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by Mary Ellen Ostrander, R.N.
It’s that dreaded call from the school nurse: “Your child has lice.”
Guilt! Humiliation! And the knowledge that you will have to wash your
entire house in hot water, shave your child’s head, and suffer ridicule
for keeping an unsanitary home.
Not true! There are many misperceptions about head lice—what they are,
how you can avoid an infestation, and the best way to get rid of them.
The best way to deal with the situation is to be armed with the facts,
as well as a good fine-tooth comb.
Lice are parasites and an infestation with head lice is called
pediculosis. Lice, as well as the nits, or eggs, are tiny, each the
size of a sesame seed. Although lice do not single out the heads they
choose to attack, most vulnerable are children, ages three to twelve.
Lice are equal opportunity pests; they do not discriminate based on
one’s socioeconomic status. But once they settle in, they can make the
host’s life miserable causing constant itching. Small children, in
particular, may not know the cause of the itching.
Contrary to popular belief, lice do not fly or jump from head to head,
but crawl. Direct contact is necessary for lice to travel from one
place to another. It’s easy to see how one child infected with lice can
quickly spread those tiny critters to all his schoolmates. In the
winter, kids share hats and other clothing. Girls borrow combs or hair
bows. And all that tumbling in the playground or in the gym brings
children’s heads together.
Schools regularly check children for lice there and act quickly when
they are detected. Children who have lice will be sent home and parents
should reassure the child he has done nothing wrong. Your child will
need to be rechecked by the school nurse before she can return to
classes.
Your goal should be to rid your child of lice and nits, check other
family members for infection, and clean bedding or objects in the home
that may have become contaminated by the person who is infected. It may
be that your child is the only one infected!
Manual removal is the safest and most effective treatment! Begin by
washing your child’s hair (this will only clean the lice and not remove
them) and use a conditioner to detangle her hair, before beginning lice
removal. Some experts recommend conditioner (Pantene cream rinse, for
example) mixed half and half with baking soda. You may then begin to
comb the hair with a fine tooth lice comb to rid each hair shaft of the
lice and nits. There’s no substitute for this method of carefully
combing the hair, beginning at the scalp, even though it may be
unpleasant and time-consuming.
Keep cleaning the comb on fresh paper toweling until you are sure all
lice and nits have been removed. Repeat this process, until clean. If
you or the child become tired, stop, cover the child’s head and resume
after a good rest. To combat squirming and boredom, put on an
entertaining DVD and make sure the seating is comfortable
Once you have de-loused your child, deal with the environment. Check
other family members and treat only if needed. Throw out all brushes
and combs. All bedding, including pillows and comforters, that the
affected person’s head has come into contact with should be washed in
hot water and dried on a very hot setting for at least 20 minutes. Some
items (stuffed animals, for example) can be placed in tightly sealed
plastic bags for two weeks. Since lice cannot live without a human host
more than three days, this method can be very effective. The whole
house does not have to be de loused, a fact that will lessen the
physical, emotional and financial toll.
After you get the all-clear from the school nurse, continue to use the
lice comb daily for two weeks, the life cycle of the lice. The best way
to prevent future infestation is to comb your child’s hair with a lice
comb once a week after washing and conditioning. (Keep those DVDs
handy!) In addition, teach your child not to share combs, brushes,
hats, scarves, hair ornaments, or other personal items.
As long as a student is in camp or school, there will be a nurse making
the dreaded call. However, a prevention plan—weekly comb out with a
lice comb and no sharing combs, brushes, and hats—might spare you and
your child. SOURCES:
American Academy of Pediatrics
Harvard School Of Public Health
Centers for Disease Control
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