While some of the challenges of a new school year are easy to deal with, one of the biggest facing parents is the ever-present threat of head lice.
Lice seem to be part-and-parcel of the school experience for many children.
Catching head lice does not mean your child has done anything wrong or is not hygienic.
Statistics vary but about 20 to 30 per cent of primary school students are likely to get head lice at some stage.
A single infested head can successfully infest a whole classroom and when the children return home, they often unwittingly pass on the infestation to the rest of the family.
Head lice are wingless creatures which cannot fly or even jump, but move from host to host by crawling or climbing.
Close contact between children therefore gives them great opportunities to spread but it is important to understand that head lice are not confined to children.
In fact, anyone can get head lice but they are more common in children because of their close contact.
Head lice do not carry disease, but we need to get rid of them.
If your child has head lice, you might notice them itching and scratching, especially around the back of the neck and behind their ears.
A bad case of head lice can lead to itchy dermatitis on the scalp, crusted sores and enlarged lymph nodes in the neck.
But this isn’t common, and your child can avoid it if you treat their head lice as soon as possible.
You might see small, oval-shaped, white or brown-black nits attached to the root of the hair, near the scalp.
Live head lice move fast, so to spot them you might have to part your child’s hair very quickly.
Your community pharmacy stocks special combs as well as shampoos, conditioners, creams and other products to treat head lice infestation.
There are chemical-based treatments available as well as a number of treatments which are based on essential oils such as anise, rosemary, lavender, and tea tree oil.
There also are a range of herbal products.
Head lice are very adaptable and can develop resistance to some chemicals, so it is important to talk to your community pharmacist about the right product.
After selecting a treatment, it is important that following its use, you test to see if the lice are dead.
While resistance is an issue, many treatment failures are due to inadequate time in contact with hair and scalp, inappropriate application methods, or the use of ineffective products.
If the lice are dead, treat again in seven days using the same product.
If the treatment has worked, the lice will be dead within 20 minutes.
Whatever head lice treatment is chosen, a fine tooth comb is essential to get the nits out.
– The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
