FAMILY MEDICINE® COLUMN
By John C. Wolf, D.O.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine®
Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine

[HEAD LICE NOT INDICATION OF POOR HYGIENE BUT OF FRIENDS]

Question: Last year, my 8 year-old daughter was sent home from school with head lice. With school just starting, I'd like to know how to prevent this from happening again.

Answer: Lice are insects that feed upon us humans. The particular order of these creatures that prefers to live on the scalp, back of the neck, and behind the ears is called Pediculus humanus capitis, for those of you interested in medical names. The majority of us just call them head lice.

Head lice are quite common, particularly among school-aged children and other groups where there is frequent physical contact. Adult head lice are visible as very small insects on the scalp. In fact, they are so small that I find using a magnifying glass makes them easier to see. Adult lice bite the scalp to feed. This produces local skin irritation that is usually noticed as itching red areas rather than as pain. In addition to biting, the adult lice lay eggs, called nits, that are attached to hair shafts. The nits take about one month to hatch and another 2 to 3 weeks to mature into adults. These new adults then continue their life cycle on that individual, or they may be spread to someone else.

Most grade schools do head checks to look for head lice and will then promptly send infested children home for treatment. This is a sensible policy to reduce the spread of lice to other children and teachers. Parents often feel that finding head lice on their child is an accusation of inadequate child-care or of poor hygiene. Not true! Head lice only indicate that your child has friends.

You can reduce the risk of head lice by asking your child to never put on someone else's cap and to never let someone else wear hers. She should also not brush or comb someone else's hair or loan her comb or brush to another child. She should also avoid playing in a fashion that would involve physical contact with another person. The likelihood of any normal child doing any of these things is nearly zero. Therefore, the best you can do is periodically look at your child's scalp and hair closely for signs of lice.

Don't panic if your child has head lice. There are several non-prescription medicines that work well. Rid, and other products with different brand names, contain pyrethrum, a natural extract of chrysanthemums. Nix, a product containing permethrin, a synthetic chemical that is very similar to the natural extract, works quite well, too. These drugs are effective at killing head lice for about 95 percent of sufferers. Both products also require meticulous combing of the treated hair with a very fine comb that pulls the nits free from the hair shaft.

There are stronger drugs available by prescription for those who need them, but try one of the non-prescription products first. It is also important to wash bedding and potentially contaminated clothing in hot water to kill any adult lice or nits that may be present on them. This will reduce the risk of a reoccurrence of head lice in your home.

Family Medicine® is a weekly column. To submit questions, write to John C. Wolf, D.O., Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine, Grosvenor Hall, Athens, Ohio 45701.