Five Tips for Combatting School Lice

Billions of school children in the United States get head lice every year. With that number in mind, you shouldn’t be surprised if one of those children belongs to you. With so many children experiencing this problem, there’s a lot of information regarding the pests. You don’t have to try to sift through all of it on your own. Take a look at some tips for the most effective type of treatment for head lice from a nursing professional with a lot of experience:

Tip One: Learn to Prevent the Pests

Lice are very contagious. They are wingless insects with an amazing ability to jump from one person to another. Most of the time, they are passed between children when kids get close to one another. This might happen if they are playing games together, sharing secrets, or playing with each other’s hair. Teach your child not to share combs, to keep their jackets away from other jackets, and to respect others’ personal spaces.

Tip Two: Recognize the Signs of an Infestation

You cannot provide good head lice treatment unless you recognize that there’s a problem. Watch out for signs such as itchiness or tickles on the head, scratching on the scalp, a hard time sleeping, or the sight of the insects. The adult louse is a tiny bug about the size of a sesame seed and a light gray color. The nits are about as big as the point of a pencil and are often found on the shafts of the hair at the nape of the neck, behind the ears, and along any part lines.

Tip Three: Check the Entire Family

Even if your child just came home with a note from school saying that they found lice, you should carefully search the heads of your other family members. Remember that these bugs are contagious. Your family could have been exposed before the school nurse was brought in to make an official diagnosis. It’s a lot easier to apply the treatment for head lice once on the whole family than it is when you have to repeat the process over and over again.

Tip Four: Comb Out the Hair at Least Twice

The instructions that came with your head lice treatment will probably suggest that you comb through the hair once. For really effective results, however, comb through the entire head twice. The first time you’ll go through carefully removing all of the nits and any full-grown lice who have managed to stay in place. The second time, comb some conditioner through the hair and then wrap the hair in a towel. As you comb out the conditioner, work with bigger chunks of hair and work more quickly. You should be able to repeat this process every day for a few days to ensure results.

Tip Five: Focus on the House

Beginning on the very first day, focus your treatment for head lice on all of the bedding, clothing, rugs, and cushions that your child may have used. You might throw them in a washing machine, vacuum them, roll over them with a sticky lint brush or run them through the dishwasher. The insects cannot survive for long when they aren’t on the human head, but they could hang out just long enough to catch a ride back onto someone’s head.