Shari
IsItFridayYet?
Hi all.
I have a little issue I need some mom advice with.
My easy child 2 (step easy child) has lice. Her mom is adamant she's getting them at our house, and its entirely possible, but I'm not sure what else to do.
Here's the scoop.
Her mom got remarried this year, so easy child 2 has been here on a haphazzard schedule this year. She went to summer school so was with us all but about 4 days of June while her mom was on her honeymoon. On June 23, she got her hair straightened and about 8 inches cut off of it (I will also add that she has really curly, fine hair, so unless you took the time to comb it out, the 8 inches she cut off is not noticable - it always curled up at the nape of her neck to about the same length its cut to now that its straight(er). Anyway, point is, she told her mom we did this, and mom doesn't beleive her). On June 28, she went to husband's mom's house while husband and I went on a little trip. She stayed there til June 30, when she went back to her mom's.
At mom's she stays at her mom's mom's (grandma) house all but 4 nights a month - when her step-dad's kids are there on the weekends that she is there. During the week, mom sends her to grandma's to sleep every night, which is also where she stays thru the day. She doesn't have friends over and they rarely go anywhere, they're very much home-bodies.
On July 12, I picked her up at 2pm, took her and wee difficult child to the pool, then we went to my mom's for the night. We came home the next day long enough to pack the cooler (about 2 hours) and we went to southern Missouri camping with friends until July 22. When we got back from camping, she went back to her mom's.
One of the friends we camp with is her mom's ex-husband and easy child 2's older half-sister. easy child 2 likes having her hair french braided, so she had her sister do it almost every day. Sister never noticed anything, either.
Three days after I took her back to her mom's, her mom calls and told me she had lice, so I had better spray my house. I explained she hadn't been in my house since the end of June, and she said, of course, she'd noticed her scratching her head since she came back the first time but never bothered to check, but she's sure the bugs were why she was scratching then.
So, I washed her bedding in our house and in our camper. I sprayed my house and the camper, etc.
She came back to our house on July 30. difficult child 1 had left for boot, so I had cleaned out his room and we moved all of easy child 2's stuff into that room (she and difficult child 2 shared prior to this). In addition, she got new sheets and bedding and a sparkling clean room. She was here til last Sunday, Aug 5, when she went back to her mom's. And last night, three days later again, mom calls, she has bugs, and tells me I've GOT to get my hosue cleaned up and she's not allowed to touch our animals anymore (when her mom dropped her off the previous week, the first thing easy child 2 did was pick up a kitten).
I just took my dog to the vet for her skin allergies, so I called him and asked if my dog could possibly have lice. He laughed and said it didn't have lice, nor could it, as lice are species specific. Human lice don't live on dogs or cats. There went that idea. But, he said the spray I use for my house will kill human lice, so I went back and bought enough to bomb my house again (and this stuff isn't the Raid brand you buy at walmart, its pricey - I spent $80 on the first round).
To top it off, we have 3 kids that live here 24x7 and no one else has lice - I can't imagine if they're so bad easy child 2 gets them that no one else would have them.
So - what more can I do A) to make sure we don't have lice, and B) to prove to her mom she's not getting them here (if in fact we don't)?
I have a little issue I need some mom advice with.
My easy child 2 (step easy child) has lice. Her mom is adamant she's getting them at our house, and its entirely possible, but I'm not sure what else to do.
Here's the scoop.
Her mom got remarried this year, so easy child 2 has been here on a haphazzard schedule this year. She went to summer school so was with us all but about 4 days of June while her mom was on her honeymoon. On June 23, she got her hair straightened and about 8 inches cut off of it (I will also add that she has really curly, fine hair, so unless you took the time to comb it out, the 8 inches she cut off is not noticable - it always curled up at the nape of her neck to about the same length its cut to now that its straight(er). Anyway, point is, she told her mom we did this, and mom doesn't beleive her). On June 28, she went to husband's mom's house while husband and I went on a little trip. She stayed there til June 30, when she went back to her mom's.
At mom's she stays at her mom's mom's (grandma) house all but 4 nights a month - when her step-dad's kids are there on the weekends that she is there. During the week, mom sends her to grandma's to sleep every night, which is also where she stays thru the day. She doesn't have friends over and they rarely go anywhere, they're very much home-bodies.
On July 12, I picked her up at 2pm, took her and wee difficult child to the pool, then we went to my mom's for the night. We came home the next day long enough to pack the cooler (about 2 hours) and we went to southern Missouri camping with friends until July 22. When we got back from camping, she went back to her mom's.
One of the friends we camp with is her mom's ex-husband and easy child 2's older half-sister. easy child 2 likes having her hair french braided, so she had her sister do it almost every day. Sister never noticed anything, either.
Three days after I took her back to her mom's, her mom calls and told me she had lice, so I had better spray my house. I explained she hadn't been in my house since the end of June, and she said, of course, she'd noticed her scratching her head since she came back the first time but never bothered to check, but she's sure the bugs were why she was scratching then.
So, I washed her bedding in our house and in our camper. I sprayed my house and the camper, etc.
She came back to our house on July 30. difficult child 1 had left for boot, so I had cleaned out his room and we moved all of easy child 2's stuff into that room (she and difficult child 2 shared prior to this). In addition, she got new sheets and bedding and a sparkling clean room. She was here til last Sunday, Aug 5, when she went back to her mom's. And last night, three days later again, mom calls, she has bugs, and tells me I've GOT to get my hosue cleaned up and she's not allowed to touch our animals anymore (when her mom dropped her off the previous week, the first thing easy child 2 did was pick up a kitten).
I just took my dog to the vet for her skin allergies, so I called him and asked if my dog could possibly have lice. He laughed and said it didn't have lice, nor could it, as lice are species specific. Human lice don't live on dogs or cats. There went that idea. But, he said the spray I use for my house will kill human lice, so I went back and bought enough to bomb my house again (and this stuff isn't the Raid brand you buy at walmart, its pricey - I spent $80 on the first round).
To top it off, we have 3 kids that live here 24x7 and no one else has lice - I can't imagine if they're so bad easy child 2 gets them that no one else would have them.
So - what more can I do A) to make sure we don't have lice, and B) to prove to her mom she's not getting them here (if in fact we don't)?