Children all across Arkansas are back in the classrooms as a new school year begins, meeting new teachers, making new friends, settling into routines and being exposed to a multitude of learning experiences. But that’s not the only thing to which they may be exposed.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 6 million to 12 million children each year, ages 3 to 11, will become infested with head lice. And while it’s most common among preschool and elementary-school-age children, no one is immune, especially the family members and caregivers of those who are infested.
“One of the most common misconceptions about head lice is how they are spread,” said Shae McGillvray, registered nurse and director of health services for the Bald Knob Public Schools.
“No matter what people might think, head lice do not jump or leap from head to head. They are spread by head-to-head contact.”
McGillvray said the best defense against head lice is to check your child’s head
frequently at home and to always be aware of the symptoms of head lice, such as a rash around the nape of the neck or constant itching and scratching.
“Head lice are a difficult situation to deal with because it is rarely a one-time treatment, and then you’re all clear,” she said. “If you are using one of the over-the-counter shampoos or a prescription shampoo, you must follow the directions exactly; then use the comb and meticulously pick through the entire head of hair to remove all the lice eggs (nits). If any nits are missed and the child is not retreated in seven to 10 days, the cycle will start all over again. New lice will hatch out and lay more eggs, so it’s usually best to retreat after a week.”
Unfortunately, McGillvray said, this is a step many parents skip.
“They think one treatment will work, and that simply isn’t true,” she said.
As far as home remedies go, McGillvray said, there are many out there that people claim have worked in one situation or another.
“Some remedies suggest treating the hair with tea-tree oil, olive oil or mayonnaise,” she said.
“And most home remedies utilize substances that are left on the hair overnight to suffocate the lice and then are followed up with a thorough combing of all the hair to remove the nits. These methods are very effective if they are followed up on, but as with the medicated shampoos, the methods must be repeated every few days to ensure that all live lice are killed before they can reproduce. Again, this is where most people make their mistakes.”
Krystal Brannon, a registered nurse at Southside Middle School in Batesville, said another common mistake she sees parents make is that they don’t treat everything in the home.
“And by everything, I mean the pillows, linens, coats, brushes, even the stuffed animals,” she said. “Everything that can be washed should be washed in extremely hot water, and if the stuffed animals can’t be washed, you should bag them up for a few weeks so anything left on them will die. It’s a lot of work, and it can get really expensive. Also, another mistake is that they don’t always check everyone in the home.”
Brannon said that as a school nurse, it is her practice to check the siblings of any child who is sent home because of head lice.
“I tell the parents to check each other and anyone who lives in the home, then treat as indicated,” she said.
“They should also follow the directions exactly of whichever shampoo they use and always remember to retreat.”
Brannon said another issue she runs into is that the child may be treated, but the parent doesn’t bother to comb out all the nits, which will, in turn, cause a reoccurrence as soon as they hatch out.
“I know it’s tedious work to get those tiny nits out, and it can also be difficult to see them sometimes,” she said.
“I have read materials that suggest lice do not like heat, so blow-drying the hair frequently and looking for signs of lice or nits could help stay on top of it.”
But the most important thing both nurses stress is for parents not to “freak out” if their child becomes infested. Contrary to popular belief, personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or in the school has nothing to do with getting head lice.
According to the Arkansas Department of Health, anyone can get head lice under the right conditions. All it takes is head-to-head contact with an infested person, or sharing hats, hoods, scarves or brushes and combs with someone who is infested.
And while it can be a nuisance, ADH reports that head lice do not transmit disease and are not considered a public health threat.
The nitty-gritty of head lice
What they are: Lice are parasitic insects that can be found on people’s heads, and bodies, including the pubic area. Human lice survive by feeding on human blood. Lice found on each area of the body are different from each other. Adult head lice are 2.1-3.3 mm in length. Head lice infest the head and neck and attach their eggs to the base of the hair shaft.
How they are spread: Lice infestations are spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact. Dogs, cats and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice. Lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. However, much less frequently, they are spread by sharing clothing or belongings onto which lice have crawled or nits attached to shed hairs may have fallen. The risk of getting infested by a louse that has fallen onto carpet or furniture is very small. Head lice survive less than one or two days if they fall off a person and cannot feed; nits cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they are not kept at the same temperature as that found close to the scalp.
Symptoms: Head lice are not known to transmit any disease and therefore are not considered a health hazard. Head-lice infestations can be asymptomatic, particularly with a first infestation or when an infestation is light. Itching is the most common symptom of head-lice infestation and is caused by an allergic reaction to louse bites. It may take four to six weeks for itching to appear the first time a person has head lice.
Other symptoms may include the following:
• A tickling feeling or a sensation of something moving in the hair;
• Irritability and sleeplessness; and
• Sores on the head caused by scratching. These sores can sometimes become infected with bacteria normally found on a person’s skin.
Treatment: Treatment for head lice is recommended for people diagnosed with an active infestation. All household members and other close contacts should be checked; those with evidence of an active infestation should be treated. All those who are infested (household members and close contacts) and their bedmates should be treated at the same time.
The hair should be treated with over-the-counter or prescription medicines, and a nit comb is used to remove nits and lice from the hair shafts. In addition to this process, hats, scarves, pillow cases, bedding, clothing and towels worn or used by the infested person in the two-day period just before treatment is started should be machine-washed and -dried using the hot-water and hot-air cycles because lice and eggs are killed by exposure for five minutes to temperatures greater than 128.3 degrees F. Items that cannot be laundered may be dry-cleaned or sealed in a plastic bag for two weeks. Items such as hats, grooming aids and towels that come in contact with the hair of an infested person should not be shared. Vacuuming furniture and floors can remove an infested person’s hairs that might have viable nits attached.
— Information courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, www.cdc.gov