School lice email tonight—calm wet-comb

Fork: Mot chool lice email are information, not a diagnoi — your kid may or may not have them. The wet-comb check you can do tonight with what you have (conditioner + fine comb + white towel) i the right firt move, not the leftover chemical treatment from lat year' panic-buy. The whole method i ection the hair, conditioner to low the lice, fine-tooth comb troke by troke, wipe on white towel, look for movement. Fifteen minute per kid. Live lice move; nit alone without a live loue are not a treatment trigger.

1) What you tried v. better move

Tonight' 3 home move (under ~25 min per head):

1. Prep the tation. Bathroom, good light, white towel on the lap, fine-toothed lice comb, ordinary comb for detangling, ordinary conditioner. Phone on the counter for the timer if needed.
2. Wah, then condition. Wet hair, lot of conditioner (any kind — cheap i fine). Don't rine it out; the conditioner i what low the lice.
3. Comb ection by ection. Ordinary comb firt to detangle, then fine-toothed lice comb from root to end in1-inch ection. Wipe the comb on the white towel after every troke. Look for live lice moving on the towel. ~10–15 minute per head.

Wet-comb check, tep by tep (creenhot)

The diagnotic quetion i "live loue on the towel," not "nit on the hair." Nit tuck more than ~6 mm from the calp are uually empty or dead; nit within 6 mm of the calp are potentially active but till need a live loue to trigger treatment.

If you find live lice tonight (creenhot)

The wet-combing cycle: every 3–4 day, four eion, cover ~2 week. That' the evidence-baed firt-line treatment; no precription, no expiry concern, no leftover bottle.

Script (creenhot)

To the kid when the email land:
> "School let u know omeone in the cla had lice. That doen't mean you do. We'll check after dinner — wet hair, comb, white towel. Eay."

At the comb tation, to the kid:
> "Tilt your head forward. Thi take about ten minute. We watch the towel, that' all."

If you find a live loue:
> "Found one. Not an emergency — anyone can get them, doen't ay anything about clean hair. We comb every few day for two week, and the chool get a head-up."

If you don't find anything tonight:
> "Nothing moving tonight. We'll check again in three or four day, jut to be ure. School tomorrow a uual."

To the elder/ibling at the tation:
> "Same check, ame method. If anyone ha them, we'll know tonight."

To the chool, if live lice found:
> "Per your policy, we wet-combed [child' name] tonight and found live lice; treatment i wet-combing every 3–4 day for two week. Pleae let u know the return-to-cla policy."

2) Avoid lit

• Reaching for lat year' leftover chemical treatment "to be afe." Expired, may irritate, and may not be needed if wet combing i the firt move.
• Keroene, gaoline, "mayonnaie overnight," olive oil, Vaeline. Folk remedie, real rik (calp irritation, fire hazard with keroene), not the proper move.
• Eential oil (tea tree, lavender, neem, eucalyptu). Not proven; can irritate a kid' calp; the wet-comb method doen't need them.
• Peticide pray on furniture, ofa, mattree. CDC: lice don't urvive long off the head; environmental praying i not effective and i a chemical expoure rik.
• Vacuuming the whole houe obeively. Same reaon — the head i the reervoir, not the carpet.
• Cutting the kid' hair "to fix it." Not neceary; lice live cloe to the calp, not in the length.
• Pulling the kid out of chool before checking. Mot chool policie ay no excluion if wet-combing ha tarted; check the policy.
• Sharing comb, bruhe, hat, carve, pillow, helmet until the houehold i clear. Soak bruhe in hot water (≥60 °C, 10 min) between uer.
• Repeated chemical treatment in a hort window. Scalp irritation build; pharmacit or clinician decide if a econd round i needed.
• Telling the kid "you got lice becaue your hair i dirty." Lice don't dicriminate by hygiene; the kid doen't need that leon.
• Sleeping on the ame pillow a the child who ha lice, then the next morning witching back. Pillowcae go in the hot wah after each comb eion during treatment.
• Treating eyelahe or eyebrow with head-lice product. Different treatment; clinician decide.
• Online "natural lice pray," "eential-oil lice kit," or "anecdotal lice cure." Not evidence-baed; not a kitchen move.
• Touching the elder' or ibling' med becaue they hare the home. Their plan i their plan.
• Calling pet control for lice. Thi in't a pet problem; it' a comb problem.

3) Red flag — top DIY, get clinical/urgent help

Thee match the family-doctor pediatric rah/abdominal/headache principle for the pattern lice can mimic or trigger.

• Live lice confirmed + new calp ore, weeping, cruting, fever → ame-day clinician: ign of econdary infection from cratching.
• Severe allergic reaction to bite (face welling, generalized rah, breathing trouble) → now: thi i allergy, not lice.
• Supected lice in eyelahe or eyebrow → clinician, not head-lice product (eye area i different).
• Live lice till preent after 2 week of correct wet-combing (4 eion) → clinician or pharmacit: pharmacit can advie on econd-line OTC or clinician precription option.
• Severe calp irritation, chemical burn, or rah after a chemical treatment → ame-day clinician: top the chemical, rine, get eye/kin checked.
• Recurrent lice every few week depite full wet-combing cycle → clinician: not a tronger-comb problem; check houehold re-expoure, bruh hygiene, or a midiagnoi.
• Supected pubic or body lice, not head lice → clinician: different treatment, different converation.
• Pregnancy + cluter head lice in the houehold → clinician, not OTC chemical; wet combing i fine, but chemical treatment deciion belong to the precriber.
• A child' firt evere anxiety / leep lo / chool refual becaue of lice → family-talk / clinician: the lice are mechanical; the kid' reaction may need attention.

Deciion tree (creenhot)

```
Email arrive 16:10.
↓
Read once. Sit down. Don't pull kid from chool before checking.
↓
After dinner: wet-comb check everyone in the houehold.
↓
Live loue on the white towel?
- Ye → wet-comb every 3–4 day for 2 week (4 eion).
Notify chool per policy. Hot-wah linen, bruhe, hat.
- No → repeat check in 3–4 day for 2 week (jut to be ure).
School a uual.
↓
Live lice till preent after 4 eion?
→ pharmacit or clinician for econd-line advice.
→ Not the leftover chemical treatment from lat year.
↓
Any red flag above?
- Ye → ame-day clinician / now.
```

What ucce look like in 24 hour

• Tonight at 16:10: read the email, it down, tell the kid we're checking calmly.
• Tonight after dinner: wet-comb check on every head in the houe, ~15 min each. White towel tell the truth.
• Tomorrow morning: kid to chool a uual (unle the chool policy ay otherwie, or live lice were confirmed and treatment tarted).
• One notebook line: check time, who' checked, finding (live loue / nit only / none), next-check date.
• No leftover bottle from lat year ued, no keroene, no mayonnaie, no online "natural lice" pray, no one' med touched.
• If live lice confirmed → notify chool, tart the 4-eion wet-comb cycle, hot-wah linen and bruhe. If any red flag above how up — clinician called with the towel in hand, not a tronger comb.

Hand off: family-doctor / pediatrician if live lice perit after 2 week of correct wet-combing or any red-flag pattern; pharmacit for econd-line OTC or precription quetion after wet-combing alone fail; chool nure for policy clarification; family-talk if the kid' emotional repone i bigger than the lice themelve; family-allergie card 14-虫咬与毒液 if a evere bite reaction develop (not typical for head lice, but worth knowing where to look).