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Central Office: Nurses Corner

YIKES....It's head lice!

by Diane Schoening

December 02, 2008

YIKES…..IT’S HEAD LICE

FAQ

Here are some of the frequently asked questions parents have about head lice.  If your question isn’t here, please feel free to contact your school nurses to get the information you need.

  1. HOW ARE LICE SPREAD?  Lice are spread from person-to-person by direct contact.  Lice cannot jump or fly so simply sitting next to someone with lice will not cause you to get lice.  Encourage your children not to share combs, brushes or hair ornaments.  Overnight sleepovers where children may share pillows are also possible sources.  Many times we may not find out how or when the exposure occurred.
  1. HOW DO I KNOW IF MY CHILD HAS LICE?  Scratching is the most common sign that lice are present, especially behind the ears and at the nap of the neck.  To inspect for lice, part the hair into sections and make sure the room is well lit.  Lice can be translucent or grayish brown and are about the size of a sesame seed.  They move very quickly so don’t think your eyes are playing tricks!  You will also notice white dots stuck on the hair shaft close to the scalp.  These are the lice eggs (nits).  Nits often are confused with dandruff, but nits are stuck to the hair shaft and somewhat difficult to remove.  Nits that you find further down the hair shaft are probably already hatched and not a problem.  It is the ones close to the scalp that we worry about.
  1. HOW DO I TREAT HEAT LICE?  It takes a multi-faceted approach to treat head lice.  Research has shown that using one of the head lice medicated shampoos is your first response.  These will kill most if not all the live lice.  They are not helpful in eliminating nits.  No product currently on the market will kill nits.  Manual removal is your only effective option.  Follow the directions for the medicated shampoo exactly.  These contain pesticides and should not be used more frequently than every 7 to 10 days.  It is a good idea to apply the shampoo to dry hair, and using a blow dryer will also help since the lice do not like the warmth of the dryer.  Remove as many of the nits as you can and repeat the nit checking and removal every day.  If any of the nits hatch, they will appear as tiny, tiny lice and are even more difficult to see and remove than the older ones.  It takes about a week for the young ones to mature and start to lay eggs (nits) of their own.  So it is easy to see, that if you don’t remove all the nits, the cycle will start all over again in 7 to 10 days.  It is often necessary to use a second treatment of lice shampoo in 7-10 days because it is hard to remove every single nit.  You should wash all bedding with hot water and dry in a hot dryer.  Put all pillows and stuffed animals in the dryer and dry on the hottest setting for at least 30 minutes.  Wash all hats, combs, brushes, and hair ornaments in hot soapy water and dry in a hot dryer if possible.  There is also a battery operated lice comb called a Robi Comb that uses a mild shock to kill/stun the lice to make them easier to catch and remove.  This comb makes killing any lice that survive the shampoo or that hatch before you can safely re-treat easier.  The comb can be purchased at the pharmacy or on-line and runs about $25.00.  It is not necessary to buy any special comb, but it is an option you might be interested in.
  1. WILL MY CHILD GET LICE BY SITTING NEXT TO SOMEONE WITH LICE IN SCHOOL OR ON THE BUS?  Lice do not fly or jump and so it is impossible to “catch” lice this way.  Direct head-to-head contact is the most frequent means.  Immediately using combs and brushes that someone with lice or possibly using the hat of someone with lice is also ways to transmit lice.  Parents frequently seek to find out where their child “caught” lice.  It is not currently possible to determine the identity of the donor and parents should be encouraged to focus their energies on education and treatment rather than accusing others for the problem.
  1. ARE HEAD LICE DANGEROUS OR SPREAD DISEASE? Head lice is a mild health condition without serious health consequences.  Head lice are not known to transmit any microbes that cause illness or disease.
  1. CAN MY CHILDREN GET LICE FROM OUR CATS OR DOGS? No! People cannot get lice from pets because lice are host specific and do not live on animals.  Pets do not need to be treated if your child has lice—even if they sleep together.
  1. WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO MAKE MY HOME AND MY CHILD’S ENVIRONMENT LICE-FREE?  See the answer to question #3.  Furniture is not a common way for head lice to be transmitted, so major steps to clean lice from your furniture will result in a cleaner house, but won’t significantly impact transmission.  Any lice found on furniture are dying and not likely to spread.  Wash your child’s bedding in hot water and dry in a hot dryer.  Wash all stuffed toys that your child sleeps with or dry them in a hot dryer for at least 30 minutes.  Using insecticides in vehicles, carpets and furniture are generally unwarranted and unnecessarily expose family members to insecticidal residues.  Your time is BEST spent by nit removal from your 

        child’s hair.

  1. I DON’T HAVE LICE BUT MY CHILD DOES, SHOULD I TREAT MYSELF TO PREVENT CATCHING LICE MYSELF?  No! These treatments contain pesticides and should not be used unless the lice can and have been confirmed.  All members of the family should be checked every 2-3 days to ensure that the lice have not spread.

If there are other questions about head lice or the treatment of head lice, do not hesitate to contact the school nurse at 785-284-2175.  We hope these answers will help you to understand facts about head lice and dispel some of the fallacies.

Other websites that you might find helpful include:

          Harvard School of Public Health  www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.html

          American Academy of Pediatrics  www.aap.org/public/BR_Lice.htm

 
 

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