Head Lice

Head lice infest the head and neck and attach their eggs to the base of the hair shaft. Lice move by crawling; they cannot hop or fly. Head lice infestation is spread most commonly by close person-to-person contact. Dogs, cats, and other pets do not play a role in the transmission of human lice. Both over-the-counter and prescription medications are available for treatment of head lice infestations.

Head lice are not known to transmit disease; however, secondary bacterial infection of the skin resulting from scratching can occur with any lice infestation. To help control a head lice outbreak in a community, school, or camp, children can be taught to avoid activities that may spread head lice.

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Prevention & Control

Head lice are spread most commonly by direct head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact. However, sometimes they are spread by sharing clothing or belongings onto which lice have crawled or nits attached to shed hairs may have fallen. Head lice survive less than 1–2 days if they fall off a person and cannot feed; nits cannot hatch and usually die within a week if they are not kept at the same temperature as that found close to the scalp.

What Should I Do If My Child Gets Head Lice?

The following are steps that can be taken to help prevent and control the spread of head lice:

Avoid head-to-head (hair-to-hair) contact during play and other activities at home, school, and elsewhere (sports activities, playground, slumber parties, camp).
Do not share clothing such as hats, scarves, coats, sports uniforms, hair ribbons, or barrettes.
Do not share combs, brushes, or towels. Disinfest combs and brushes used by an infested person by soaking them in hot water for 5–10 minutes.
Do not lie on beds, couches, pillows, carpets, or stuffed animals that have recently been in contact with an infested person.
Machine wash and dry clothing, bed linens, and other items that an infested person wore or used during the 2 days before treatment using the hot water laundry cycle and the high heat drying cycle. Clothing and items that are not washable can be dry-cleaned OR sealed in a plastic bag and stored for 2 weeks.
Vacuum the floor and furniture (daily or as required), particularly where the infested person sat or lay. However, spending much time and money on housecleaning activities is not necessary to avoid reinfestation by lice or nits that may have fallen off the head or crawled onto furniture or clothing.
Any dirty clothes or bedding should be ran through the highest heat setting on the dryer on a daily basis until the infestation is over.
Do not use fumigant sprays or fogs; they are not necessary to control head lice and can be toxic if inhaled or absorbed through the skin.

Information obtained and adapted from the CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/lice/index.html