Headlice

There has recently been a case of head lice identified at the school and we wanted to make sure you were kept informed. While lice are nothing more than a nuisance, it is important that children are checked on a weekly basis so that any head lice can be dealt with quickly and before they are allowed to spread too far.

As there has been an outbreak, we suggest that you check your child’s head as soon as possible.

Follow the simple CHECK, TREAT, COMPLETE routine below to ensure you are doing your bit to keep head lice outbreaks to a minimum

CHECK

• Your child’s hair once a week
• Use a proper detection comb – with teeth no more than 0.3mm apart to trap head lice and white in colour so they can be easily seen
• If you find live lice, consult a pharmacist for treatment advice
• If head lice are spotted, take a close look at all the family, including yourself and ask close family and friends to check as well

TREAT

• Only treat if live lice are identified
• Use clinically proven treatment
• Leave the treatment on for the recommended time for maximum effect- leaving it on for longer will not make it more effective

COMPLETE

• Repeat the treatment for a second time seven days after the first to kill any lice that may hatch from eggs during that time, if the instructions specify that a second application is required
• Check that all head lice have gone within two to three days of the final application of head lice treatment to complete the process
• For further information on head lice see you Pharmacist or visit www.onceaweektakeapeek.com

Facts

1. Head lice can only be passed by direct head-to-head contact. They cannot jump, fly, hop or swim

2. Head lice cannot be caught by sharing things like hairbrushes, towels or bedding. Head lice can only survive on heads, dying quickly once away from their food source. Adults and nymphs can only survive for 8 to 24 hours without feeding

3. Having head lice has nothing to do with personal hygiene or having dirty hair. They can live on all hair types and have no preference towards clean or dirty

4. Lice live incredibly close to the scalp and can survive on hair as short as 2mm long, so cutting and shaving hair will not necessarily help.