Lice
Every parent's nightmare, a call from the school nurse saying, "Your child has LICE!" While the research and policies have evolved, the stigma around lice still remains the same. Through education, we hope to dispel some of the myths surrounding lice.
What are lice anyway?
Lice are a type of tiny insect that feeds on blood. A head lice infection is technically called “pediculosis.” Contrary to popular belief, it doesn’t indicate that your child is dirty or has poor hygiene. The cleanest person in the world can get head lice if they come into close contact with someone who has lice or share personal items with them. For example, your child can get head lice if they:
put their head or hair close to someone who has head lice
put on a hat or scarf that’s been worn by someone with head lice
use a comb or a brush that’s been used by someone with head lice
shares other personal items, such as barrettes, hair ties, pillows, blankets, washcloths, or towels with someone who has head lice
Head lice have no wings and can’t fly or hop. They can only crawl. Their eggs or “nits” aren’t very mobile either, since lice glue them onto hair shafts. As a result, some form of close contact is needed for lice to be transferred from one person’s head to another. Since they only drink human blood, there’s no risk of contracting head lice from pets or other animals.
It’s a common myth that lice can’t live in short hair. In fact, they don’t care much about hairstyles or length. They attach themselves about 1/4 inch from your scalp. That means they can survive on most people’s heads, even people with relatively short hair.
What are the symptoms?
Your child might have head lice if they have:
an itchy scalp
a sensation of something crawling on their scalp
tiny spots of blood on their scalp, which can become infected
Our Lice Policy
District 58 follows the standard lice procedures for schools recommended by national health organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics, the DuPage County Health Department and many others. No child will be sent home for lice or for nits. If a child has lice in her hair, the nurse will contact that child's parent but send the child back to the classroom for the rest of the day. Parents are expected to treat the lice however we are here to assist with questions you may have related to best practice in this area. As of December 2019, parents will be notified if there is one confirmed case in their student's grade. If there is more than one confirmed case, across several grade levels, the whole school community will receive a notice. This notification will come from an administrator and can either be embedded in their weekly message or can be a stand-alone letter. In accordance with recommendations from the CDC, school nurses no longer conduct head checks for an entire classroom or school.
Research shows us children who are found to have a lice infestation have probably had lice for a few weeks. Lice do not carry infectious diseases, and they do not pose a health risk to students and staff. For these reasons, trusted health organizations strongly recommend that schools do not exclude children with lice from the classroom. Transmission of lice is mainly through head-to-head contact and lice are rarely spread through the school or classroom environment.
One thing that we do ask your cooperation with in helping us manage this, is to inform the school if your child has lice. It helps us to better track cases and properly notify parents. As always, health information that is shared with the nursing staff is considered confidential and we never will share your child's personal information. We also encourage you to share positive lice cases with other parents that your child may have had direct contact, within the past two weeks, outside of the school setting.
Treatment
If your child has head lice or nits, it’s important to treat it quickly to avoid spreading it to other members of your home. You should also check other household members for signs of lice and nits. Treat everyone who has lice or nits at the same time, to lower the risk of one person spreading them back to another.
Most cases of head lice can be treated with over-the-counter or prescription medications, known as pediculicides. After you apply the medication, thoroughly check your child’s head and comb their hair with a lice comb to remove remaining nits and lice every two to three days. You may need to apply another dose of medication about a week after the first round. Follow the package directions and consult your doctor if you have questions.
What about cleaning?
Adult head lice survive less than 1-2 days, and nits generally die within a week once they fall off a person and cannot feed. Vacuuming the floor and furniture and washing bed linens, clothes, hats, and towels in hot water can help eliminate any lingering lice.
Maintenance
Catching head lice early is vital to helping stop the spread of these itchy pests. It can take 2-4 weeks for outbreak symptoms such as itching to show up, if they do at all. By making weekly lice checks a habit at home, you can help stop an infestation before it gets out of control.
Resources
There are many fantastic resources out there regarding head lice. As always, if you have any questions regarding this issue, please feel free to reach out.