As kids head back to school, an unlucky few will likely bring home some unwanted guests – head lice.
If you remember being sent home when the school nurse found lice in your hair, you might be surprised at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s current guidelines.
Students can stay in school until the end of the day, then go home for treatment, and return as long as the treatment has begun.
That guidance hasn’t changed in over a decade, the CDC told NPR, contrary to some recent news reports.
That approach makes sense, according to Dr. Dawn Nolt, a pediatrician at Oregon Health & Science University Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Oregon.
“It takes about four to six weeks for someone to really show and start itching from head lice. And so, you know, once it’s detected, it’s probably really been there for about a month,” Nolt told NPR’s Morning Edition.
Having lice in your hair just isn’t that urgent of a condition, she said.
“It doesn’t carry any additional diseases. It’s just really a nuisance,” she added. “So we encourage that kids stay in school at least through the end of the day, and send a note or a call to the family to start treatment as soon as they can.”
Nolt also authored the American Academy of Pediatrics most recent report on head lice.
It stressed that “medical providers should educate school communities that no-nit policies for return to school should be abandoned.”
It’s difficult for kids to catch lice
As kids go back to class, parents shouldn’t worry too much about them getting lice, Nolt said.
“It’s actually pretty hard to have lice go from one head to the other because we have to remember that it crawls. It doesn’t jump, it doesn’t fly,” Nolt added.
“Your kids are relatively safe in the classroom from getting head lice from their classmates. As long as they don’t rub their heads together,” she said.
Treatment is fairly simple
After finding live lice in the hair, the treatment is simple, according to Nolt.
“There are very safe and effective FDA-approved products for head lice that are available over the counter. It’s important to follow the directions to get the best outcomes,” she said.
“You’ll know if your treatment is effective if you don’t see any lice in about seven to 10 days after your last dose of medication,” Nolt added.
If that doesn’t get rid of them, then it’s time to take your child to their doctor for a stronger prescription medication.
Stigma about lice persists
The final itch to scratch when it comes to lice is removing the stigma, Nolt believes.
“Lice is a common childhood disease. It’s found worldwide. It can attach to anyone’s head. It doesn’t discriminate,” she said.
Some commonly held beliefs about lice just don’t hold up, Nolt added.
“It’s associated with poor hygiene or houselessness or not washing your hair really well or combing it. And it’s really none of that,” she said.
So if lice visit your home in your kid’s hair, know that your child is just one of millions of cases in the U.S. every year — and pop down to the pharmacy.
This digital story was edited by Obed Manuel.
Transcript:
A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
It’s that time of year, where kids are heading back to school. And if you’re unlucky, your kid could come home with some uninvited guests. Yeah, we’re talking head lice. Getting itchy just thinking about it. But don’t worry, we’ve got just the person to talk us through all this. Dr. Dawn Nolt is a professor of pediatric infectious diseases. She’s also the lead author of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ most recent report on head lice. Doctor, so how worried should we be about our kids getting lice at school?
DAWN NOLT: Good morning. We shouldn’t be too worried. It’s actually pretty hard to have lice go from one head to another because we have to remember that it crawls. It doesn’t jump. It doesn’t fly. And so, really, your kids are relatively safe in the classroom from getting head lice from their classmates, as long as they don’t, you know, rub their heads together all day.
MARTÍNEZ: That’s what I was about to say. Yeah – bump heads or rub heads together. Yeah.
NOLT: Right, exactly.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Now, some people might – that are listening might remember being sent home from school because they had lice. But the current CDC guidance says it’s not necessary. Why isn’t it necessary? You would think you’d want the little critters away from other kids.
NOLT: Right. So it’s important to remember that it takes about four to six weeks for someone to really show and start itching from head lice. And so, you know, once it’s detected, it’s probably really been there for about a month.
MARTÍNEZ: Ah.
NOLT: It doesn’t carry any additional diseases; it’s just really a nuisance. So we encourage that kids stay in school, at least till the end of the day, and send a note or a call to the family to, you know, start treatment as soon as they can.
MARTÍNEZ: So speaking of treatment, what is the best treatment for lice if someone has it? I mean, are we still shaving kids’ heads?
NOLT: Oh goodness, no. We don’t want to do that.
MARTÍNEZ: OK.
NOLT: That’s so traumatic. But certainly, there are very safe and effective FDA-approved products for head lice that are available over the counter. It’s important to follow the directions to get the best outcomes. But, you know, they’re really safe and you’ll know if your treatment is effective if you don’t see any lice in about seven to 10 days after your last dose of medication.
MARTÍNEZ: Seven to 10 days. OK.
NOLT: Yeah.
MARTÍNEZ: Now, one of the things I can imagine – a kid might feel sad or down about themselves if, you know, if they find out they have lice. I mean, what’s the best way to handle how to talk to your kid about having lice, if they have it?
NOLT: Right. You’re absolutely right. We don’t want to embarrass or cause anxiety in that child. And we just reassure them and reassure families, which are probably the people who are probably more, actually, anxious. But we want to tell them that, you know, lice is a common childhood disease. It’s found worldwide. It can attach to anyone’s head. It doesn’t discriminate. And we can get you treated. And you will, in a bit of time, be able to not have it on your head anymore.
MARTÍNEZ: Why is lice getting such – I mean, when I hear of this, Doctor, it becomes this thing where it’s, like – it’s a panic in the community, right? It becomes this whole thing where every parent is just terrified of this.
NOLT: I think it has that stigma – unfortunately, still does – in that it’s associated with maybe poor hygiene or…
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah.
NOLT: …Houselessness or not washing your hair really well or combing it right. And it’s really none of that. And so as long as we recognize that, you know, kids will get lice…
MARTÍNEZ: (Laughter).
NOLT: …We should be OK.
MARTÍNEZ: Yeah. Just like they get colds, right?
NOLT: That’s right. That’s right.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. That’s Dr. Dawn Nolt, professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland, Ore. Doctor, thank you.
NOLT: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
