Head Lice
Head lice can be a nuisance but they have not been shown to spread disease. However, per the National Association of School Nurses (NASN), secondary bacterial infections of the skin resulting from contaminated scratching and related lesions can occur. Personal hygiene or cleanliness in the home or school has nothing to do with getting head lice. Head lice do not jump or fly but crawl very fast. Per updated guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), students diagnosed with live head lice do not need to be sent home early from school; they can go home at the end of the day, be treated, and return to class after appropriate treatment has begun. Nits may persist after treatment, but successful treatment should kill crawling lice. Older “No Nit” policies that included mass screenings of students and “head lice outbreak” letters are no longer recommended and are shown to increase community anxiety and increase social stigma, causing embarrassment of the affected student. If a student is suspected of having head lice, a call will be placed to the parent/guardian and he/she can determine whether to pick student up early from school to start treatment or if child should go home at the end of the day. If your child is thought to have head lice, the school nurse will provide education and treatment options. Parents/guardians are encouraged to check and comb student’s hair every 2-3 days for up to 2-3 weeks to help decrease the risk of reinfestation, per CDC recommendations. Head to head contact and sharing of hats and combs are a known way to pass head lice from one person to another, therefore hat and comb sharing are discouraged. For further information:
TVUUSD Head Lice Procedure
Prevention
CDC Head Lice Prevention and Control
Education and Treatment
NASN Position Statement on Head Lice Management in School Setting
Head Lice Education and Treatment-AAP