Thursday, January 16, 2014

The "L" Word

No, not "liberal," or "lesbian," or "linoleum." 
L-I-C-E

Two weeks ago there was a rather severe plague of the buggers running around Gan, and I continued my vigilance to check Raphaela's hair every evening after her bath.  But I myself am horrified at even the possibility, so I took extreme measures:  today I called in Penina the Lice Lady.  A former nursery teacher who makes house calls all over Israel, she came highly recommended to me as the infestation professional, and I need her to Lice-proof my sweet girl.

When I was growing up in America, only "dirty people" got lice, and if a child came to camp or school with bugs in their hair, the rest of the mothers would gossip about those neglected children and their terrible parents.  Israel, on the other hand, has gotten so used to the idea that many of the Gan parents don't even bother checking, and if they find lice, they will send their kid to school anyway, because it is too much trouble to take a day off work and fumigate.

Armed with serious bribery (a Playmobil Unicorn and Fairy Princess Set), we welcomed the lovely Lice Lady into our home.  Comb in hand and a coal miner's light hat atop her head, she set about her work and for three quarters of the time, Raphaela sat quietly and obediently, allowing Penina to check and clean every part of her hair;  when the Lice Lady got to the last and most important bits, Raphaela decided she had had enough and advanced quickly to uncooperative mode.

It took the promise of a large chocolate cookie and YouTube viewing to finish the job, and after a day's worth of preventative laundry - every bed sheet, pillow case, blanket and hooded article of clothing - and a personal inspection by the Lice Lady, Penina declared, "This house is clean."

Let me tell you, this woman was worth every penny.

2 comments:

Batya said...

Since, there's no way to actually prevent lice infestation, you need to learn my TNT the world's easiest and cheapest method to get rid of the lice. me-ander: LICE--The Simple Safe Method to Clean Heads

Granted, you may still need a form of bribery.  I wish that the gannenot, pre-school teachers, would just put oil in the hair of all kids who are discovered with lice.  The kids can rub it in.

PS I've even cleaned my own head with this method, since it doesn't require visual checks. Yes, it's that easy.

koshergourmetmart said...

Common Myths About Head Lice


MYTH : If you have head lice you live in a dirty house
FACT : Wrong bug, that would be Body Lice which your child does not have.
MYTH : Head Lice travel to car seats
FACT : Head lice never choose to leave the head to travel to an inanimate object to wait for a new host. The only means of transmission is direct head to head contact.
MYTH : My pets can get Head Lice
FACT : Head Lice are host specific to humans only
MYTH : Head Lice is transmitted by hats and helmets.
FACT : We have not seen this to be true. If it were true we would see the whole little league team in our office, which is not the case. Head lice have very strong claws that actually clamp down, attaching firmly to the hair shaft, when helmets or hats are being taken on or off. Also most players on little league are boys with short hair. Head lice are very picky about who they travel to and they do not like heads with short hair. They are very sensitive to temperature, humidity and light. Heads with shorter hair tend to be colder, brighter and dryer which head lice think is unattractive.
MYTH : Head Lice live in your house
FACT : Wrong Bug, that would be Bed Bugs which your child does not have.
If head lice waited around in your house for a new host they would die. They need a blood meal 4-6 times a day, and can only feed on scalp skin
MYTH : My child does not have an itchy head so she couldn’t have head lice.
FACT : 80% of our customers never have itching symptoms The itching is caused by an allergic reaction to the louse bite. Much like mosquitoes head lice leave behind a residue of anticoagulant, anesthetic and saliva when they take a blood meal. Most people do not react to these substances right away, but some people do develop an allergic reaction over time

just tell RR not to share hair items like brushes, combs, ribbons, hats etc