So your child has head lice.
Maybe you got a note from school or daycare that head lice were circulating amongst the kids, that they noticed head lice on your child, or you may have noticed the lice on your child's head yourself.
Unfortunately, the first reaction for many parents in dealing with this common problem of childhood is to panic.
Panicking is not going to kill the head lice though and will likely lead to over-treatment and anxiety in your child who is worrying that he has "bugs" in his hair.
Instead of worrying when you think your child has head lice, you should:
- Confirm that your child has head lice. Reviewing some head lice pictures can help you understand what you are looking for, including live lice and nits (lice eggs) in your child's hair.
- Treat your child's head lice with an anti-lice shampoo, such as Nix, if you identify live head lice or nits within 1 cm of your child's scalp. Keep in mind that nits which are further than 1 cm from your child's scalp have likely already hatched or do not have live lice in them, so that may not indicate a live infestation.
- Continue to remove nits from your child's head, even if you have to check his head each night for a week or more until you get them all.
- Clean your child's clothes and bedding. This includes washing his clothing and bedding in hot water and vacuuming to remove lice and nits from furniture, carpets, and stuffed animals. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, you really only have to clean "items, clothing, furniture, or carpeting that have been in contact with the head of the person with infestation in the 24 to 48 hours before treatment," and not everything in your house. And you can put anything that you can't wash in a large plastic bag for a few weeks -- where they will eventually starve and die -- if you are really concerned that it is infested.
- Teach your kids how to avoid getting head lice again, including not sharing hats or brushes or direct contact with someone with head lice.
- See your pediatrician if you can't get rid of your child's head lice, instead of treating your child over and over on your own. Your pediatrician can confirm that your child still does have live head lice, teach you how to identify and remove nits, and may prescribe a prescription strength anti-lice shampoo, such as Ovide (0.5% malathion).
What You Need To Know
In addition to learning more about head lice, understand that you are not alone. Head lice infestations are common, affecting up to 12 million kids each year. You should also know that:
- Head lice aren't dangerous and are not a sign that your kids have poor hygiene or that they are going to catch a disease.
- Kids can usually return to school after they have been treated with an anti-lice shampoo, even if they still have some nits. You should continue to work at removing the nits though. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that "no healthy child should be excluded from or allowed to miss school time because of head lice."
- Children should usually be retreated with their anti-lice shampoo in 7 to 10 days, especially if you still see live head lice. Call your pediatrician if you are seeing live head lice sooner than 7 to 10 days though, as that may indicate that your first treatment didn't work and repeating the treatment too quickly may increase your child's risk of side effects from the treatment, especially scalp irritation.
- Check other family members for head lice, but only treat those that show signs of an active lice infestation, with live head lice or nits within 1 cm of their scalp.
Source:
American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report. Head Lice. Pediatrics 2002 110: 638-643.
