Melbourne

full wax

ffs, now I'm itchy.

Parent here and Miss Seagoon had very long hair.

Nothing works better than treating hair with chem warfare agents, treating all the bedding, doing lots of vacuuming

And having someone else carefully check your hair strand by strand. Yes, just like monkeys do.

Don't panic. Dealing with headlice is a rite of passage for parents. Happens to all of us. If it's any consolation, headlice prefer clean hair to dirty hair. There are no precautions that I know of other than living in a sealed bubble. Which isn't living and the kids won't learn much.

If you are unlucky enough to find them on the kids/pets/carpets, buy a fine tooth comb (try Chemists Warehouse or Kmart) and a biiiig bottle of cheap conditioner. Apply undiluted conditioner generously to dry hair to immobilise the lice, then comb out the nits & eggs. Rinse. Repeat the next day and again in a week's time. Wash all bedding on hot or with bleach added and tumble dry. That includes pillows and doonas. Vacuum madly in all directions including the mattresses and curtains. Dispose of the vacuum dust in a sealed bag immediately. Treat your pets for lice too.

You may need to repeat all this a few times roughly a week apart depending on species and whether the kids are getting re-infected at playgroup or whatever. The idea is to get rid of all adult lice and then any eggs that hatch before they get old enough to lay more eggs. If you've still got them a month down the track, ring nurse on call or your gp for nasty chemical help.

There's a few things you can do. Cover your hair in conditioner, get a fine tooth comb, comb the nape of your neck and wipe the comb on a tissue. Do this a few times. If you have lice, you'll see it on the tissue. Move to other parts of your hair. Repeat in 7 days.

If you have a fringe it's important to check there too.

Or you can use Quit nits