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How are Head Lice Spread?
Head lice can
be spread whenever there is direct contact of the head or hair with an
infested individual. Lice can also be spread through the sharing of
personal articles like hats, towels, brushes, helmets, hair ties, etc.
There is also a possibility of spreading head lice via a pillow,
headrest or similar items.
Head lice do not jump or fly and generally cannot survive longer than 24
hours off the host.
Can you Catch Head Lice from Headphones
or Helmets?
The extent to
which head lice are transmitted to others via headphones or helmets is
unknown. Ideally, risk of transmission can be eliminated by making sure
children have and use their own equipment. If this is not possible, you
can clean the items between children by wiping them with a damp paper
towel. An additional measure would be to encourage each child to wear a
baseball cap to help shield the hair from contact with the item. Helmets
and headphone should never be sprayed.
Most importantly – and best for the entire community – all parents
should screen their children regularly.
What Product Should I use to Treat My
Child?
There are no over-the-counter or prescription treatments
to kill lice that are totally safe and scientifically proven to be 100%
effective against head lice and nits. These treatments are potentially
harmful pesticides and reliance on them promotes repeated use and
contributes to ongoing infestations, outbreaks and resistant strains of
head lice.
Various "natural" remedies are vigorously marketed on the Internet but
we have found no scientific basis for their claims of efficacy and human
safety.
Manual removal of the live lice and nits is the safe alternative and a
necessary component of any head lice treatment regimen. The NPA
recommends the LiceMeister® Comb to enable families to screen often,
detect head lice early and thoroughly remove lice and nits.
Do I Have To Treat Everyone In the House?
Use a nit-removal comb to check everyone. Even if lice
are found on an individual, careful consideration should be given before
deciding to use a lice killing treatment because each person has unique
health vulnerabilities. Lice treatment products are potentially
hazardous to health and should not be used "just in case" a child or
family member has lice or in an effort to prevent them.
Are African Americans Susceptible to Head
Lice Infestations?
African Americans are reported to have a much lower
incidence of head lice than Caucasians, Hispanics or Asian Americans.
Pediatric Dermatology cites various studies that suggest the incidence
among African American schoolchildren is less than half of one percent,
while the incidence among their non-black schoolmates is usually more
than 10 percent.
Even though African Americans may be less susceptible to infestations,
this should not be grounds for complacency. African Americans can, and
do, get head lice.
What is the Proper Procedure for doing
Head Checks?
While rubber gloves may protect the nurse, they will not
prevent the communication of infectious dermatological conditions such
as impetigo between the students being examined unless the gloves are
changed for each exam. Such an expenditure in money and time would be
impractical for the majority of nurses, who screen hundreds of students
at a time and there are more realistic measures available.
NPA promotes the use of disposable wooden screening sticks for each
child when doing group screenings. The sticks, which separate hair
strands easily, provide a hygienic approach for nurse and child alike.
When there is any question or doubt as to whether a child is infested,
we recommend a visit to the nurse´s station for a more thorough
examination aided by a nit comb.
We also recommend this combing for a child who is returning to the
classroom after having had his or her infestation properly managed with
manual removal of lice and nits. While visual examinations can detect an
infestation, it is what one is unable to see that too often results in
chronic infestations where families assume they are "reinfested" but in
reality have "stayed infested" because the nits remained to continue the
cycle. |
