head scratching in our household.
Images of possible “lice chains” (as I call them) flashed before my eyes. There I stood in my imagination – picking lice from my daughter’s head, while my husband picked mine. Nausea probably brought my thoughts to a screeching halt! I resolved to find a solution.
Since I had not actually seen living, crawling creatures in her head, I decided to not use any “mild pesticides “. So I feverishly searched the Internet, spoke to my naturopath and sought wisdom from those older and wiser. And yes, my ever so dramatic story comes with a happy ending!
The happy ending lies in the tiny jar of “neem oil” and other neem tree products. I mixed about 1 tbsp. neem oil with about 3 tbsp. coconut oil. I also added a half tsp of ‘tulsi’ (holy basil) powder to the concoction (it should be fine without it too).
I rubbed this oil all over my unwilling daughter’s scalp (not the greatest smell). But like magic, my restless child calmed down and her hands left her head. This would be a good time to comb the head with a fine tooth comb (I didn’t). I left it on overnight and washed her hair with some Neem shampoo (I got a cake like soap from a health store as well as a bottled shampoo). We repeated this for the next few days, applying the oil in the morning and washing in the evening, or leaving it on overnight. In fact the whole household followed the same procedure.
Neem oil is probably available in most health food stores (I got mine from New Seasons). Opt for the ones that come in little jars. It is easier to scoop out the oil small jars than struggle to squeeze it out.
Maybe you will never need it and no complaints there. I definitely have my fingers crossed that we won't ever need it again!
About the same time last year, a lice alert appeared in the school newsletter. Children in the affected classrooms would receive an email it said. I checked my email with baited breath and heaved a sigh of relief when I saw no emails from the school. The summer break commenced and with it commenced incessant head scratching in our household.
Mortified, I watched my child furiously scratching her head
like her primate ancestors. I shook my head in disbelief and held hers in a
tight grip. Close scrutiny (and vociferous protests from the then four-year
old) failed to reveal sign of any mutli-legged life in her locks. There did
seem to be some white traces, but due to lack of contact with these tiny
organisms for decades, I was not sure.
But my hyper-active imagination did not remain quiet. On
occasion in India and Central Africa, I have seen “lice-chains” where one woman
picks nits from the lady in front of her, while another woman checks her
head. But things like that don’t happen in the developed world, right...
right?
Sigh...head lice seem to be oblivious of any snob-stigma. For this same child had attended a school in somewhat ghetto settings in India for a few months -- but no creepy crawlies there.
Sigh...head lice seem to be oblivious of any snob-stigma. For this same child had attended a school in somewhat ghetto settings in India for a few months -- but no creepy crawlies there.
Images of possible “lice chains” (as I call them) flashed before my eyes. There I stood in my imagination – picking lice from my daughter’s head, while my husband picked mine. Nausea probably brought my thoughts to a screeching halt! I resolved to find a solution.
Since I had not actually seen living, crawling creatures in her head, I decided to not use any “mild pesticides “. So I feverishly searched the Internet, spoke to my naturopath and sought wisdom from those older and wiser. And yes, my ever so dramatic story comes with a happy ending!
The happy ending lies in the tiny jar of “neem oil” and other neem tree products. I mixed about 1 tbsp. neem oil with about 3 tbsp. coconut oil. I also added a half tsp of ‘tulsi’ (holy basil) powder to the concoction (it should be fine without it too).
I rubbed this oil all over my unwilling daughter’s scalp (not the greatest smell). But like magic, my restless child calmed down and her hands left her head. This would be a good time to comb the head with a fine tooth comb (I didn’t). I left it on overnight and washed her hair with some Neem shampoo (I got a cake like soap from a health store as well as a bottled shampoo). We repeated this for the next few days, applying the oil in the morning and washing in the evening, or leaving it on overnight. In fact the whole household followed the same procedure.
Neem oil is probably available in most health food stores (I got mine from New Seasons). Opt for the ones that come in little jars. It is easier to scoop out the oil small jars than struggle to squeeze it out.
Maybe you will never need it and no complaints there. I definitely have my fingers crossed that we won't ever need it again!
No comments:
Post a Comment