Students and parents alike should be prepared for lice as school resumes across the Upper Cumberland.
Overton County Health Department’s Nursing Supervisor Megan Reeder said lice are small bugs that live on the hair. Reeder said there is a stigma around lice, but it does not need to be there because its spread is based solely on happenstance.
“Lice do not spread disease, but they do cause some itching because where they bite at when the skin is healing, then the healing process causes itching,” Reeder said. “But lice is spread by direct head to head contact. So in some cases, like sharing sweatshirts, hats, hair brushes, things like that.”
Reeder said lice treatements are available over the counter. Reeder said one treatment kills just the bugs, and another one kills both the bugs and the eggs.
“So that’s an important thing for parents to realize,” Reeder said. “They can get the hair rid of the actual bugs, but if they don’t get the knits out or use some sort of treatment that will kill those knits, a-k-a the eggs, those can actually hatch out days later. So, they think they’ve gotten rid of the infestation, but unfortunately they haven’t.”
Reeder said lice are attracted to humans’ warm bodies. She said lice like to feed on blood from the scalp, and do so with tentacle-like arms. She said they tend to lay their eggs at the nape of the neck or around the ears, because those areas are warmer.
Reeder said lice have been a problem for ages, and they are extremely hard to get rid of. Reeder said lice can lay and hatch millions of eggs in a week.
Reeder said lice are more common when school starts back up because kids often share things that could spread lice. She said kids may not be aware of the lice risk when sharing these items. Though the spread of lice between children is typically innocent, Reeder said parents can teach their kids not to share things that can carry lice.
Reeder said when kids bring lice home, they may infect furniture items and bed sheets. Reeder said in addition to medication, families need to ensure lice is removed from the entire home.
“Anything you can pick up and launder, it’s good to launder it on hot water at the highest heat you can without ruining the item,” Reeder said. “And then things that you can’t launder, huge stuffed animals or something like that. Anything you can bag up in plastic bags and store away for two weeks, the lice will then die. And then you can bring them back out.”
Reeder said other measures, like vacuuming carpet and soaking hairbrushes in hot water for five to ten minutes can take care of lice. She said anything soft that lice might attach to should be thoroughly cleaned.
Reeder said keeping lice away from soft surfaces or normal body temperatures will kill them. Reeder said lice do not like tea tree oil or peppermint smells, and parents may shampoo their kids’ hair with those scents to help prevent a lice infestation.
Reeder said parents can bring their children to a local health department to check for and diagnose lice.
