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Health & Fitness

Lice--Can it bring strangers, families and friends together?

Head lice is a topic that people don't like to talk about, but when they do, they just can't seem to stop. It can be a nightmare, but often, it brings many together.

Who knew that lice could bring strangers, families and friends together?

Warning: Reading this blog may make you a bit “itchy” and if you are not a bug lover, a bit squeamish. Do you ever realize that whenever someone speaks about lice, you find yourself feeling all of a sudden itchy?

Most of the time, head lice is a subject that people do not like to usually talk about. However, when you do start the conversation going, it seems as though it can go on and on forever. Not only am I known around town as either “Mrs. Salzberg” the preschool teacher, or Noah, Ally, and Justin’s mom, but more often, “The Potomac Lice Lady”. As soon as someone realizes it is me, well, the questions, the myths, the stories, well, they keep flooding. Suddenly, the stories come out of the wood-works.

But sometimes, the stories and comments that are told about lice are told in a comical way. But for other people, these are their biggest fears and nightmares and can cause huge stress and trauma in their lives. It is almost as if there should be “lice support groups” out there. Sometimes, when doing a lice removal, it often feels like a therapy session. That has been one of the best things about my job. I love helping people and meeting such wonderful different people. I have met Olympic skaters, famous restaurant owners, you name it–this just goes to show you that lice do not discriminate–they love ALL of us!

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Just as lice can a nightmare of an experience, I often feel a lot of parents tell me that it has brought their families closer together. Sometimes, they all laugh so hard at the way they look when their hair is being treated, they wind up taking pictures for their next holiday cards!  Lice can be incredibly overwhelming at first- when you learn of all the things that you need to do right away. Next comes those uncomfortable phone calls to the people that you have been with-but these phone calls are so so very important and necessary in order to prevent the lice from spreading. Once the “initial shock” is over, I find that parents enjoy the bonding experience they get from the time they spend with their children doing daily comb outs. They also enjoy the time spent in the lice salon with each other and with us- they feel as though they have made new friends. Sometimes there are more than one family at a time here and they do make friends and for the “lice ladies”, when we see people leaving with a sigh of relief, well we know that we have done our job…well!

As clients pay for their time and walk out the door, we hear over and over again….this was the best money we have ever spent. It was so so nice to meet you, but “no offense”, we hope to never see you again! No offense is ever taken by us as we know we have done a good deed and made their day “de-liceful” and that is what makes us happy and that is what makes for a good day.

Find out what's happening in Potomacwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Remember, don’t count on others to determine if you or your family members have lice. Call on the experts. Come in for a quick check. We will confirm it for you and you will leave knowing that you did the best thing you could have ever done for your family!

When in doubt, give a shout, and call Potomac Lice Lady!

Best,

Lauren Salzberg

Potomac Lice Lady

www.potomaclicelady.com

 

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