Head Lice:

Our daughter is in the 1st grade this year and there have been multiple outbreaks of head lice in her classroom. The kids are immediately dismissed from class and sent home. We are lucky so far that our daughter has not had head lice, but about 8 of the 22 kids has had it so far. Let's start by saying that head lice will effect somewhere between 10 and 12 million people this year. It does not discriminate based on socioeconomics and kids as well as adults can get head lice infestations. Children are much more likely to get head lice since they tend to be in closer contact with each other in preschools and grammar schools. Sharing things like hats or combs/brushes are a leading source, but often kids will pick up head lice at sleepovers where they are sharing bed sheets or pillows. Head lice don't just jump from child to child, they don't have wings that allow that. They are actually quite strongly attached to your hair when you have them.

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A head louse (lice is plural) lives on human scalps and feeds on blood. Sounds nice doesn't it. The itching sensation that many kids have with lice infestations comes from the saliva that the losue injects into the skin as they feed on blood. Lice hatch from eggs, called nits, and adults reach the size of a sesame seed so they are visible with the naked eye if you look carefully enough. Supposedly something like 1 in 10 grade schoolers will contact head lice before grade 6 so there is a decent chance your little one will eventually get it. Girls are more susceptible than boys in getting head lice and it can be very difficult to get rid of it in girls with long hair. Often, the parents will have to cut the hair down to a short hairstyle to get access to the roots where the nits are. Lice infestations are also referred to by their scientific name of pediculosis. I have heard many parents say that "so and so" is not keeping their child clean enough but the fact is that personal hygiene is not a predictive factor in acquiring head lice. The best time to check for head lice on your child is when the hair is wet. Use a fine toothed comb (louse comb) and a magnifying glass to see way down to the roots. Many schools have trained nurses that will inspect your child at school if their is an outbreak within a particular classroom.

Head Lice Symptoms:

What should you look for when you suspect your child has head lice? You will see intense itching of the scalp and neck area. We were at the school dance show the other day with a friend of ours and here child was next to ours. During the show her daughter couldn't stop itching her scalp and the mother was like "oh no, I wonder if it's head lice". Sure enough a few hours after school she called to say it was. Our daughter had severe eczema and always has itched her skin due to dust mite allergies so when I saw her itching her neck and scalp that same day I was concerned. So far no head lice have shown up and we are safe. Other symptoms associated with head lice include small, red bumps on the neck, shoulders, and scalp. The bumps can ooze if they are itched. You may be able to see the tiny white eggs (nits) on the lower portion of the hair on the scalp and they are not easy to get off. They are attached securely to the hair follical and require immediate treatment. Hopefully the school that your child attends will quickly send out a message to all parents to be on the lookout. We also had a infestation happen at a sleepover party and the parents were cautious enough to phone everyone about it and warn them.

Treatments:

The good news is that head lice is treatable and you can do it at home with. The problem is that you need to treat more than your child hair and scalp. You will need to wash all bed linens and any clothing that your child wears as well as that of others in the house that came in contact with your child. Wash the cloths and linens in the hottest possible setting that your washing machine offers (120 degrees or higher, preferably 140 degrees). Stuffed animals should be removed from the rooms and disposed of for the absolute safest bet. You can disinfect all combs and brushes in rubbing alcohol or hot water. Vacuum floors and furniture where kids have been playing. Experts recommend throwing away the vacuum bag immeidately after this. For the hair and scalp, you should use use lotions and shampoos that contain permethrin - you can get those over the counter. If this is not successful, a doctor could prescribe an even more powerful medicine that has insecticides. Rid or Nix are the two most popular shampoos on the market if you do get head lice. The hardest part is taking the comb to your childs hair and removing all the nits that you find. It can literally take hours. Some say using an electronic lice comb (from LiceGuard) is a faster way, but there is no proof of that. If you go to sites like Ridlice.com you will find helpful pointers on lice control with a kit you can purchase that claims to treat, remove, and control head lice. You may have to repeat all of these procedures if the lice are not completely gone after 7-10 days.

Prevention:

Kids will be kids and no matter how clean you keep them, they will always be susceptible to getting things like head lice. All you can tell your child is that they should never share things like baseball hats, scarves, pillows, or combs. Getting the word out quickly within schools and neighborhoods is another way to prevent further spreading. I realized how much stigma was associated with head lice when we had the breakout in our daughters classroom. After the 2nd and 3rd outbreaks we had parents complaining that some parents weren't doing enough and must be keeping their kids in "filthy" home environments. I feel sorry for the kids who do get head lice if that is the prevalent attitude amongst parents that the kids must be "dirty". Hopefully, parents that get educated on head lice will catch it early and keep their child out of school and other environments where they could spread it even more.

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