| Head Lice (Pediculosis) This information is very general. . . please address specific concerns and get further details from the Saskatchewan Health Line at 1-877-800-0002 |
| What are Head Lice? * head lice are tiny, wingless insects that live by biting and sucking blood from the scalp of humans. They do not transmit diseases. * female lice lay eggs, or nits, that are oval-shaped, opaque and yellowish-white in colour. * nits are glued to the hairs close to the scalp and are most easily found at the back of the neck and behind the ears. Nits are sometimes found in the eyelashes. What signs and symptoms can you have? * Lice and their eggs are tiny and are seen only with careful checking of the hair and scalp. * Usually only nits are seen but live head lice are sometimes seen. The live lice are very tiny, very fast and very sensitive to movement, so when you move the hairs to check for them, they will relocate and be harder to find. * Nits can look like dandruff, but cannot be moved by blowing on the hair. * People with head lice may have an itchy scalp. Scratching can cause sores and infection. How does a person get head lice? * Most people get head lice through cloes head to head contact with an infested person. * Sharing personal items, such as headgear, towels and combs may spread head lice. * Anyone can get head lice no matter how clean and careful they are. How do you treat head lice? * You should talk to a doctor or pharmacist, who will recommend a shampoo or cream to treat the lice. You must follow the instructions carefully, removing all nits and rechecking and retreating when necessary. Using a metal nit removal comb (available at pharmacies) will help with this process. What should be done after treatment? * Notify the child's school or daycare if your child has head lice. * Infected children must have one treatment before returning to school or daycare. * You must recheck daily and remove all nits to prevent reinfestation. * Bedmates should be treated. * Other members in the home that have head lice or nits or sleep in the same bed should be treated at the same time. * Soak combs and hairbrushes in very hot, soapy water for ten minutes or wash with lice treatment shampoo. * Wash headgear, pillowcases and towels in hot, soapy water for at least 20 minutes and dry in a very hot dryer. * Non-washable items may be dry-cleaned, ironed or stored in sealed plastic bags for ten days or frozen for 48 hours. * All members of the home should be checked daily for three weeks. Are lice resistant to treatment? * Common reasons for the treatment failure are not following all the directions or having another contact with lice after treatment. * If nits are not removed, you will not know if head lice come back from another contact. * Resistance to common treatments is possible but not usually a factor in treatment failure. * Do not use hair conditioner before applying treatment, or gel or other hair products after using the treatment. Do not expose hair to chlorine (swimming pools) during the 7 day treatment time. Try to shampoo hair as little as possible for the 7 day treatment time, since the chemicals continue to work for those 7 days, killing any lice that are alive. Ideally, not shampooing for the entire 7 days is best. |
| My policy on head lice is that if children are identified as having head lice, they must be removed immediately from my childcare. When they have been treated with a head lice treatment and have been carefully checked and had all nits removed, they may return. Since treatments must be repeated in 7 days, I will recheck the child after that amount of time. If nits remain, the child will again need to be removed until the hair is "nit free." I realize that this may seem severe, but since head lice is technically a communicable disease and I have other children who I am responsible for, I cannot risk the children transferring the lice from one another. It is also a considerable effort to clean my home and the daycare areas when there has been suspected lice here, so I must ensure that we do whatever we can to prevent the spread of it. Lice and nit removal take time, patience and a consciencious effort to follow all of the instructions and recommendations to do so. |
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