Lice concern in Sparta

To the Editor: When I first heard this past summer of a small lice epidemic going around in school-aged children, it put me in a panic. Since this was brought to my attention, I educated myself on this lice subject, only to find out it is highly contagious and spreads like wildfire. So I check my children frequently, because I know what to look for. Finally, when my child did get it, I caught it in enough time to eliminate any spreading. Let me tell you that it changes your life forever, and I am not exaggerating at all. You have to wash and vacuum everything: bedding, rugs, pillows. It’s overwhelming, for sure. That is not the end, either. From what I understand, some of the over-the-counter medications for this aren’t completely working. The lice are becoming immune to it, so it can still fester even though most parents think they have gotten rid of it. Plus, they are so hard to spot that it can be missed very easily because of there small size. So you have to check you kids heads twice a day for weeks, maybe months, to make sure that they still don’t have it. I did two treatments on my child, and my child still had it, and the whole process of washing your house too. It’s exhausting! My concern for Sparta is that parents are not aware of this spreading parasite and parents don’t know to look often to check for this, so it spreads and spreads and spreads, and never goes away. Well, in Sparta it is still spreading and spreading and sooner or later it will be in every home, if people are not alarmed about this. I am not trying to put anyone in a panic, but maybe that is what we need to eliminate this nasty head bug. Once you get it, it will change your life and if I were Sparta residents, I would hope someone would make us aware of this so that we may eradicate it. I know that Sparta has to live up to the “Sparta Name, the best town, the best education, blah blah blah” but the hell with that. Who the hell wants head bugs; I surely never do again! Ann Johnson A concerned Sparta parent