to wish friend had not hugged us?

[LowFat]

Yesterda a small group of my old friends met up after over a decade. When my old BF arrived she hugged me and other f who were there first. Then after some 20 minutes of it just being us she mentioned in a casual sort of way that she had just discovered nits in her DC's hair that morning, and that she very likely now had them.

I dont want to be critical as I loved seeing her again, but I do feel she could have been a bit more responsible about the situation, ie no hugs where heads would touch etc, perhaps treating her hair in the morning as soon as she found out, rather than just coming out at lunch time and risking passing on to friends etc..

I know the situation is treatable, but I'd rather avoid it altogether. I have 2 DC's at home who were all over me as soon as I got in as they had'nt seen me all day. Is it possible I have risked passing things on to them, which means DD could take nits in to school.

I could be completely misguided as perhaps you need longer contact. But I was sat next to her all afternoon, although kept about a foot distance from her, and I know from friends experience that they do jump!

But I am now sat here scratching my head at the very thought of possibly having nits.

How long till I will know one way or another??

she probably should have treated herself before coming out. But then children can get nits at any time without us realising [ds so far has avoided them thankfully] Bit thoughtless of her though. Just keep a watch out for little white crawling things!

head lice do not Jump. They don't. they can't. They arenot built like fleas, with powerful legs, they are built a little like tiny ants.

She shouldn't have hugged you, but she perhaps forgot - they aren't a big deal to most people.

YAB completely U. at your self-absorbed attitude.

you should nit comb thoroughly after every contact with person who has lice

much easier to remove say 2 adult ones now, rather than in 2 weeks when there will be eggs and scores of babies

yes I agree she was thoughtless to do this
people do often get blase about it when their children have had them loads, but it is disrespectful to other people and also allows them to spread around easily

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Well, I don't know, Lala. My sister had permenent nits for years because of one mother at her school with a lax attitude, so actually I can see why LowFat is annoyed if she believed nits can jump/ but it's more the science of the situation that bugs me.

Bugs me. Geddit? Fnarr fnarr fnarr

what is self-absorbed about expecting a person with an infectious parasite to treat themselves before coming to meet other people and be in close contact with them?

it takes about half an hour tops to nit comb properly (that would be for long thick hair like mine) and would have made sure she could NOT pass anything on to her friends today

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they don;t jump but they certainly can be passed on by hugging

they aren't really harmless, not what I would call harmless anyway

I have sensitive scalp which is exacerbated by nit combing and also the lice themselves

if I get / suspect I have been in contact with lice it usually means several weeks of soreness, itching and bleeding patches on my head

I know it isn't life threatening but it is not harmless

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you aren't unreasonable. your friend was selfish and should have treated her hair before meeting/hugging you

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longlegs, what on earth is self absorbed about not wanting to get nits??

I know DC's can get them at anytime and they are easily treated, but as with Ruty mine have thus far avoided them. However finding money to pay for treatment, not to mention DD freaking out because she has to have her hair treated with special stuff, is going to be hard. It's a big enough headache just washing her hair normally!

DD's pre-school is v.v strick about nits as they also run a before and after school club, attached to the school, and any child found with nits is asked to stay away until infestation is completely definitely gone.

I loved seeing my friend again, I did not make a comment about how I felt to her I just think she could have just said something first.

TBH I am shocked at your attitude.

Tell me I am being unreasonable yes, after all I asked the question, but I would not call my question or comments self absorbed.

yes I think from this situation the likelihood is low

would have been zero though if the woman had taken a short while to comb her hair through that morning - you remove all the adults each time you comb properly, and it is only the adults that can pass on to other people's heads

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MotherFunk, well, define harmless
many people are actually allergic to the lice, hence the itching
some people are not which is why they are symptom free with lice
for someone who is allergic to them, it is really a very unpleasant experience
as I say, not seriously damaging to health, but more than just annoying

yes just put loads of conditioner on your hair and comb through with any nit comb (nitty gritty is very good but cheap co-op one would do)

do it again in a few days

if you find nothing each time you can probably presume you are clear

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Thanks for clarifying that nits dont jump, will go back to friend with that

anyway sorry headlice one of my bugbears! I do think people are slack about them and that this is a thoughtless attitude wrt other people

I doubt you have them, OP - just comb through and then try not to worry

My sister was allergic,l her head used to come up in painful welts.

LOL Motherfunk I think LOTS of people have the allergy - it's quite common - this is what causes the itching
I haven't time to google now, but am not making it up - I don't know whether it is more or less than 50% of population, but basically everyone who gets itching from headlice is suffering a type of allergic reaction to them - and many people DO get itching, as we all know

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