During her freshman year of high school, TikToker Kate (@katehallwilson) was constantly in and out of the mental hospital. She was being subjected to a bad living environment, and it took a huge toll on her mental health.
From the ages of 13 to 14, she was in the mental hospital three or four times. She spent almost the entirety of her first semester of high school in the hospital. During her second visit, there was another girl there. She was from a group home and caused a lot of issues.
“She came in with lice, which is common coming from a group home,” said Kate. “She gave us lice, and I had never had lice before.”
“This was very, very new to me, and I was kind of scared. So, they treated the lice at the mental hospital. But I went home and still had lice.”
She was too scared to tell her mom because she knew she would get in trouble for it, even though it was out of her control. She decided to dye her hair to try to kill off the lice.
As her mom was helping her dye her hair dark red, she discovered the bugs in her hair and freaked out.
Her mom stopped dying her hair and left it unfinished, so part of it was dark red and part of it was her natural blonde. She sent Kate to school the next day with a head full of lice.
Finally, they treated the lice, but they did not get all of it out. She was afraid her mom would shave her head as a punishment, so she took matters into her own hands.
She sprayed her head with a furniture spray to kill lice, but then her hair started falling out. She stopped washing her hair to prevent it from falling out.
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Every single day, she combed her greasy, dirty hair with the lice comb until the bugs went away. The whole experience has left her traumatized. Now, if her head ever starts itching, she frantically searches her hair for lice.
In the comments section, a few TikTok users could relate to Kate’s experience and shared their stories in solidarity.
“It’s so difficult to get rid of and traumatic. I have three daughters who got it at the same time, and they have long, thick hair. Then, I got it and was dependent on my husband to get rid of. I can say now that I could go to anyone’s house (in a raincoat and shower cap) and get rid of it very quickly. It took three months to get rid of,” commented one user.
“I also got lice and Covid from the mental hospital when Covid was brand-new,” stated another.
“Did we live the same life? Going to sleep with a whole jar of mayo in my hair is a core memory, unfortunately,” wrote a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
