Halloween Costumes and Lice—Preparing Early
Everyone’s favorite holiday is just around the corner: Halloween is only a few weeks away!
The real horror though, is not in the spooky décor, elaborate costumes or horror movie marathons; it’s a certain blood sucking creepy crawly that takes over human lives.
Any guesses for what it might be?
None? We’re talking about lice.
These little monsters inhabit your head and feast on your scalp like the parasites they are, gnawing away and sucking your blood to the point of exhaustion.
Halloween and Head Lice—What’s the Connection?
Halloween occurs at the peak of fall, a time which is already the peak season for these critters to begin world domination. Though not particularly harmful, lice can be spooky, to say the least. The itching is a nuisance, causing irritation to the scalp, sores and scabs. Not just that, but lice are rarely an individual problem, rapidly spreading among household members, friends and peer groups. There’s also the social stigma associated with lice that drives people away more than bloody axes and wooden steaks. So what makes Halloween such a scary time for people wanting to stay lice-free? Well, Halloween is a time where a lot of socializing takes place, you move out of your day-to-day school groups and meet with many other people, whether it’s through Trick-or-Treating, parties or other activities. You’re exposed to a lot more people who are likely to be infested, seeing as how Halloween is around the start of the school year too. Another major factor that plays into lice infestation at Halloween is costumes! Though digging up old costumes or rentals may not have lice, given that lice can’t really survive off the human body for longer than 24–48 hours. The risk lies in getting rental costumes or borrowing from others, including friends and family who might have a lice problem. Rental costumes are often tried on by several other people before you, making them a bit of a lice hazard. You never know who’s tried on the hats, wigs and masks that you’ve got your eye on, and whether they were lice free or not. It’s always a gamble with rental costumes this way. So how can you get the perfect costume without risking an infestation?Enjoying a Lice Free Halloween
Even though Halloween is a while away, you can start prepping early.- Figure out your costume around this time and check out the shops in your area, so that you can try them on before a lot of people have had their hair in them.
- If you do rent or buy your costumes, put them away in a closed room for a few days before putting them on.
- See if you can DIY things; this will help prevent the need to buy or rent in the first place.
- Avoid taking too many selfies and photos where you have head-to-head contact with other people.
