A Louse-y Situation
After school you are going through your child’s backpack, signing off homework, filling out a permission slip, when you find the note that all parents dread: “Your child has been exposed to lice.” While you already have begun washing every article of laundry in your home, here are some tips and information about lice and how to treat them.
I think we all can agree that lice are gross. They are also contagious, annoying and at times can be tough to get rid of. Lice start out as eggs, called nits, and this is often the stage in which they are discovered. They are laid close to the scalp, where it’s warm, and remain there until they hatch. Nits look like dandruff. They are yellow, tan or brown dots that cannot be removed by brushing or shaking the hair out. Lice eggs hatch within one to two weeks after they’re laid, and the shell remains attached to the shaft of the hair and moves away from the scalp as the hair grows (HealthyKids.org).
Lice are not considered dangerous and do not cause disease; however, they cause the scalp to itch and occasionally the resulting scratching can lead to infection (HealthyKids.org). While lice cannot jump or fly from one location to another (WebMD.com), they can live for a short time on surfaces such as a hairbrush or clothing. The best way to prevent spreading of lice is to avoid head-to-head contact with others. Sharing hats, combs and batting helmets are common ways of transmission.
Doctors offices will conduct lice screening if a child is showing symptoms of infection. One of the easiest ways to diagnose at home is to wet the child’s hair and wash with conditioner. Wet hair may make it easier to see the lice and also may slow the lice from moving as much. The conditioner makes it easier to brush with a fine-tooth comb. Set the child under a bright light, separate the hair into sections and comb out, starting at the roots and working to the ends. Lice can look like dandruff, but it does not comb out and often can be seen best at the nape of the neck and behind the ears (AAD.org).
Treating lice can be a time-consuming process. Both prescription and over-the-counter medications are available. Read directions thoroughly, as medications differ in the amount of time it takes to kill the lice and when to reapply. While the shampoo medication does its job killing the lice, all articles of clothing, bedding and other linens that the infected person has touched in the last 48 hours need to be treated as well. Everything that is machine washable needs to be laundered and dried on the hot setting. Take dry clean only items to your selected provider. Place all other items in a plastic bag and seal it for a minimum of two weeks. Vacuum carpet, rugs and furniture and soak combs and brushes in hot water, place in a bag and freeze for two days (MedicineNet.com).
Lice do not prefer genders or socioeconomic classes. A little time and treatment is all it takes to remove lice from your household, and a little education on preventative measures helps keep the lice away.
Jessica Heine is a nurse from Olathe. She lives with her husband and three children.
Did You Know?
- Head lice can only crawl with their claw like hands, positioned on the upper part of their body. They do not jump or fly and they can’t move very quickly off the head.
- Head lice have no preference for clean or dirty hair, but clean hair allows them to move more freely.
- Head lice cannot survive off of the scalp for more than 24 to 48 hours, you do not need to bag items for any longer than 48 hours.
- The average louse can hold their breath for up to three hours!
- Most of the over the counter products contain an extremely high amount of chemicals that the lice have built a resistance to over the years so they are not as effective.
- Coloring your hair does not rid you of lice. This only colors the nits so you can’t see them as well, but they are there and will hatch within 14 days.
Provided by Combers KC, a lice removal business in Overland Park.