Head lice, or 'nits' (as the eggs of this tiny parasite are called) have as many parents tugging their hair in frustration, as they do children scratching. And not surprisingly - one in ten nursery and primary school children acquire head lice each year, and about 63 per cent of schools are affected by outbreaks.
What is more, because traditional methods of eradicating the pests have relied upon insecticides, to which many lice are now resistant, there are more cases than ever, and many treatments are largely ineffective because they are used incorrectly or the lice in question have developed an immunity to the product.
Head lice live mainly on the scalp and neck hairs. They feed on blood, and lay their eggs close to the warmth of the scalp, at the root of the hair. A lice hatches from its egg after about eight days, and begins to grow and develop to adult stage about ten days after hatching. A female louse may deposit more than 100 eggs, but not all of these will necessarily develop into adult lice.
Head lice crawl (not fly or jump) between heads, whether a child's hair is clean or dirty, and therefore can spread quickly throughout a nursery or classroom where children are playing or working together. They can also be passed from shared clothing, bed linen, combs, brushes and hats, although this is not as common, as a louse will live only about eight hours without a warm head and a food supply. Washing and drying items at high heat will destroy the bugs.
The best way to check for lice is to use a special 'nit comb' (available from your pharmacy, or as part of a 'bug-busting kit'). The special comb has very fine teeth. Use it to comb a child's hair over a piece of white paper on which any nits or lice will be easier to spot. It's best to comb hair while wet, and with a good dollop of conditioner left in, in order to make it more difficult for lice to escape from the comb. Live insects are a call for treatment, as are white eggs.
Head lice are not dangerous and do not spread disease. They can be embarrassing and itchy, sometimes causing a red rash on the neck or even swollen lymph glands, and constant itching can also lead to secondary infection.
Some nurseries and schools have adoped no-nits policies recently, sending home affected children. While parents should be advised when there are nits about, sending a child home is both unnecessary and likely to cause social stigma. Some nurseries recommend that children wear hats or head scarves during an outbreak, which can help to stem further infestation.
Many parents are rightly concerned about using head lice preparations on their children, as they contain powerful neurotoxins. It can also take several treatments to eradicate the problem. If you do choose insecticidal products, conditioners left in tend to be more effective than shampoo.
According to research by the British Medical Journal, using a 'bug-busting'
kit in combination with your child's regular shampoo and conditioner over a sustained period can be more effective than single-dose insecticides.
RESOURCES
* For information on the effects of insecticides on children's health, visit www.safe2use.com.
* A bug-busting kit can be prescribed by your doctor, or purchased from your chemist or online at www.nits.net/bugbusting. Visit this site for info and advice on usefulness of other products.
* Hedrin is a new product which does not use insecticides. It relies on dimeticone, which suffocates lice.
* Some parents use non-toxic olive oil to smother lice. For details, visit 'head lice to dead lice' on www.headliceinfo.com.
* There are many natural treatments available. One remedy is to add one drop of tea tree oil to a child's conditioner and leave for ten minutes.
Comb through and rinse thoroughly. This helps to prevent nits from settling on the hair follicles, and will kill any eggs. Repeat two or three times a week as a preventative measure. Tea tree oil is antiparasitic.
* Natural headlice preparations can be purchased from www.greenpeople.co.uk.
* Electric combs tend to be ineffective, and often miss the insects and their eggs completely. For information on combs, other treatments and the whole issue of headlice, visit www.hsph.harvard.edu/headlice.
www.headliceadvice.net
* Horrid Henry's Nits by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross (Dolphin Paperback, 4.99), No Nits! by Jane Clarke and Jan Lewis (Kingfisher Books, Pounds 4.99) and I've Got Nits! by Michael Brownlow (Ragged Bears, 4.99) all address the subject sensitively and with humour.
