Your Family's Health: Coping With Head Lice
Itching, scabbing on scalp may signal presence of head lice. Learn what to do.
Jan. 26, 2009— -- Six million to 12 million school-age children in America get head lice every year, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Dealing with lice is hard on parents and even harder on their kids. Children may have to handle not just the itching from the tiny parasitic insects that nest in their hair but also face teasing from their classmates.
The Mayo Clinic says head lice infestation is common. It's second only to the common cold among communicable diseases affecting schoolchildren, according to Mayo.
Dr. Richard Besser, ABC News' chief medical and health editor, told "Good Morning America" that head lice are harmless, adding that the worst possible outcome is infection resulting from too much scratching.
"Lice don't transmit disease, but there's a lot of emotional toil," Besser said.
He answered the following questions:
Q: How can you tell if your child has lice?
A: On dark hair, lice look like specks of dandruff. On sandy or blond hair, the insects, which can be tan to grayish-white in color, are practically invisible to the naked eye.
You can easily tell the difference between lice and dandruff because dandruff is easily removed from hair, whereas nits, or lice eggs, are firmly attached.
Itching is the most obvious symptom of a head lice infestation, but not all lice infestations cause itching. Itching is an allergic reaction to a chemical that the lice inject into the skin when they bite.
Aside from itching and scabbing on the scalp because of scratching, most parents discover lice on their children when the school nurse sends home a note about an outbreak.
Q: If there's an outbreak at school, what can you do to prevent your child from getting lice?
A: Because lice spread from head-to-head contact, your child should not share hat, scarves, helmets, headphones, combs or brushes with friends or classmates.
The good news is that lice in the school won't survive over the weekend -- they need frequent blood meals.
More information and resources on head lice:
Click HERE to get comprehensive information from the CDC, and click HERE for specific information on pediatric scalp care
For more information and comprehensive resources to treat lice, click HERE to visit Hairfairies.com
