Clear Heads Before Going Back to School – Lice 101

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Summer is almost over, and we are fine-tuning the last details before going back to school. Clearing your kids’ heads of lice is a very important part of our back to school checklists, especially if they went to summer camp. 

What Are Lice?

Tiny insects that live in the hair and scalp. They are thought of as a parasite since they feed on human blood. Even though they die after the fall of the body, lice are extremely contagious. Even a small number of eggs can cause an infestation. Knowing how to prevent and get rid of them effectively can save you time, money, and lots of itching.

braids Clear Heads Before Going Back to School - Lice 101 Katy Taurel Contributor Miami Moms Blog

To properly address lice, is important to confirm it. Not all head itching is lice. Dandruff, dry skin and some scalp infections have similar symptoms. To be sure, check carefully under a light. They are the size of a sesame seed and a gray-brown color so it’s easy to spot them on the scalp. The best way to check is to wet the hair, cover it in conditioner and comb it with a special nit comb.

Life Cycle of a Louse

  • An adult head louse lays up to 10 eggs or nits daily. If they are not on the original host’s head they die but the nits don’t. 
  • These nits, or eggs, take 7 to 12 days to hatch.
  • Baby lice or nymphs grow into adults in about a 9 to 12 days.
  • After a few days, adult lice are ready to mate, starting this cycle again
  • Their lifespan is 3-4-weeks.

How to Prevent and Remove Lice

There are many tales and grandmas’ remedies to prevent and remove lice. Delousing products are low-grade pesticides thought to be safe, natural options based on rosemary oil. They are good, effective solutions as well. All of these treatments have to be finished with manual extraction, the most effective removal method. The easiest way is on wet hair with conditioner and a nit comb. This process is good for checking and removing lice and it’s important to do it on all family members when there is a kid with lice in the home. Many schools require that professionals do it and sign a certificate, manual extraction being the most common method used by professionals.

Along with delousing it’s important to properly clean your house to prevent reinfestation. Lice need the human head to survive, and only objects that have had recent contact with a person are likely to spread lice. Wash pillows and pillowcases, scarves, hats and clothes that are in contact with the head, and vacuum furniture and carpets. Running the clothing in the dryer is fine if the clothing cannot be washed safely. Soak combs, brushes, and any other hair tools in hot water for 5-10 minutes. As a general measure encourage children not to share combs, brushes, hats, or scarves with other children.

pillows Clear Heads Before Going Back to School - Lice 101 Katy Taurel Contributor Miami Moms Blog
Image by JayMantri from Pixabay

It’s extremely important that kids stay at home until the infestation is controlled to avoid passing it to other kids. Symptoms don’t show until the first nits hatch so if there is a lice infestation everyone should get checked. A very good preventive measure is to use rosemary oil or rosemary leave-in conditioner– it’s a natural repellent and keeps the head clear. I also use natural delousing shampoo and conditioner once a week for extra protection. 

Myths and Facts: 

  • It’s easy to get lice. Actually, they ONLY spread by head to head contact. So it’s less contagious than a cold, flu, ear infections or pink eye. 
  • Lice are dirty and spread disease. They are very annoying but they are not impacted by dirty or clean hygiene, and it has not been proven that they spread any known disease. 
  • Head lice can survive many days off people in furniture, linens or clothing. When off the human body, they cannot survive for more than 24 hrs. They need blood and warmth to survive. 
  • Nits (lice eggs) can pass and hatch on another person’s head. Nits are latched on the scalp and they are difficult to remove. Nymphs (baby lice) are also not likely to jump from one head to the other since they need a lot of blood to survive. The adults would be the ones to jump from head to head. 
  • Cutting your hair short would prevent lice. Since they latch to the scalp, there is no relation to the length of the hair. 
  • You can get lice from hats and helmets. Although spread through hats or helmets is possible, it is rare. It is more common for transmission to occur from pillows, hairbrushes or sheets. The most common type of transmission is from head-to-head contact.
  • You can get them from your dog or other pets. Head lice are specific to humans. You can get human lice only from other humans. You cannot give them to your pets.

Don’t overcomplicate it. Having lice is annoying but it’s simple to manage if you have the right information. I hope these facts are helpful and make your delousing process a little easier. 

Have a Beautiful Day!
Firma Katy Taurel Contributor Miami Moms Blog

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