If your child is found to have head lice during a routine screening – Don’t panic!! Anyone can get head lice. It is not a sign of having poor health habits or being dirty. When children come in close contact with each other, it is easy to pass head lice along. Shared hats, clothing, brushes, pillows and other personal articles are perfect vehicles to transfer lice from one person to another. It is important to act immediately to prevent the spread of head lice to other classmates and to your family as well.

HEAD LICE:

Head lice are small, about the size of a sesame seed. They are grayish-white with dark edges. While they cannot fly and do not jump, they move quickly. That’s why it’s difficult to find them in a child’s hair. The female louse (one lice) lays two to five eggs a day. Diagnosis of head lice is generally made when lice eggs (called nits), which are fastened to the hair shaft, are clearly evident. Nits are teardrop in shape and also very small. They are “glued” to the hair and cannot be washed or brushed out like dandruff. You may have noticed your child scratching his/her head or back of the neck, a lot. Within her life span of approximately 30 days, the female louse is capable of lying up to 300 eggs. These eggs hatch within 7-10 days. The newly hatched nymph (baby louse) reaches adulthood in about eight days, after which the female begins to lay eggs. The average number of lice on an infested human head is approximately ten (10).

** Don’t suspect your cats or dogs as lice carriers. They may drag in a lot of little critters but a head louse is not one of them. Therefore, they do not need to be treated or observed for human head lice.

TO GET RID OF LICE:

1. Examine your child’s head to be sure you know what the nits look like.
2. Check all other family members to see if they are infested. Any family member with evidence of head lice must also be treated.
3. Use an effective head lice treatment. Several non-prescription treatments are on the market to eliminate lice and their eggs. They can be purchased at your local drugstore. All head lice treatment products are effective if they are used correctly, so read the accompanying instructions carefully. The non-prescription treatments do not kill or remove all the nits (eggs), therefore, you will have to re-examine your child’s head after a treatment. You may have to pull nits off with your fingertips to insure complete removal of all nits and lice.

• a.Permethrin (NIX) is a cream rinse used to treat head lice.

        1. Use only baby shampoo for two weeks following treatment with NIX. All other types of shampoos
           will eliminate the lice killing properties of the product.

        2. Do not use a vinegar rinse to help remove nits following the application of NIX. This too
            eliminatesthe lice killing properties of the product.

• b.Lindane (Kwell, Scabene) is a prescription product for the treatment of head lice.
  
     1.Overuse of this product has been linked with neurological disorders in children.
     
     2.Pregnant women should use gloves when treating children.
  
• c.Pyrethrins (A-2000, Barc, Pronto, R&C, RID, Tisit, Triple-X) must be applied to dry hair to be   effective.

  4. Remove all nits (lice eggs). No lice product kills all the eggs with one treatment. For
       self-protection, our county schools’ lice policy requires all traces of the nits, whether dead or
       alive, to be removed before allowing a child to re-enter the classroom. Special combs for this
       task are usually provided with lice treatment products.

• a.Benefits of a No Nit Policy in Schools:
     1.Prevents self-reinfestation and transmission to others during the seven days before the second
        treatment.
     2.Decreases or eliminates the eventual need for a second treatment, thereby limiting exposure of       young children to pesticides.
     3.Encourages parents to inspect their children, which is the best form of prevention and control.
  
• b.Suggestions for Removal of nits:
     1.Separate hair into small sections, and comb each section separately.
     2.Comb hair when damp or dry NOT WET. Nits slide through the comb when the hair is wet.
     3.Comb daily to insure removal of all nits (eggs). You may have to pull nits (eggs) off with your
        fingertips.
     4.Wash all clothes, hair barrettes/bows, bed linens and towels in hot water and dry on hot cycle
       for at least 20 minutes. Items that cannot be safely washed, such as stuffed animals, head
       phones, helmets, etc. should be sealed in a plastic bag for at least two weeks.
     5.Clean combs and brushes in hot, soapy water for at least 10 minutes.
     6.Vacuum everywhere to make sure your home and automobile are free of lice. Vacuum carpets,      pillows, mattresses, upholstered furniture, car seats, curtains, and anything that might hold lice
       and nits that have fallen off the head. Because lice can survive about 24 to 48 hours off the
       human head and nits that have fallen from the head are able to live and then hatch up to ten
      (10) days later, do a thorough job vacuuming and discard the vacuum bag promptly. Lice sprays
       are not necessary, but can be used if desired.

PREVENTION MEASURES

1. Blow-dry your child’s hair on a regular basis. Head lice prefer a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees. Blow-drying temporarily raises the scalp temperature, and a louse will leave to find a more suitable host.
2. Keep long hair pulled back into a ponytail or a braided style. This prevents hair from coming in contact with things that may be lice infested.
3. Discourage body contact and the sharing of personal articles (dress-up costumes, pillows, combs, caps, barrettes, hair bows, coats, baseball helmets, headphones, stuffed animals, etc.) among children.
   

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