HEAD LICE INFORMATION FOR PARENTS
Important facts about head lice: Lice are insects about the size of a sesame seed. Lice do not jump or fly. They are highly communicable (catching) and are usually transmitted by head to head contact. Contact with helmets, costumes, earphones, and pillows can also cause infestation. There are thought to be more than 10 million cases in the U.S. every year. Lice live for about a month. The adult female lays up to 10 eggs (nits) per day. The nits hatch in 7-10 days, and the newborn lice (nymphs) are almost invisible. In about a week, the nymphs have matured and start laying their own eggs.
Some truths and misconceptions about lice:
Lice infestation results from poor hygiene
FALSE: Lice can infest anyone. In fact lice are known to prefer clean, healthy heads.
Lice are more common in girls than in boys.
TRUE: Lice are more common in girls because they are more likely to share clothing, combs, or scrunchies.
My child can get lice from our pet.
FALSE: Pets do not get lice and cannot transmit them from person to person.
Lice are most common in school children from kindergarten to 6th grade.
TRUE: Lice are most common in 5-12 year olds because their play habit can lead to head to head contact.
Manual Removal
Live lice move quickly on dry hair. They are typically light brown. They can be caught using a lice comb, tweezers, or fingernails, or by "sticking them" with double sided tape wrapped around your fingers. The National Pediculosis Association believes that mechanical removal with a comb is the safest and most effective alternative. They recommend a certain comb, the Lice-Meister® but other metal lice combs are also effective. Combing removes both the lice and the nits.
Nit Removal
Nits are tiny yellowish or grayish white oval eggs attached to the hair shaft at an angle. They are the size of poppy seeds. They are most often found at the nape of the neck and behind the ears very close to the scalp, but can be found anywhere. They do not wash off or blow away.
Nits may be confused with dandruff, hair casts, or dried gel, but these brush off. Although it can take time, you must remove all the nits to ensure effective treatment before your child can return to school. If all the nits are not removed they will hatch into crawling lice, generating a cycle of self re-infestation. Nits can be removed with a special comb, cut out with small safety scissors, or removed by using the fingernails. Combing is best accomplished on damp hair, and using conditioner can make it easier.
Helpful hints:
Clean the Environment
Although a clean environment is important, it is not necessary to turn your house upside down in an effort to get rid of lice. Save most of your time and energy for thorough nit removal on all affected family members. Lice depend on human blood to survive and typically die within 24 hours without a host. However, some cleaning is necessary to remove a possible source of re-infestation.
Machine wash all recently used (last 3 days) clothing, towels, and bedding in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. Items that cannot be washed (i.e. scrunchies, ribbons) can be put into sealed plastic bags for 2 weeks or put in hot dryer for 20 minutes or some items can be dry-cleaned.
Another helpful hint: Don’t forget to clean hats and coats!
Some truths and misconceptions about lice:
Lice infestation results from poor hygiene
FALSE: Lice can infest anyone. In fact lice are known to prefer clean, healthy heads.
Lice are more common in girls than in boys.
TRUE: Lice are more common in girls because they are more likely to share clothing, combs, or scrunchies.
My child can get lice from our pet.
FALSE: Pets do not get lice and cannot transmit them from person to person.
Lice are most common in school children from kindergarten to 6th grade.
TRUE: Lice are most common in 5-12 year olds because their play habit can lead to head to head contact.
Manual Removal
Live lice move quickly on dry hair. They are typically light brown. They can be caught using a lice comb, tweezers, or fingernails, or by "sticking them" with double sided tape wrapped around your fingers. The National Pediculosis Association believes that mechanical removal with a comb is the safest and most effective alternative. They recommend a certain comb, the Lice-Meister® but other metal lice combs are also effective. Combing removes both the lice and the nits.
Nit Removal
Nits are tiny yellowish or grayish white oval eggs attached to the hair shaft at an angle. They are the size of poppy seeds. They are most often found at the nape of the neck and behind the ears very close to the scalp, but can be found anywhere. They do not wash off or blow away.
Nits may be confused with dandruff, hair casts, or dried gel, but these brush off. Although it can take time, you must remove all the nits to ensure effective treatment before your child can return to school. If all the nits are not removed they will hatch into crawling lice, generating a cycle of self re-infestation. Nits can be removed with a special comb, cut out with small safety scissors, or removed by using the fingernails. Combing is best accomplished on damp hair, and using conditioner can make it easier.
Helpful hints:
- Applying conditioner to the hair immobilizes the lice, so they can be seen and more easily removed.
- Nit removal, done properly, will take time. It may help to allow your child to watch TV or read a book.
- Remove lice in a very well lit area, natural light, near a large window or outside is best.
- Even if eyesight is not a problem, you may want to use "drugstore" reading glasses or a magnifying glass.
- Use a regular brush or comb to remove tangles, then divide the hair in sections and fasten off the hair that is not being worked on.
- Use a good lice comb. Go through each section of hair FROM THE SCALP to the end of the hair.
- Rinse the comb by dipping in a bowl of warm water or holding under running water and dry with a paper towel to remove any lice, nits or debris between combing.
- Dispose of lice/nits carefully (i.e. in the trash or toilet).
- Look through each section of hair for live lice or attached nits.
- Go on to the next section until the entire scalp has been completed.
- Rinse out the conditioner and then repeat the combing process for the whole head again until no more lice or nits are found.
- Thorough combing on day #1, 5, 9, and 13 will remove the lice as soon as they hatch, and before they can multiply.
Clean the Environment
Although a clean environment is important, it is not necessary to turn your house upside down in an effort to get rid of lice. Save most of your time and energy for thorough nit removal on all affected family members. Lice depend on human blood to survive and typically die within 24 hours without a host. However, some cleaning is necessary to remove a possible source of re-infestation.
Machine wash all recently used (last 3 days) clothing, towels, and bedding in hot water and dry in a hot dryer. Items that cannot be washed (i.e. scrunchies, ribbons) can be put into sealed plastic bags for 2 weeks or put in hot dryer for 20 minutes or some items can be dry-cleaned.
Another helpful hint: Don’t forget to clean hats and coats!