Everybody knows that there are aspects to parenting that are just "yucky" and unpleasant, but are also just part of the job, such as poopy diapers, middle of the night "throw-ups" and snotty noses.

Well, when you adopt a child internationally, there is often a whole new side of "yucky stuff" to deal with. This stuff is unpleasant and sometimes down right gross. Some of it can be a real pain in the rear to get rid of. But in the grand scheme of parenting, it is all pretty minor stuff, and stuff that you can get past with the right tools, especially if you are prepared and educated before your child comes home.

Creepy crawlies such as lice and scabies love to hang out in places where there are lots of little kids hanging out together (day cares and schools everywhere can be hit by these). Knowing this, it is not hard to see why orphanages are usually hit hard by little critters. Ringworm (which is not a worm) is highly contagious and tough to get rid of, so once it starts going around somewhere, it is likely to be there for some time. Giardia is also highly contagious and very commonly found in internationally adopted children due to contaminated drinking water.

In this post and few more to follow, I am going to give a quick sum-up of each of these conditions and along with some general information on what these ickies are and how they are spread, I will give advice on the tools that adoptive parents should arm themselves with to battle the buggies. For detailed medical information and information on the medicines used to treat these conditions, please talk to your doctor.

Lice - Lice are small parasites that are found on the scalp and in the hair of the infected person. The lice themselves are small, about the size and shape of a sesame seed, and the eggs (also known as nits) are smaller and usually attach to hair near the scalp.

Lice are highly contagious, and they are spread through physical contact or sharing hats, combs, pillows or other infected items. The typical treatment is a combination of a chemical treatment to kill the live lice and nit-picking and nit-combing to remove all of the eggs (which is super important, otherwise you will be re-infested when the eggs hatch). Vinegar is known to be an effective way to remove knits (when used as a hair rinse). You can find more information here.


Scabies - Scabies are a tiny mite which burrows into the skin and causes a highly itchy immune reaction. It looks like small oozing lesions which can be found anywhere from the neck down, although they often form in a "trail" and the most common locations for scabies are on the sides of fingers, between the fingers, on the backs of the hands, around the belt line and on the wrists, heels, elbows, armpits and inner thighs.

Scabies is spread though physical contact and sharing infected items. It can take several weeks for symptoms to present.


The typical treatment is called "Elimite cream", and it is spread all over the infected person's body, left on overnight and then washed off in the morning. Since it is such a simple (and highly effective) treatment, many international adoption doctors recommend treating your child on your first night together, if there is any chance they are infected (because remember, it can take several weeks for symptoms to appear once a child is infected.)

It is important to know that once the mites that cause scabies are killed, the rash that they cause can take weeks or months to completely heal. In some cases, an oral medication, Ivermectin, can be prescribed.

*As always, this information is just a starting point, and you should consult with your doctor before treating your child.


Medical Problems of Adopted Children

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