Parents Said They Were Just Treating Daughter’s Head Lice, Now She’s Dead

Amanda Shea

Family’s Springfield, Mass. house (left), Stock photo of kids with head lice treatment (right)

Massachusetts parents told police that they were treating a nasty case of head lice on their toddler daughter, when they found her dead. When officers arrived to the home, they noticed what the parents used to cover her head, along with something else that didn’t belong and should have never happened.

When the couple’s 18-month-old came home with what her mother identified as a head lice infestation, she turned to the Internet to get a remedy for it, rather than a pharmacist or physician. Perhaps trying to eliminate modern medicine from the home, they had seemingly fallen into the belief that everything can be cured with common household items. While that may work with some ailments, a little common sense needs to be applied if you’re going to take medical matters into your own hands.

The parents relied on a popular home remedy to cure their daughter’s pesky head bugs, after everyone online had raved about. All that’s needed for this simple fix is a jar of mayonnaise and a shower cap. According to the theory, slathering an infected head with this condiment has the ability to suffocate the lice and kill the problem on the spot, Opposing Views reported.

A couple of hours after the parents covered their toddler’s head with the mayonnaise on January 16, police received a frantic phone call from the family’s Springfield home, when the child was not breathing. It was too late by the time help arrived. The girl was gone and it was all because of a simple mistake the couple made when applying the treatment.

According to CBS News, the lice may or may not have suffocated, but the little girl did, when her parents put her to bed to sleep in the head mask. Instead of using a shower cap to cover her mayo-coated scalp, they used a plastic bag. That sack slid down in the night and covered her face, eliminating her air supply after she was left unattended to sleep.

This is a tragic accident caused by not following a simple rule that’s been around for years, and it’s even printed on grocery bags. Parents are cautioned to not let their children play with bags because it can and will suffocate them if a kid puts it on their head. In this case, the parents intentionally put their daughter to bed with a plastic sack on her head. They made a dangerous situation even worse when they left her alone like that.

The Department of Children and Families is investigating the incident, but as of now, no charges have been filed against the girl’s parents. While attempting natural remedies can typically be a healthy and affordable option for common problems, it can be a very risky endeavor if you don’t know what you’re doing. Many people would benefit from applying the old adage of “don’t try this at home,” when it comes to self-cures.