School Scourge

It's only a matter of time these days. The school nurse is on the phone, and your child has got...them.

They are head lice, and, as many parents of school-age kids know, they are everywhere. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) say that 6 to 12 million people - most of them children - are infected in the United States annually. Lice (scientific name Pediculus humanus capitis) know no socioeconomic boundaries.

In other words, it can happen to anyone.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) and the Fairfax County Health Department do not recommend excluding children from school because of head lice. Students diagnosed with live head lice should be treated and then be allowed to return to class. Here are some general guidelines for lice eradication.

Ridding your Child of Lice

Head lice can be spread whenever there is direct contact of the head or hair with an infested child.  Lice also can be spread through the sharing of personal articles such as hats, towels, brushes, helmets, hair ties, headphones or pillows.

The National Pediculosis Association (NPA), says lice aren't dangerous and they don't spread disease. However, they are contagious, their bites may cause a child's scalp to become itchy and inflamed.  Persistent scratching may lead to skin irritation and even infection.

Head lice are most frequently located on the scalp behind the ears and near the neckline at the back of the neck. Head lice hold on to hair with hook-like claws that are found at the end of each of their six legs. They rarely are found on the body, eyelashes, or eyebrows, says the NPA.

FCPS recommends the following if your child has live lice: inform the school public health nurse or clinic room aide at your child's school. Then, check the hair of everyone in our household.

Next, consult your pediatrician or public health nurse for treatment information. Treatment with a FDA-approved antipediculosis product should be given to those who have live lice, with the exception of children under two, and women who are pregnant or breastfeeding.

No matter what product you use, the critical factor, says the NPA, is combing out the lice and nits when there are fewer of them and before the task becomes unnecessarily challenging. The viability of lice and nits in the hair is irrelevant. Dead or alive, old or new, if you don't get them out, you still have them.

After the initial treatment, complete a Lice Treatment Verification form, which can be obtained from the school clinic. Return the form to your child's school clinic before the child returns to school.

Be sure to retreat your child eight to 10 days after the initial treatment, and return the second Lice Treatment Verification form to the school clinic. Then, check your child's hair daily and manually remove nits for two weeks following the initial treatment. Continue to check your child's head weekly for four weeks. Remember that head lice can survive off of a human host for up to 48 hours, and nits hatch within seven to 10 days.

Want some help with treatment? There are professionals you can hire to find and kill head lice. Metropolitan Lice Treatment Services  makes house calls in Northern Virginia.  Advice on Lice is a Kensington. Md., firm that can see you through lice as well. 

Ridding your Household of Lice

Treating the whole house is a laborious but important task. The NAA says to follow these steps for whole-house eradication:

1. Machine wash all washable clothing and bed linens that the infested person touched during the two days before treatment (to kill the lice and nits). Use the hot water cycle (130 degrees F; 55 degrees C) to wash clothes. Dry laundry using the hot cycle for at least 20 minutes.
2. Dry clean clothing that is not washable (coats, hats, scarves, etc.) or store all clothing, stuffed animals, comforters, etc., that cannot be washed or dry cleaned into a plastic bag and seal it for two weeks.
3. Soak combs and brushes for one hour in rubbing alcohol, Lysol, or wash with soap and hot (130 degrees F; 55 degrees C) water.
4. Vacuum the floor and furniture. Do not use fumigant sprays (they can be toxic if inhaled).

Sometimes, though, even with the best washing and treating, the lice remain. The NPA says that happens for several reasons. Among them:

• Parents do not follow the directions on the product. Never split a box of lice shampoo between two or more children.
• Parents did not remove all lice or nits.
• Parents did not treat the environment thoroughly.

For more information from FCPS about about head lice, click here.