Nurse News
OMS Winter Warnings
Let's Talk About Lice!
As students with their winter hats and caps return to school from break, we’ll see another visitor come with them: head lice.
Some Facts About Head Lice
Head lice are tiny wingless insects that live in human hair. They hatch from small eggs, called nits, which are attached to the base of individual hairs. The nits hatch in ten days and reach maturity in about two weeks. As the louse feeds on its host, it injects saliva into the wound resulting in local irritation and itching. Often a child has been infected for several weeks before becoming symptomatic.
- Lice do not cause disease.
- Students have had lice for up to two weeks before becoming symptomatic.
- In their early stages, lice are very difficult to see. Often, their eggs (or "nits") are easier to see and appear as small specks on individual hair shafts.
- Lice come from a family of parasites that must stay on their host to survive. If they are off the body from two to five days, they die.
- Direct head-to-head contact is by far the most common means of transmission. This could be at play time, school, camps, slumber parties, home, and even posing for selfies! They do not have body structures like wings or musculature necessary for flying or jumping. Head lice do have six short legs that enable them to crawl very quickly.
- It is spread by contact with clothing, hats, scarves, coats, hairbrushes, hair barrettes, and towels. Children can come into contact by simply laying on a bed, couch, or pillow that recently came into contact with an infected person.
- Lice can be found on persons of any age, race, sex, or socioeconomic class. Lice do not discriminate and actually prefer clean hair to dirty hair because it’s easier for the egg to be cemented to the hair shaft.
- Lice can infest people with any length of hair. Cutting or shaving the hair is not necessary. Treatment, however, is necessary.
Selfies are a great way to spread lice!
Super Lice!
We naturally become concerned for the welfare of children when they hear these fear-inducing names. We look for ways to respond quickly, and with brutal force – hoping to prevent the spread of infestation. However, this response can sometimes create problems where none existed before.
Know the facts - “Super lice” are actually treatment-resistant lice with a media-hyped name. As an example, think of infections that are resistant to antibiotics. Treatment resistant lice are created in much the same way – through improper use of chemical applications or prescription treatments.
Interestingly, treatment resistant lice are not a new phenomenon. These kinds of lice have been present in schools for over 40 years.
Campaigns and media stories about super lice contain pieces of information that, while factual, are dangerous when taken without context. This can breed fear and cause further problems. For example, improper treatment with harsh chemicals and pesticides is one of the ways that treatment-resistant lice have become stronger. And sometimes parents resort to home remedies such as mayonnaise or olive oil that are not scientifically proven to be effective in treating lice. That's why manual removal through combing is a critical part of treating any lice infestation.
Signs & Symptoms, Diagnosis and Treatment
Signs and Symptoms
Watch for signs of lice - that "Tickly" Feeling Can Be a Sign of Head Lice
Head lice symptoms include:
- A tickling feeling or a sensation of something moving in the hair
- Frequent itching
- Sores from scratching
Diagnosis
Sometimes, identifying head lice can be quite difficult. Using a nit comb along with a magnifier is recommended to accurately identify lice. It can be easy to confuse nits with dandruff, hair spray droplets, and dirt particles.
- The best diagnosis is made by finding a live nymph or adult louse on the scalp or hair of a person.
- Nits attached firmly within 1/4" of the base of hair shafts and may indicate an infestation even if no moving nits are found. This is not accurate 100% of the time.
Treatment
What about the house?
Head lice do not survive long if they fall off a person and cannot feed. You don't need to spend a lot of time or money on housecleaning activities. Follow these steps to help avoid re–infestation by lice that have recently fallen off the hair or crawled onto clothing or furniture.
Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that the infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water (130°F) laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry–cleaned
OR
sealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
- Soak combs and brushes in hot water (at least 130°F) for 5–10 minutes.
- Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or slept. However, the risk of getting infested by a louse that has fallen onto a rug or carpet or furniture is very low. Head lice survive less than 1–2 days if they fall off a person and cannot feed. Nits cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they are not kept at the same temperature as that found close to the human scalp. Spending much time and money on housecleaning activities is not necessary to avoid reinfestation by lice or nits that may have fallen off the head or crawled onto furniture or clothing.
- Do not use fumigant sprays; they can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
There are Several Treatment Options
If you aren't comfortable treating lice or need help....
What can you do at school? Guidelines from RCS
RCS Head Lice Prevention & Control
The following are steps that can be taken to help prevent and control the spread of head lice:
~To help prevent and/or control a head lice outbreak in a community or school, children should be taught to avoid activities that may spread head lice.
~Students should be taught to avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, & elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, and camp).
~Students should not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, barrettes, combs, brushes, or towels.
~Efforts should be made in the schools to store students’ jackets, coats, caps, etc. where they are not touching.
~Upholstered couches, pillows, carpets and stuffed animals in classrooms should be limited.
~The floor & furniture, particularly where an infested person sat or lay, should be vacuumed as needed.
~Fumigant sprays or fogs should not be used; they are not necessary to control head lice and can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.
Rutherford County Board of Education Head Lice Policy
No student shall be denied an education solely by reason of head lice infestation and his/her educational program shall be restricted only to the extent necessary to minimize the risk of transmitting the infestation.It shall be the responsibility of the principal or school nurse to notify the parents in the event a child haspediculosis (head lice). A letter shall be sent home by the child to explain the condition, requirements for readmission and deadlines for satisfactory completion of the treatment.
- Prior to readmission, satisfactory evidence must be submitted to school personnel that the student has been treated for pediculosis (head lice). This evidence may include but not be limited to: proof of treatment with a pediculicide product (head lice shampoo), or
- determination (after examination) by a school health offi cial that there has been improvement since the parent/guardian was notified.
Treatment and prevention procedures shall be developed by the director of schools in consultation with the school nurse and distributed to all classroom teachers. These procedures shall also be distributed to the parent/guardian of any child that has pediculosis.
- Any subsequent incidents of head lice for a student during the school year shall require submission of satisfactory evidence of treatment for head lice and be found free of lice by a school health official.
A student shall be expected to have met all requirements for treatment and return to school no later than two (2) days following exclusion for head lice. All days in excess of the allowable period shall be marked as unexcused absences and referred to the attendance supervisor at the proper time.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Leigh Ann Hartley, RN, BSN
Email: hartleyl@rcschools.net
Website: http://www.oms.rcschools.net/
Location: 853 Dejarnette Lane, Murfreesboro, TN, United States
Phone: (615)904-6760