A mum has sparked debate online after she found out that her neighbour won't treat her child's head lice because she's vegan.
Many of us have traumatic memories of having nits growing up. My enduring memory is sitting miserably on the end of my mum's bed while she went through my hair with an electrified comb.
Every time it made contact with a louse it would make a popping sound as the nit got fried.
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This was followed by multiple rounds of that vile shampoo to get rid of the eggs and ensure the parasites would not be making a return. No, thank you.
However despite the parasites causing soreness, itching, and even infections, one mum is so committed to her veganism that she refused to use any treatments which might harm the nits.
Instead, she combs them into the garden where they have a 'better chance of survival'.
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The mum was left at a loss for what to do, because the neighbour's child gets on well with her daughter and the two frequently play together. On the other hand, she doesn't want her own child to pick up the parasites and have to endure the shampoo.
She took to coach.nine.com.au to express her concern, explaining that she respects their choice to be vegan and even makes special food for her when the child comes to visit.
She wrote: "I'm pretty easygoing – which kid doesn't get nits every now and then? – and casually mentioned it to her mum thinking she'd jump right on it. To my surprise, this woman said that not only did she know about her daughter's condition but refused to do anything about it.
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"Vegans don't kill any living things, is the reasoning. My neighbour told me she was in the practice of combing the lice and nits into the garden where they had a chance of survival. My jaw hit the floor.
"What do I do now? I don't want to separate the kids but there's no way 'combing them into the garden' is going to work (industrial-grade pesticide barely works) and I don't want my daughter covered in vermin."
In response, she was jokingly advised to try and set up a 'hairdresser's party' in the bathroom for the two girls. She could then comb out the nits and get rid of them without alerting them that was what she was doing, though it could risk her neighbour's anger if she got found out.
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However, on a more serious note, she was advised to use deterrents to try and keep the parasites off her own daughter's scalp.
It does raise some interesting questions about where you draw the line with animals and what is and isn't vegan.
Oysters for example have no brain or nervous system to speak of, and don't feel pain. But are they vegan?
Kit Roberts