SA HEALTH is aiming to dispel myths about a common pest – head lice – as children across the state head back to school this week.
Director of health protection Dr Chris Lease said there were many misconceptions about head lice, but understanding key facts about their habits and lifecycle would help parents and caregivers manage and prevent head lice infestations.
“Head lice can affect people of all ages and backgrounds, but they are particularly common in primary school children,” Dr Lease said.
“That’s because younger children tend to engage in more frequent head-to-head contact while they are playing at school, kindergarten or child care.”
Lice can only spread through direct head contact with a person who has lice or by items their head has come into contact with, such as brushes, pillows, hats and scarves.
“While head lice can cause itching and discomfort, they don’t spread disease,” Dr Lease said.
“There is often stigma associated with head lice, but it’s important to remember they don’t discriminate and are not associated with unclean environments, poor hygiene or dirty hair.”
If a child is suspected of having lice, there is no need for them to be sent home and they can return the next day if appropriate treatment is given.
“Head lice are tiny wingless insects that feed on human blood and can be found in the hair as eggs, often known as nits or live adult lice,” Dr Lease said.
“There are two main approaches to treating head lice – one involves the chemical treatments, such as lice shampoos, which must be used strictly as directed to be effective.
“The other method is wet combing which involves the use of thick, pale conditioner applied generously to the scalp and left on for about 20 minutes.
“This stuns the lice which can then be combed out with a fine tooth comb.”
With either method, it is essential to repeat the process a week later to kill any lice that may have hatched from eggs left behind in the initial treatment.
Lice do not fly and cannot live for more than 24 hours off of the human body, so it is important that efforts to manage head lice are focused on treatment of the infestation, rather than excessive environmental cleaning.
