MyLilBean:
OK... so someone help me out here, I'm trying not to freak out. I am a caregiver for a lady waiting on a liver transplant. Who happens to me mother of one of my friends from high school. Her daughter and 2 kids flew in from Hawaii.. after noticing only an hour before take off at the airport the 9 yr. old boy has lice!!! By the time they got here... all 3 of them had it. My friend told me she gave them live treatments, put all their clothes in the dryer and sprayed and cleaned where they were in the house while waiting their turn to get treated. I am so nervous about going to care for her mom tomorrow and ending up with lice! If I keep my hair pulled back and won't get too close to the kids.. you think I should be ok? I'm so paranoid.. the last thing I need is to bring that home to my house!
first off if the boy had lice at the plane all 3 did too, but just were aware of it by the time they got to their destination. Head lice to go on another person's head, has to be a pg female who lays eggs and takes a week for them to hatch. So the plan ride wouldn't have done it. They had it already. Maybe the little boy got it from one of them ?? Hard to point fingers.
Secondly if they were treated and you weren't near them or wearing a hat or scarf or sleeping on their pillows etc... you are safe. IF you want to be safer pull your hair back and always wear hairspray in your hair. I do this with my children every day before they go to school or with other kids to hang out. ALWAYS spray your kids hair with hairspray every day. It helps prevent them from getting it if they are exposed to it.
Tell your lice people, to redo the treatment exactly 7 days after the first time. MAKE sure it is 7 days no earlier no later. The reason is that head lice eggs are now alot hardier than they use to be. The treatment says it will kill adults and nits but it doesn't and if you dont' want a reinfestation treat exactly 7 days later. That is the life cycle of the eggs and you are 100% sure that after 7 days any eggs will have hatched and so you can kill the babies. THEY will not produce more eggs until they are 2 weeks old. so treatment after 7 days ensures ALL eggs have hatched and that NONE can get mature enough to produce eggs again.
After that they are fine. As long as they don't come in contact again with someone with lice.
GOOD LUCK!