Memorial Day weekend de-lousing

Yep, I spent part of my holiday weekend de-lousing my home and family, and I must say, it was so much work that we may just have to live with the little critters next time.

It all started when another mother at our school emailed me Friday that she had confirmed the presence of lice on her daughter, and that she had it too. Shortly after the message, I started to get that itchy feeling. I am convinced that it wasn't entirely due to the power of suggestion, but that there actually was a science project unfolding on my scalp.

My kids, of course, seemed oblivious. Husband is bald.

SO, I bought the stuff, I did it to my hair, I didn't wear the same clothes after the shampoo with the pesticide. I spent an hour combing out the kids' hair after first plying them with lollipops and morning cartoons and the promise of more candy if they complied.

I did all the right things, in short. But now, a few days later, I still feel a little itchy. Could it be that we actually didn't have lice at all, that I just have an itchy scalp and an overactive imagination, and that I did all that laundry for nothing?

I'll never know for certain, but I have promised myself that I will get a confirmation from an expert (like the school director) next time before going through the whole process. And when I do it, I'll take the suggestion I read on http://www.drgreene.org: "Instead of cleaning every inch of the house, just lock up tight and go on vacation. Get rid of the lice on your heads, and then get out of town. Lice die after 55 hours without a human host. If you can afford to be gone for at least three days, you will return to a lice-free environment.''