WITH the back to school season in full swing, the dreaded outbreak of head lice in your child’s class could strike any day now.
The tiny, blood-sucking insects can spread quickly in classroom environments and with warnings that they have become resistant to some treatments, here’s exactly what to do if the dreaded bugs appear.
With children back to school after the summer holidays, it’s possible that cases of head lice will surge Credit: Getty
One online pharmacy said that sales of head lice surged by 57% between September and October last year Credit: Getty – Contributor
Cases of head lice can be particularly high in the back-to-school seasons, with lots of head-to-head contact between children in both the playground and during lesson times.
The online pharmacy Pharmacy2U recently revealed that sales for head lice treatment soared by 57% between September and October last year.
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To avoid a similar situation this year, experts are encouraging parents to act early and regularly check their child’s head.
While an itchy scalp is usually the first sign of head lice, this symptom sometimes doesn’t come on until two to three weeks after close contact with the tiny insects.
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So with this in mind, here’s everything you need to know to protect your child’s head.
How to spot head lice
Do you know what to do to look out for head lice in your child’s hair? Credit: Getty
Head lice are small insects that measure up to 3mm in length, the NHS says.
Daniel Turnbull, professional standards pharmacist at Pharmacy2U, explains that the insects “live in human hair, laying eggs that are commonly referred to as nits”.
The only way to be sure someone has head lice is to find a live louse in their hair.
Adult lice are brown while the eggs they lay – the nits – are white, with both firmly sticking to the hair.
An itchy scalp tends to be the first symptom of head lice.
To check for these tiny creatures, Mr Turnbull recommends “sectioning the hair and running it through a fine-tooth detection comb”.
How does it spread?
Head lice are most easily spread through close head-to-head contact Credit: Getty
Contrary to popular belief, lice cannot jump or fly. Instead, they crawl from one person’s hair to the next.
“Head lice can spread quickly in classroom environments, particularly through close head-to-head contact,” says Amir Bhogal, superintendent pharmacist and director of Pyramid Pharmacy Group.
This is why cases may surge in the autumn months, as children return to school – and play in larger groups – after the long summer holidays.
Another common way for the little insects to spread is through sharing personal items such as hairbrushes, hats, scarves and towels.
So even older siblings, parents and other family members could be at risk of catching lice this back-to-school season.
And with itching sometimes not coming on for weeks after lice latch onto hair, this is what often makes their spread particularly widespread.
Which treatments actually work?
Mum grooming her son of parasitic head lice with a nit comb Credit: Getty
While the little insects cannot firmly be prevented, there are a few steps people can take if they are worried.
“To reduce the chance of your child getting or spreading head lice, tie long hair back, especially for school, and ensure that they avoid sharing things like hats, hair accessories and hair brushes,” Mr Turnbull says.
“If you find head lice in your child’s hair, make sure to follow their school or nursery’s policy as soon as possible to help reduce wider outbreaks.”
According to the NHS, a method known as wet combing is generally seen to be the first port of call.
After buying a special fine-toothed comb – known as a detection comb – you should wash your child’s hair with shampoo and then apply lots of conditioner.
Leave the conditioner in and comb through the whole head, from roots to ends.
This should take about 10 minutes for short hair and 20 to 30 minutes for long, frizzy or curly hair.
When you finish this process, comb through all the hair again for a second time, the NHS advises.
This then needs to be repeated on days one, five, nine and 13 to catch any newly hatched head lice.
Mr Bhogal also says a final check needs to be done on day 17 to check the hair is lice free.
If wet combing does not work, you should then try a medicated spray or lotion.
These usually come under two categories – insecticides, which poison the lice, and pesticide free silicone-based treatments.
While head lice have been routinely treated with insecticides for decades, repeated exposure has allowed the insects to become resistant to the treatment.
British studies have found widespread resistance to both permethrin and malathion.
This means that the little insects may now be able to survive doses of the treatment that would have once killed them.
So the other treatment option is silicone-based treatments, including Hedrin 4% Lotion, which are pesticide-free.
It is applied to dry hair, left on for eight hours or overnight and then washed out.
But even with this option, it should be repeated again after seven days to ensure all the lice are gone.
“Treatments need repeating at least once to catch any newly hatched lice, so failing to complete the full course of treatment is often the reason that head lice return,” Mr Turnball says.
The top three hacks to tackle head lice
The preferred treatment hacks for head lice seem to be:
Using preventative measures (being cautious) like tying up long hair and avoiding sharing personal items like hats, hairbrushes and other hair accessories
Wet combing – coating hair in conditioner and thoroughly combing through it to look for, and remove, lice
Silicone-based treatments – Hedrin Lotion is an example of this. It does not contain pesticides, unlike other treatments.
Which are worth avoiding?
As some head lice treatments have become less effective due to treatment resistance, the NHS recommends that any product containing permethrin should be avoided.
It also says treatments advertising themselves as head lice “repellents” are not recommended.
Similarly, electric combs for head lice and plant oil treatments – such as tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil and lavender herbal remedies – should be avoided.
What are the most common lice misconceptions?
There are a number of common misconceptions that some people have about head lice Credit: Getty – Contributor
The most common misconception is that head lice are linked to poor hygiene.
This, however, is not correct and the little creatures are not caused by dirty hair.
While this article has mentioned preventative measures against head lice, they ultimately cannot be prevented entirely.
With children having lots of close head-to-head contact at school, it is likely they will catch the little insects at some point.
What’s more, the NHS urges that medicated lotions and sprays are not used to prevent head lice as they can irritate the scalp.
Finally, there is no need to wash your laundry on an extra hot wash if your child gets head lice, nor should you wash their teddies or frantically strip beds and sofas.
Head lice need regular blood ‘meals’ and a warm environment to survive, meaning they stay on people’s scalps.
Once they have left the head, they struggle to survive for more than eight to 12 hours.
