Head lice information

 

How You Get It:  Headlice are usually transmitted through close personal contact with another infested person through use of shared combs, brushes, and other grooming aids, this includes sharing hats, caps, wigs, and coats. Problems can also arise when items are commingled at the homes of friends, school, at the day care centers, at the church, or other public places. Many people have the impression that it becomes established on persons who are unclean. This is not true. Frequent bathing will neither prevent head lice nor eliminate an infestation once it has become established.

 

What to Look for: Headlice are elongated insects about this (--)long at maturity and are grayish-brown in color. Lice do not have wings and, therefore, cannot fly. Also, they do not jump as fleas. They do move quickly, and this makes them very difficult to find in a person’s hair. Since crawling forms are so difficult to see, the diagnosis of head louse infestation is often made on the basis of finding nits. A nit is a louse egg. Nits are teardrop in shape, about this size (.). They vary in color from brown to yellow to white.

Head lice attach each nit to a hair shaft with a waterproof, cement–like substance. Thus headlice cannot be washed or brushed out of the hair like dandruff or other debris that sometimes look like nits to the naked eye. Clusters of nits may be found in any section of hair, but in mild infestation, a careful examination of the entire scalp may be necessary to detect them.

 

Nit/Egg                                              Lice              

            

Treatment: Treatment is directed at the infested individual and his/her home environment, such as clothing, bedding towels, combs and brushes, stuffed toys, carpeting, upholstered furniture and automobile upholstery.

  1. Individual Treatment:
    1. Remove all of your child’s clothing and place her/him in a bathtub shower stall and the clothing in a plastic bag.
    2. Apply head louse treatment according to your physician’s instructions

or the label instructions provided by the drug manufacturer. There are a          variety of products available to a lice problem, and there is no evidence that one product kills lice and eggs better than another.

    1. Have your child put on clean clothing after the treatment.
    2. Follow the product’s instructions for treating the problem. This is usually within a 7-10 day period, which corresponds to the incubation period of the louse’s egg.

DO NOT USE THESE PRODUCTS TOO OFTEN OR FOR PREVENTION._ THEY ARE INSECTISIDES AND CAN BE ABSORBED INTO THE SCALP.

    1. All family members and close friends of your child should be checked. Family members who have evidence of infestation (crawling lice or nits) should be treated. Those who have had a very close contact with a known case should be checked daily.
    2. Nits (lice eggs) must be removed from the child’s hair. Since the nits are glued to the hair shaft, it is helpful to use something to loosen the glue’s on the hair shaft. There are over-the-counter commercial preparations available at the drug store (ask the pharmacists) or a homemade preparation of vinegar and water (see attachment). It is important to remove all the nits- the lice killing shampoos do not kill all the nits. Therefore if nits are left in the hair they could hatch and restart the process and of laying more eggs/nits.
  1. Disinfecting Personal Articles and the Environment: Since heat is lethal to lice and their eggs, many personal articles can be rid of the infestation by machine washing in hot water and/or drying using the hot cycle on the dryer. Nits are killed in 5 minutes at 125ºF. That temperature will also kill live crawling lice. If possible it is best to do both the hot wash and dry. If the article cannot be washed, then placing the items in a plastic bag and sealing will take care of the problem. This sealed bag must remain sealed for two weeks. A few specific notes:
    1. Machine wash all washable clothing and bed linens that have been in contact with your child within the previous 3 days.
    2. Clothing that cannot be washed can be dry cleaned with acceptable results.
    3. Stuffed toys, pillows, sleeping bags, and other items that your child may lay with or need to be sealed in a plastic bag for two weeks.
    4. Combs, brushes, and similar hair-care items can be cleaned by soaking on one of the head lice shampoos for 1 hour or heating in a pan of water close to boiling if the item can withstand high temperatures.
    5. Do through vacuuming of all carpeted and non-carpeted areas, both home and car. There is a spray for furniture for stubborn cases. If used, you need to keep children & pets of the sprayed area while still moist.
  2. Notification of Others: Parents of your child’s closest friend(s) should be notified that their child could also be infested and should be checked. Any classes that your child attends (e.g. dance, sports, Sunday school, etc.) should be notified. If your child is in day care before or after school, they need to be notified as well.
  3. Returning to School: Your child may return to school after he/she has been treated with appropriate head lice product. The majority of the nits must be removed. Upon returning to school, the child should report to the nurse to be checked. If the nurse determines there are too many nits or there any live lice remaining, you will be required to take your child home again to remove them.

 

 

It is often frustrating to deal with headlice, but is important to rid your child of this annoying pest. Continual monitoring of your child’s head will assure prompt attention should reinfestation occur.  Remember, that having headlice does not indicate that you have a problem with cleanliness. These little bugs do not discriminate as to the heads they pick. If you have any questions or problems, feel free to contact the nurse, Patricia Karrh at 832-5903.