Kids are back in school and some of them might be coming home with more than just homework.
A woman known as the "Potomac Lice Lady" says there are a few things parents should know that can help if their children get lice.
"All it takes is a few seconds for that bug to crawl from one head to the next head," said Lauren Salzberg, who treats up to 20 people a day for lice at her salon in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
"There's not enough hours in the day and enough of me to go around. I see probably over 1,500 people a year," she said. "I would have to attribute it to the fact that there have been changes in the lice policies."
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In the past, a student with lice would be sent home from school immediately.
But guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and American Academy of Pediatrics now say schools should keep a child in class until the end of the day, and allow them to return to school the next day as long as they've started treatment for lice — even if they still have lice or eggs in their hair.
"Unnecessary days off cause a burden to the students, families, and communities, and far outweighs the risks associated with head lice," the CDC said.
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Salzberg disagrees with that policy.
"When you have other illnesses — pink eye, strep, the flu — right? Those are very contagious. Children are sent home," she said.
Lice, which are parasitic insects that feed on human blood, are also contagious in the sense that they spread through direct contact with the hair of a person infested with lice.
Adult lice can live for up to a month on a person's head, laying up to 10 eggs a day.
Common lice myths
- Myth #1: Lice are attracted to people with poor hygiene. Getting lice has nothing to do with a child or person's cleanliness. In fact, clean hair makes it easier for bugs to cling to someone's head.
- Myth #2: Boys don't often get lice because they usually have shorter hair. Anyone who has hair can get lice.
- Myth #3: Using over-the-counter lice treatments can prevent lice. Salzberg said there's no benefit to using medications if you don't have lice and using them more than necessary can make them less effective when you really need them.
Lice facts and prevention tips
- Lice don't fly, jump or hop. They crawl from person to person.
- The insects are attracted to the scent of human hair. Using a special preventative spray with rosemary oil can help disguise the scent and detract the bugs.
- Putting long hair up in a bun or braids makes it harder for lice to get in your hair.
- Lice and their eggs are brown, not white.
Tips for treating lice
Parents who have had to deal with lice infestations know just how difficult it is to get the bugs out of a child's hair.
After 15 years in business, Salzberg has it down to a science.
"You can win the war on lice, but you have to have the right weapon," she said.
"The drugstore combs are wide so when they're going, you know, through the hair, they're just missing the eggs. And if you don't get all of the eggs out of the hair, the eggs will hatch seven to 10 days later and you're back in the same cycle."
Instead, she tells parents to use a special lice treatment to saturate the hair and a professional-grade metal comb with tighter teeth that you can buy online.
"I feel that a lice comb should be given out by the schools as a school supply, and if every parent was given the instruction to do proper lice checks, then we wouldn't have this problem."
