Head lice an issue as kids head back to local schools

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Kathleen Baglio Humphreys photo September typically has a slight increase in the number of head lice cases as students go back to school, and students are in close contact with one another. It's advised that girls with long hair should wear it in a bun, braid it or put their hair in a ponytail to help avoid coming in contact with head lice. Children should also avoid sharing hats, combs, brushes and headbands.

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Kathleen Baglio Humphreys photo Most public school do not check for head lice or nits and they also allow students with head lice or nits to attend school if they had at least one treatment, so there is no longer a “no nit” policy. Parents and teachers should be on the lookout for symptoms of head lice. The biggest sign is itching behind the ears and at the nape of the neck.

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Kathleen Baglio Humphreys photo September typically has a slight increase in the number of head lice cases as students go back to school, and students are in close contact with one another. It's advised that girls with long hair should wear it in a bun, braid it or put their hair in a ponytail to help avoid coming in contact with head lice. Children should also avoid sharing hats, combs, brushes and headbands.

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It’s important that children do not share items such as comb or brush, headbands, elastics or hats, as these are the most common ways to spread head lice. If you notice your child itching their heads, especially near the nape of the neck or behind their ears, you should check for nits or eggs.

Some facts about lice:

• Life cycle is 40-50 days.

• Lice are small and vary in size.

• Eggs look like a small grain of rice.

• Eggs firmly attach to hair shaft and hatch in 7-10 days.

• Lice feed on blood every three to six hours.

• If dislodged from hair and host, lice die within two weeks.

• They are hard to see and when checking the head they move quickly and shy away from light. They can also look like a sand of grain or blend into the hair color so they can be difficult to detect.

How to treat head lice:

• Use at least two treatments and a head lice comb to dislodge nits and lice.

• Consult your doctor or school nurse for treatment options and home cleaning protocol.

• Report the case to your school nurse.

• Thoroughly clean the house and kill lice especially on pillows or stuffed animals by putting them in an airtight bag for two weeks.

• Wash bedding, clothing, pillows in hot water.

No one wants to think about it, but head lice is a concern as children enter school in the fall and each year there is typically an increased number of cases in September, regional nurses say.

However, gone are the days the school nurses lines the student population up to perform head lice checks, so parents and teachers need to be on the lookout for symptoms.

Contrary to popular belief, head lice find sanctuary in squeaky clean hair, not dirty or chemically processed hair so if your child has head lice, it is not because of dirty or unhealthy conditions but from contact with head lice, most likely from sharing clothing, brushes, hats or other items or from another individual.

Sharon Traxal, a registered nurse and the clinical liaison at Nashua Pediatrics confirmed they have seen an increase number of cases of head lice this summer.

“It usually is in September when we see a light increase but we have seen a few cases this summer which is not common. When school starts kids are close together, they share everything even though parents advise them not to and that can spread head lice,” Traxal said.

Also a concern for Traxal is how head lice is treated.

“What we are seeing right now is that head lice are a little harder to get rid of and almost resistant to most treatments. Parents try over-the-counter meds and they are not working so we’ll call in a prescription and generally we give them all the protocol, it’s a lot when you are dealing with that. We recommend parents clean the house top to bottom, throw away, wrap or wash in hot water all pillows. Put stuffed animals or pillows in air tight bags for two weeks to kill the lice,” Traxal said. “It’s a lot of work for the parents.”

The Richard Maghakian Memorial School in Brookline saw six cases of head lice last school year and is proactive in helping children avoid head lice or assist if a case arises.

School Nurse Denise Curtis, RN, visits the classrooms to discuss health topics and head lice prevention is included.

“We talk to the students about not sharing things such as hats, headbands, combs and so forth and especially last year with H1N! we went to each classroom and also talk about coughing and washing hands,” Curtis said.

“We tell parents that call us that it has nothing to do with not being clean, it started someplace and it affected their child and to make sure they have eradicated it before they send it to school. The schools are very aware that it is in the child’s home,” Curtis said.

Brookline schools do not perform head lice checks on each pupil nor do they have a “no nit” policy so students are allowed to return to school after one head lice treatment.

“We send a notice home to inform other families and provide a protocol to the family to rid their child of lice. I keep trying to do head checks on the student with head lice and advise them on how to rid their house of lice,” Curtis said.

Milford School Superintendent Bob Suprenant is aware children can bring lice into the schools and that Milford does not check students for lice in September.

“Kids are attending residential summer camps during the summer so there might be some exposure to nits or lice. My advice to parents would be to check their children and if there are nits they need to contact the school and treat it thoroughly because it is not an easy thing to get rid of so they should follow either their private practitioner’s advice or the school nurse to get ride of nits or head lice,” Suprenant said.

The good news, Laura Gifford, the school nurse at Lyndeborough Central School said, is that head lice are more of a nuisance than a health hazard. Parents should check their child if they have an itchy scalp, she added.

“It’s something to think about, the kids have been on summer vacation, at camps or sleepovers and it’s something to be aware of as school starts,” Gifford advised.

She also had advice on treatments.

“Parents are more concerned about the natural toxicity of chemicals they put on their child’s scalp for lice and it can really do a number on kids’ heads. Sometimes they recommended a low organize approach such as a mayonnaise treatment. Treatments that contain medication for head lice may trigger reactions to those sensitive to rag weed so talk to your doctor before choosing the product,” Gifford said.

“If a student complains of itching I would do a head check. I used to do routine checks but I’m not doing it so much now. When symptoms are present, we treat the symptoms and if there are other students they are associated with we would check them as well. A lot of time it looks like dandruff but dandruff will flick off and you can get rid of it in the scalp but the lice eggs attach to hair shafts and you have to pull them off. Use fine tooth combs (head lice combs) to dislodge the nit,” Gifford said.

To be effective, treatment should come in contact to all lice or some will survive treatment. Lice congregate at the nape of the neck and behind the ears. Following treatment, do a second treatment within seven days to kill newly hatched lice.

Traxal recommends students keep their hair up when going to school.

“If you have long hair braid it, put it in a ponytail or a bun. Head lice generally affect girls more than boy, unless it is in the boy’s family, because girl’s hair is longer and it’s noticed more and they tend to share combs and hair bands, Traxal said.

For more information, see the headlice fact sheet at www.dhhs.state.nh.us.