Lice in Schools

In schools, head lice are at the top of the list of prevalent communicable conditions, outranked only by the common cold. The tiny, wingless head louse can't fly or jump, but it can sure get around. No one could blame you for fretting if an outbreak has occurred in your child's school, but take some time to inform yourself before leaping into action. Head lice are disgusting, but they aren't dangerous.

Life of a Louse

• The louse begins its life in a tiny, sticky gray egg called a nit that clings to the hair near the scalp. The egg is hard to see and easily confused with dandruff, though a seasoned parent might recognize its gluey grasp on the comb. After roughly a week, the egg hatches into a "nymph." In just one more week, the nymph will have molted three times and become a full-grown louse. Given regular meals of blood, the adult louse can live for up to 30 days on the scalp of its host. The grown louse moves quickly and its gray tint blends with hair of all colors, so most diagnoses of lice are made on the basis of the nits.

Risk Factors and Contagion

• Lice aren't a sign of bad hygiene, so don't feel guilty if your child comes home with an itchy scalp. They are spread through head-to-head contact and shared belongings, so children are at the greatest risk. The U.S. Center for Disease Control reports that infestations occur in between 6 million and 12 million American children every year, and that girls are somewhat more likely to be affected than boys. Your pets are also not to blame. Head lice are not fleas and are not transmitted via animals. Head lice are not known to carry any diseases, though secondary infections can occasionally result from vigorous scratching.

Treatment

• The old-fashioned comb should still be the parent's first resource in cases of head lice.

  Prescription shampoos combat lice infestations with reliable results, but lice can also be removed naturally. With diligence, lice and their nits can be combed right out of the child's wet hair. The Mayo Clinic advises that you repeat this careful combing every three or four days for at least two weeks to ensure complete removal. All family members should be checked for head lice, and care should be taken not to share hats or pillows before the condition is thoroughly controlled. The lice will die on their own when deprived of their food source, but a spin in the washer and dryer is sure to kill any remaining lice on clothing.

Don't Stay Home from School

• A school head lice outbreak is a nuisance, but not a threat. According to a New York Times report, over-diagnosis is a greater problem than the infestation itself. Because lice conceal themselves so effectively and cause few or no symptoms, accurate diagnosis is difficult, and anxious scalp-checkers are prone to false positives. Experts recommend no treatment at all unless a live louse is found on the scalp, because even positively identified nits are not always indicative of an active infection. Even when lice have been confirmed, don't panic. Comb well, check scalps closely, but keep your child in school.