White Tiger News

The Facts of LICE

Head lice are most commonly spread by direct head-to-head contact with hair of other people who have head lice. Head lice are less commonly spread through contact with an infested person’s personal items, such as hairbrushes and combs, hats, unwashed clothing, bedding, or towels. Head lice are commonly spread within householdsMDPH.

Screening for lice/nits in the school or childcare setting is not an accurate way of predicting which children or adolescents are or will become infested, and screening for head lice has not been proven to have a significant effect on the incidence of head lice in a school community over timeAAP 

If you are concerned your child is at risk of getting head lice, you can look for crawling lice and for nits on your child's scalp a section at a time. Nits can be confused with many other things such as dandruff, dirt particles or hair spray droplets. The way to tell the difference is that nits are firmly attached to hair, while dandruff, dirt or other particles are not. 

If lice are found, the most effective way to treat head lice is with head lice medicine. Head lice medicine should be used only when it is certain that your child has live head lice, it is important to use them safely and as directedHealthy Children.