HEAD LICE
Advice for Schools and Parents
What are head lice ?
Head Lice – The Facts
• Head lice are tiny greyish brown wingless insects
• An adult louse is about 2mm long – the size of a sesame seed.
Head Lice – The Facts
Head lice are not nits
Head Lice – The Facts
• Nits are actually the empty egg cases of head lice
• Nits can remain weeks or even months after an infection
• Nits do not necessarily mean you have head lice – look for
living, moving louse using the recommended detection method
How do we get head lice ?
How do we get head lice?
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Head lice live in the hair, right next to the scalp
They live in any hair – clean or dirty, long or short
They cannot hop, fly or jump
Head lice are spread through direct head to head contact
How do we get head lice?
• Head lice can infect anyone – not just children
• Many infections are spread by families and friends
• You are unlikely to catch head lice from objects such as chair backs,
hats or towels
• Lice do not cause or carry disease
• Knowledge can help control their spread
How do I know if I have head lice?
How do I know if I have head lice?
• Some people will get an itchy scalp
But –
• You may not know you have head lice
• Detection combing is the best method of identifying head lice
What is detection combing?
What is detection combing?
• Step 1: Buy a special detection comb from your local pharmacy
• Step 2: Make sure you have plenty of light – ideally natural
daylight
What is detection combing?
• Step 3: Wash hair well with an ordinary shampoo and towel
dry until damp, not dripping
• Step 4: Remove tangles with an ordinary comb
What is detection combing?
• Step 5: With the teeth of the detection comb touching the scalp
at the top of the head, start combing towards the end of the hair,
keeping the teeth of the comb in contact with the scalp as long
as possible. Keep a close eye on the comb for any signs of head
lice
What is detection combing?
• Step 6: Repeat the process moving round the whole of the
head. It will take 10-15 minutes to do properly
What is detection combing?
• Step 7: Keep checking the comb. Wiping it on a tissue can help
identify the head lice. If a living moving louse is found, you
have head lice. However you must not be treated unless you
find a living, moving louse
What is detection combing?
• Step 8: It is best to perform detection combing on anyone who
is likely to have had head to head contact with the affected
person
How do I treat the infection?
How do I treat the infection?
• Treatments containing an insecticide are the only method
clinically proven to be effective
• Nix Crème Rinse or R+C are clinically proven, 10 minute
treatment suitable for asthmatics
• Nix Crème Rinse or R+C are tough on head lice, but kind on
kids
How do I treat the infection?
• The application is quick and easy to use, and is just like
applying conditioner
• Experts recommend a second application after 7 days to
ensure that any lice that may be emerging from eggs that
survive the first application are eradicated
• Nix Crème Rinse and R+C contain Permethrin, based on
pyrethins – derived from chrysanthemum flowers
(*Always ask your pharmacist for advice and always read the label)
How do I treat the infection?
Other options include:
• Repeated wet combing over several weeks
• “Electric combs”
• Essential oil preparations
None of these are supported by clinical evidence to prove their
effectiveness in treating infections
How do I treat the infection?
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Remove all nits by pulling them off with your fingers
This can take time but is the most important step
a nit comb can help
Checking for and removing nits should be done daily for 14 days
Head Lice Control Checklist, IERHA, July 2013
Household cleaning
• There is no evidence that a major household clean-up will
help get rid of head lice
• Head lice do not survive well away from their food source and
survive only in a certain temperature & humidity range
• Eggs do not hatch off the head
• Lice rarely move from the scalp so it is not likely they will spread
through casual contact with furniture or carpeting
• Articles that are most likely to transmit lice are those that come in
contact with the head and neck (hats, helmets, furry coat collars,
scarves, hair brushes, combs and hair ornaments)
Head Lice Fact Sheet, Manitoba Health, February 2012
Household cleaning
• Soak combs, brushes, hair clips in very hot water for 15 minutes
• Wash personal belongings (especially head gear), recently worn
clothing, towels and bed linen in hot water. Dry using hot cycle of
the dryer
• Items that cannot be exposed to hot water should be either placed
in a hot dryer for 20 minutes, frozen at -20C for 24 hours, sealed in
a plastic bag for 10 days or dry cleaned
• Vacuum or wash area where there had been direct head contact
(couch, bed, car seat)
Head Lice Control Checklist, IERHA, July 2013
How do we prevent it?
How do we prevent it?
• Anyone with head lice will have been infected by someone
around them
• Contact tracing helps prevent the spread of an infection
How do we prevent it?
• Step1: If you find a living, moving louse, tell anyone you have
been in contact with
• Step 2: Advise them to use the detection method and if they
find live lice, to tell everyone they have been in contact with
What do schools have to do with it?
What do schools have to do with it?
• Head louse infections are a community problem – not just a
school problem
But –
• Schools are at the “frontline” as so many children are in
contact with each other
What do schools have to do with it?
• Infections can spread in the classroom as there may be
prolonged head to head contact when children huddle
together over their desks
• Break-time, lunch time and out of school play also help the
infection to spread, as children come into close contact with
each other
What do schools have to do with it?
• There is a low level of head louse infections usually present in the
community
• At any time, 2-5% of children in a school will have head lice
• An “outbreak” is unlikely to be so widespread as parents may imagine
• A child should not miss more than one day of school because of
treatment for head lice
• Children do not have to be “nit-free” in order to return to school or
day care
• Exclusion is not recommended. It is not necessary to isolate the child
if the child is remaining at school
What can schools do?
What can schools do?
• Provide support, advice and information as part of an ongoing
health initiative
• The public health nurse can advise on the causes and
treatment of head louse infection, provide support and
supplies, if needed, to families
What do we need to remember?
What do we need to remember?
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Infections are not a health threat
Detection and treatment are simple
Schools should keep an infected child’s identity confidential
The school can provide ongoing support and information
Visit
www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/cdc/protocol/headlice.pdf
www.gov.mb.ca/health/publichealth/factsheets/headlice_checklist.pdf
www.caringforkids.cps.ca/handouts/head_lice
www.kidshealth.org
• Reliable online source of information on head lice
• Provides advice and materials to manage head lice
On the websites you will
find…
• facts on head lice
• Information for parents – factual and reassuring
• Check list for treatment and cleaning associated with head
lice
• Treatment advice for parents
THE END