Pediculosis (Headlice) on The Rise?

Your daycare director is handing out letters to staff and to parents. It seems there has been a case of pediculosis declared in the day care. Pediculosis? Yes, also known as headlice.

Your director will try hard to keep panic to a minimum but parents don't react positively to this type of news. Why you ask, because there's a big misconception that headlice/pediculosis comes from people who don't wash regularly. Adults in our society don't want to be associated with unhygienic conditions and for them headlice falls in this category. But cleanliness has nothing to do with it.

Whether a person washes regular or not, there's no link to headlice. Headlice is passed from one to another by contact, for example: head to head. Or passed from objects, for example: by sharing combs, brushes, pillows, and hats. The nits (pearl-like shaped eggs) or lice (a wingless-gray insect) are transferred and cling to the hair, the scalp, behind the ears and at the top of the neck.

There's no miracle cure to destroy headlice. Mayonnaise, olive oil or Vaseline will only grease hair very well. It might smother some of the nits and lice but besides having to wash your hair many times to get the grease out, they are not viable solutions. Pesticides are much too harsh and toxic, especially to apply on a child's head. To get rid of the nits/lice, your health care provider will recommend a shampoo that's strong enough to kill the nits/lice yet will be safe, if used properly.

Hair-washing will not be the only part of the solution. Using a fine-tooth comb, the hair will be separated and searched for nits. The nits will be picked off the hair. This is extremely time consuming but an essential part of getting rid headlice.

The child's house as well as the day care will need a thorough vacuuming and a vigorous scrubbing. All washables such as bedding and clothes will need to be washed and dried in the hot cycles. Items that can't be washed will have to be dry-cleaned or sealed in a plastic bag for 30 days, long enough for the life cycle of the lice to end and no reproduction to happen. Stuffed animals can be placed in the dryer for 20-25 minutes. Plastic objects will need to soak in a bleach solution for one hour.

The child, at the first appearance of a nit or lice, will need to be excluded until treatment begins. Then regular screening will follow for 10-14 days afterwards to prevent a second outbreak. All family members will need to be check too.

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