Selinsgrove Area Intermediate School

Headlice

Mrs. Cathi Crossgrove (Nurse)

Pediculosis Capitus, which is the medical term for human headlice, is a condition that occurs occasionally in young children. The purpose of this page in to make this information available at any time during the summer, evenings, and weekends.

In order to save time and expense, there are a few things that families do not have to do. It is not necessary to scrub walls, disinfect with antibacterial solutions such as Lysol, etc., use environmental sprays, or fumigate.

Facts:

• Headlice do not jump, hop, or fly
• The lice products do not kill all the lice and nits (eggs) with one treatment. Lice have become resistent to commonly used products.
• It is difficult to detect an early infestation. If many lice and nits are found, they may have been present for several weeks. It is not uncommon for headlice to be undetected for 2-3 weeks or longer.
• Animals do not transmit Human Headlice.
• Most cases of Lice are passed through direct head-to-head contact or close personal contact.
• Lice can also be transmitted from sharing infected objects such as brushes, combs, pillows, hair pieces, hats, coats, or scarves
• Anyone can get Pediculosis Capitus. Clean or unclean, rich or poor, educated or uneducated, pleasant or angry - All can get an infestation if a fertilized, adult female louse gets in their hair.

   

  Follow the directions on the special lice shampoos and conditioner that is available at local drug, grocery and department stores. Remember it is not necessary to use sprays or fumigate.

  Launder clothing that has been worn recently and bed linens in hot water and dry on the hottest setting possible.

  Furniture, car seats, and floors should be vacuumed daily for a short time.

  Please report the names of any close contacts your child has had recently with anyone who attends our school district, especially sleepovers, close play, or close group work. Also, closely inspect all members of the family who have had close head contact with the infested individual. Remember adults and teenagers can get headlice, too. Everyone, who has an active case of headlice, needs to be treated in a timely and thorough manner.

• There are new products that have come on the market recently which are called homoeopathic and work on the principal that noxious substances cause lice to avoid the scalp of humans treated with these products, much like insect repellent are used to avoid mosquito and insect bites. Recommendations of recent studies I have read still indicate that treatment with pediculocides are needed. Complete nit removal is also necessary. This is too difficult to accomplish in one sitting except in very minor infestations.
• Another product that has become available is the Robicomb. It is operated with battery power and shocks any live lice including nymphs and they can be combed away. It is a little more expensive than the other products, but used everyday as recommended, it can detect nymphs (baby lice) as they hatch out of any missed nits during the process of nit removal, and can be kept for future checks for the presence of lice. As always, read the accompanying instructions for proper use. The comb must be clean and dry.
• Remember Lice do not spread easily, but are difficult to eradicate if nits are not removed completely over a two week period of time. In the past, parents have thought they removed all the nits, but because they were against the scalp, they were not visible until the hair grew away from the scalp and the viable lice eggs hatched, leading them to believe that their child was reinvested by someone else, when actually that incident had not been completely irradicated.