Dear Hillary,
My 10 year old daughter came home from school a few days ago and was scratching her head continuously. She told me she found some small bugs in her hair. I’ve looked very carefully and have washed her hair several times, but couldn’t find anything. Yet, she still feels itchy and can’t stop scratching. It’s awful to watch and I caught myself scratching my own scalp. What could it be and what can be done about it?
Itchy
Dear Itchy,
As children go to school, there’s almost certain to be an outbreak of head lice at some time. How do you recognize the signs of infection? Symptoms include: Itchy scalp, tiny red dots on scalp, black specks on pillow, tiny cream-colored eggs on hair roots.
Head lice are grayish brown and about the size of a match-head. They are quite difficult to spot, but you may see nits - creamy egg cases stuck to the hair near the roots. They won’t flake off like dandruff. You may also see black specks on the pillow or collar, or red dots on the scalp where the lice have bitten to suck blood. People carrying lice have no symptoms until the nits hatch, so it’s easy to spread an infection without warning.
Lice are passed as a result of head-to-head contact, so children and their families are often victims.
Treatments include shampoos, insecticide lotions (which are usually left overnight) and sprays. While sprays don’t kill lice, they prevent infection or re-infection during an outbreak. Ask your chemist or your doctor for advice and treat the entire family. Also, report this to the headmaster of your daughter’s school.

Dear Hillary,
I’ve always thought very highly of my friends and I’ve never doubted their friendship towards me. Now, slowly but surly, I’ve had to modify this believe in some of my friends. One of them, a guy I really liked and trusted a lot, seems to be acting quite strange lately.
When I was still working, I was in a rather good position. He used to call almost every day or would show up for a coffee or for lunch. We used to talk for hours and everything seemed to be perfect and easy going. After I quit my job to start somewhere new, his phone-calls came in only sporadic and after a while he stopped calling altogether. I’ve tried to call him many times, but he is usually out and never calls me back, even though I’m certain he’s received my messages.
No Christmas, New Years or Easter calls either. After a while, I finally gave up for I thought, why should I always be the one to call or to visit. We’ve met at several occasions, he was still friendly, but I could feel something strange between us. I’ve tried to recall everything I’ve ever talked to him about, yet I can’t think of anything I’ve said or done that has made him this way.
Do you think I could solve this problem by simply asking him what’s the matter?
Dismissed Friend.
Dear Dismissed,
To ask your friend would be the best way to find out what has happened to your friendship, though he might not tell you the truth. Have you ever thought he might be one of those people who pamper friendships only as long as they can take advantage of their “friends”?
Think clearly about it: Is your new position important enough? Maybe he simply doesn’t need you anymore for he can take advantage of someone more important than you right now. This sounds hard, but since you’ve cut out the possibility of hurting his feelings or doing any other harm to him, it seems this is the reason of his withdrawal.
Try one more time to save this friendship by talking very openly to him - as you have done before all the time. If this talk isn’t going to be fruitful, accept the fact and learn your lesson.