Checking for lice
28 July, 2009
Question:My eldest daughter contracted lice and necessitated our family being checked for lice daily for 2 weeks. My husband has been checking my hair. We have not found any signs of lice yet, but I need to be checked for one more week and I will become niddah during that time. Is it permissible for him to check my hair? My children are not old enough to be able to do this for me. Thank you:
Answer:Since your husband cannot touch you during niddah, it will not be permissible for him to check your hair for lice after you become niddah. If you are unable to check yourself by combing your hair well with a lice comb, then you should ask a female friend to check your hair for you.
B'Hatzlacha!
This internet service does not preclude, override or replace the psak of any rabbinical authority. It is the responsibility of the questioner to inform us of any previous consultation or ruling. As even slight variation in circumstances may have Halachic consequences, views expressed concerning one case may not be applied to other, seemingly similar cases. All health and health-related information contained within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is intended to be general in nature and should not be used as a substitute for consulting with your health care professional. The advice is intended to offer a basis for individuals to discuss their medical condition with their health care provider but not individual advice. Although every effort is made to ensure that the material within Nishmat's Women's Health & Halacha Web site is accurate and timely, it is provided for the convenience of the Web site user but should not be considered official. Advice for actual medical practice should be obtained from a licensed health care professional.
For further questions or comments:
The Nishmat Women's Health and Halacha Site is a public service of Nishmat, The Jeanie Schottenstein Center for Advanced Torah Study for Women. This project and others like it are made possible by contributions from people like you. If you have benefited from the service, and wish to enable us to help others, click here to donate.
Users of Internet filtering services: This site discusses sensitive subjects that some services filter without visual indication. A page that appears 100% complete might actually be missing critical Jewish-law or medical information. To ensure that you view the pages accurately, ask the filtering service to whitelist all pages under yoatzot.org.