As often happens with children, there has been an outbreak of lice amongst our children’s circle of acquaintances. While, thankfully, we have not experienced an outbreak, we’re prepared.

In the nine years I have parented our son, we’ve never had a case of lice. I’ve homeschooled him the whole time, and though he has several outside classes with lots of other kids, we’ve never had the exposure.

Right before we went to pick up my son and daughter for the finalization, there was an outbreak of lice at the after care program the kids attended in their native home state. Though I knew very little about lice, I did know that ten days after a treatment, you need to check again. The end of that “ten days” would have been in that grey area between the hand-off from their foster family to us – and did I mention we’d be on the road and not at home yet?

Therefore, when I heard about the outbreak, I went online and searched out all I could. Though I didn’t have a need for any of the homeopathic remedies I found, I do still use some of the information as a preventative.

Here are a few of the links I discovered (please bear in mind, many of these are home remedies and not to be construed as professional advice):

Head Lice Treatments at Homemaking Cottage

Herbal and Nutritional Remedies

Items to have on hand:

* Tea Tree oil (I found one that was already in a “carrier” oil, especially for hair at Wal-Mart)
* Mayonnaise (some recommend Vasoline, but it stays in the hair, but baby oil gets rid of it)
* Vinegar
* Coconut shampoo/conditioner (make sure coconut oil is one of the first ingredients listed)
* Fine toothed comb
* Shower cap or clear plastic wrap (plastic wrap is a bit messier in terms of containing the goopiness of whatever treatment you choose)
* Spray bottle

As a preventative, use the tea tree oil (compound in a carrier oil or essential oil drops in water in a spray bottle) daily. It acts as a repellant. Be sure to treat everyone in the family, not just the exposed child! The transfer can take place between children before you ever find the evidence of an infestation!

Some of the remedies I found were a little harsher (shampoo containing tar or sulfur), so be sure to check with your child’s practitioner before using any of these preparations.

With a little advance knowledge, you can be prepared for an outbreak – it can occur at any time!

Photo credit: Stock Xchng