Teenagers like to think they are invincible and immune to things such as head lice, but unfortunately they are not. Head lice do not discriminate based on anything, least of all age. That being said, teenagers often take it the hardest when a head lice infestation is discovered. It could be viewed as a social disaster, creepy inconvenience, horribly disgusting, or all of the above! Luckily, there are a few ways to prepare yourself and your teen for the possibility of head lice, hopefully making the situation much less traumatic.
- Practice lice prevention at home. The more your family knows about head lice and practices regular preventative measures the better prepared you and your teen will be for any outbreak that may happen. Of course, no one wants to deal with the hassle that is head lice, but the more you know, the better equipped you are for an outbreak. Plus the more open you are about discussing head lice and preventative measures the more you can de-mystify this inconvenient bug. If you know that a classmate or teammate has it, be sure to fix long hair tightly in a bun or braid.
- Everyone is susceptible. Getting lice can be much more traumatic for teens than young children. Often, the social environment for teens is more volatile and unpredictable. It is easy to see how devastating lice can be for teens when at that age anything can be construed as abnormal, unacceptable, or just plain weird. Typically those are the last things a teenager wants to be associated with, which is why it is imperative for you to make clear how “normal” the appearance of lice is. Anyone and everyone is susceptible to a lice infestation. There are no exceptions!
- Get the community involved. While your teen may not be so excited about you running around the community talking about head lice, it can make quite the difference. If you are comfortable doing so, go to the parents of your teen’s friends and discuss how everyone can contribute to preventing head lice. Also, if your teen’s school doesn’t have a lice policy in place, perhaps it is time to get that ball rolling.
On the chance that your teen does get lice, here are a few suggestions for how to move forward:
- Stay calm, cool, and collected. As much as possible, you as the parent need to be as calm about head lice as possible for your teen. The teenage years are an emotional rollercoaster, and they’ll need someone to calmly guide them through it.
- Show support. As if teenage social life wasn’t hard enough, getting lice could potentially be devastating for your teen. Show your support for your teen by being helpful and respectful of their feelings, however dramatic.
- Get treatment. You can no longer find success with over-the-counter treatment solutions as lice have developed a resistance to them over the years. Luckily, you have a super fast and effective treatment available to you at Pediatric Hair Solutions. In less than an hour, you can be in and out of our clinic, ready to get back to your life before lice. Our healthcare professionals on staff are well equipped to ease the stress of your teen’s lice infestation while quickly eradicating the problem. With a fully effective and complete treatment, your teen will be back to their old self in no time!
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