Dear Parents:
Outbreaks of head lice are a common part of raising children today. Lice is highly contagious and can be difficult to prevent, but if every parent regularly checks their child’s head and screens the entire family, these human parasites can be detected early and managed effectively.
The following overview should be helpful in identifying, avoiding and controlling head lice.
-Head lice are small insects about the size of a sesame seed. Diagnosis is often made on the basis of finding lice eggs. Their eggs, or “nits,” are tiny grayish white, tan or brown ovals that attach very tightly to the hair shafts. These eggs cannot be simply washed off or blown away. It takes some effort to remove them from the hair shaft. When removed by hand or by combing out, they turn brown. Eggs may be found throughout the hair, but often are seen at the nape of the neck, behind the ears and at the crown of the head.
- Lice and can lay 3 to 10 eggs/nits a day. After hatching, the nit shells remain attached to the hair shaft. Eggs typically hatch in 7 to 12 days and then develop into a nymph. The nymph molts several times and then becomes an adult bug in 7 to 12 days. The adults mate and lay more eggs (sometimes 100 or more eggs in a 14 day cycle.) The lice bug can live up to 30 days on a human being.
- Head lice can move around and crawl very quickly. However, they do not jump or fly. The lice feed from the protein in the blood on the scalp of the head several times a day.
- Lice often cause irritation and an itchy scalp. However, not everyone will necessarily itch. Red dot bite marks or scratch marks can sometimes be seen on the scalp. Because the lice often live behind the ears and neck, these bite marks are typically more pronounced in those areas. Please watch for this evidence of infection when checking your children.
-Lice cannot be eradicated by drowning. They need to be suffocated or physically removed by combing. Special shampoos like Rid/Nix/Organic Shampoo products are available but unfortunately, they are not 100 % effective. Lice and their eggs have shown resistance to these products.
-Treating once with lice ridding shampoo does not resolve the infection. Any eggs left on the head will hatch within 7 to 12 days and start the process again. After treating with a lice shampoo, you must continue to comb, comb, comb for 14 days with Pantene conditioner and baking soda. It is the combing that gets rid of the infestation, even if you use the strong treatments. Dead nits will remain glued to the hair and the repeated combing will remove them.
-Even after combing for 14 days, it is important to continually check your child’s head or comb out once a week as a preventive method.
-The comb you buy is very important because only a proper comb will remove the bugs, eggs, and nits. The comb must have metal teeth, 1 ¾ to 2 inches long and the teeth must be extremely close together.
- Natural things, like mayonnaise, olive oil, tea tree oil, rosemary oil, and neem oil put on the head and covered by a shower cap are also effective for suffocating lice. The shower cap needs to be tight so that air is sealed out. This treatment should be repeated for 5 to 7 days, while also combing out with conditioner/baking soda to reach the 14 day treatment cycle.
-Girls with long hair should wear their hair up and off the shoulders if possible so their hair is less likely to come in contact with someone else’s hair or clothing. PUT YOUR CHILD’S HAIR IN BUNS AND BRAIDS!!!!!
-There are also leave-in conditioner sprays and conditioners with tea tree oil and rosemary oils in them. These products are used as preventative measures. You can also buy tea tree oil in a health food store and put a couple of drops behind the ears, the nape of the neck and the wrists. Also, you can add 2 to 3 capfuls of tea tree oil to your regular shampoo and have the child use it when they wash their hair. Supposedly, lice do not like the smell of this oil. Again, this is a preventive method but it may not be 100% effective.
For natural preventatives please check the following websites:
www.circle-of-friends.com
www.fairytaleshaircare.com
www.hairfairies.com
- Hair sprays and gels can be used to make the hair a deterrent. Lice love clean hair.
- Head lice can infect anyone, young or old, male or female.
- Lice cannot thrive on household pets.
-Make sure your child knows not to share brushes, hats, headphones and any other articles that can transmit head lice.
-Teach your child to avoid head-to-head contact.
-If your child does contract head lice, contact the school nurse, their friends and family that have been associated with them 14 days prior to discovering the head lice.
Acquiring head lice is not a sign of poor hygiene and it should not be a stigma to the child or embarrassment to parents. It is almost as contagious as a cold and most people appreciate it when they get a call about head lice.
If your child does come in contact with someone with head lice, check your child’s hair every other day for 14 days to see if you see any eggs on the hair shaft.
DE-LOUSING THE HOUSE:
-Vacuum. This prevents lice from spreading from person to person. Hairs with eggs/nits fall off of people and vacuuming picks them up. Vacuum floors and furniture, especially cloth couches if your child has sat on them within 24 hours. Thereafter, the lice will die in that they don’t survive more than 24 hours after they have left a head.
-Put things in the dryer that you don’t have to wash like bedding, blankets, comforters, stuffed animals, coats, hats, backpacks for 20 minutes on high heat. You can also bag stuffed animals for 14 days. If you continue to find live lice after a day or so of combing, you can just put the bedding in the dryer every day for 4 days.
-Lice pesticide sprays are not recommended because they can be harmful to family members and pets.
-Remember the head that has lice is the most important thing, not the house.
-The eggs are not contagious; it is the lice bug that is contagious because it travels from head to head.
-If you are not sure if your child has lice, you can ask the school nurse to look and if the child has contracted head lice, you can consult a lice professional in the area for assistance.
-Although lice are not a health risk, they are a nuisance that can impact a family in many stressful ways.
Thanks to all that take the time to educate themselves! If we work together we can reduce the risk of spreading this bug.
Thanks,
Leslie Lake Stacey Robinowitz Cassie Graves
To aide in keeping you informed we have set up a blog
Please visit
www.tulsalicepatrol.blogspot.com
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