Lice is a four letter word of the worst sort! It makes some people angry enough to spit and sputter. For some people it causes fear and anxiety. Then again, for some folks they just consider it a nuisance and gross but not an “end of the world catastrophe” to completely freak out over.
First of all, what is lice?
There are three different types of lice. Head lice, pubic lice and body lice. The most common found in the Early Childhood age group is head lice. The lice are parasites that usually reside in the scalp and feed off blood every few hours. They are typically about the size of a sesame seed and can vary in color between white, brown and dark gray.
How do you get lice?
Here is where a lot of the myth comes in. Lice don’t jump from person to person. They can’t jump. They crawl, but the little buggers sure do get around quickly. You get lice by close head-to-head contact. You can also get it by sharing brushes, combs, hats and scarves. You can wash your hair every day and still get lice. It doesn’t have anything to do with being dirty or unclean, which is what most people associate it with. Lice also don’t make any distinction of economic status. Lice can live about one day when they are not on the scalp, so it’s easy to understand how it could be spread through a school.
How do you know if you have it?
This is another area of controversy. Some experts recommend that you treat for lice if you see nits (eggs attached to hair shaft). There is also another group of experts who recommend that you treat only if you see live lice. Personally, if I saw nits and didn’t want to deal with all the work of getting rid of them, I would treat for it immediately. There is also debate about whether or not every single nit needs to be removed from the hair. Since it seems the untrained professional without a microscope can’t tell a live nit from a dead one it would make sense to remove them all.
How do you get rid of it?
This is another question that seems to have as many homemade answers as true blue medical answers. There are numerous over-the-counter shampoos and hair treatments that contain the common pesticide permethrine that seems to work well, although there is talk that some lice have developed a resistance to the chemical.
Lindane is a chemical that used to be commonly used in lice shampoos that were available over the counter. Lindane is now only available by prescription and the general consensus from my research indicates that it should be avoided.
In addition to the over-the-counter treatment combing with a special lice comb is a must. It’s not fun and it can take a while depending on the amount of hair, but it is believed to greatly contribute to the demise of the bug. The special combs remove the nits, which are the eggs laid by adult lice on the hairshaft. The nits are extremely hard to remove without the comb. Nits are not killed by the shampoo treatments and if not removed can cause another infestation of live lice.
You’ll also need to wash all pillowcases, sheets, coats, jackets, etc. Anything the infected head may have come into contact with will need to be washed. To treat pillows, beds and other items that can’t be washed, there are several different sprays that can be used. Those sprays are usually located in the same place as the lice shampoos. Stuffed animals are different issue altogether. These are best treated by machine washing and thorough drying if possible. If they cannot be washed and dried, place them in sealed trash bags for four weeks. Be sure to shake them well as they are removed from the bag. It’s also recommended by several experts that you vacume your carpet thoroughly several times.
It’s also a good idea to call your school and talk with the teacher. Ask them to keep it confidential but to check the other children. Lice is a common occurrence during the winter months and while some schools may overreact, most have dealt with more times than you, as a parent, want to really know about.
Lice is definitely an annoyance. According to my local health department they do not carry diseases. That is, at least a small comfort, but they are still irritating and cause parents a lot of extra work. The good news is that they really aren’t cause for total panic, just the initial “ewwww!”
For more information and/or help try these sites:
Head Lice.org by The National Pediculosis Association
Web MD
Head Lice Information This site has some excellent graphics. Just scroll down the page a bit.
Information for this article was gathered from WebMD, the CDC, Jessamine County Health Department and the Jessamine County School District.
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