Eustace ISD Nurses Head Lice Page

You can have head lice without knowing it, as there are often no symptoms. This means it can take weeks or even months before you realize
that you or someone in your family has head lice.
But you may occasionally notice some of the following symptoms:

Head lice what is it?
Head lice are small insects that live mainly on your scalp and hair. They are about the size of a sesame seed. They have six legs and can hold on to your hair.

Anyone can get head lice, their presence does not mean you are not clean.

Lice and their eggs do not burrow into your scalp.

How do you get it?
Head lice are passed by head-to-head contact with someone who has head lice. Contact is common during play, while riding the school bus, and during classroom activities where children sit in groups close to each other.

*More Info: What Are Lice?

How many are there?
Generally, a person has fewer than a dozen active lice on their head, but may have hundreds of eggs, they are usually near the scalp, where the eggs are laid for warmth and moisture.

What about the eggs?
A louse hatches from its egg after 8 days, it begins to feed, grow and develop until it becomes an adult in 9-12 days after hatching. A female louse can lay about 100 eggs at a rate of about 6 eggs each day.

*More Info: How do I know if my child has head lice?

What do they eat?
Head lice live by blood-feeding once or more often each day, and cannot survive for more than a day or so at room temperature without ready access to a person’s blood.

Head lice cannot live on your dog, cat, or other pets, they can only survive on humans.

My head itches, why?
Some people get an itchy scalp when they have head lice. It's the louse's saliva that cause itching. Head lice inject saliva into your blood as they feed. Because the saliva is foreign to your body, your immune system responds by releasing chemicals into your bloodstream to attack the saliva and get rid of it.

*More Info: What Should I Do If My Child Has Lice?

Are they in my house?
They may remain in beds or furniture for a brief period. All bedding, nightclothes and towels should be washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer. Combs, brushes, and other hair accessories should be washed in hot water after each use.

What if I cannot wash certain items?
Seal all non-washable items (clothing, coats, hats, stuffed animals, comforters, etc.) in a plastic bag for 2 weeks.

They cannot fly or jump.

*More Info: How Do I Keep Lice From Coming Back?

Are they in my car?
Head lice and their eggs die if separated from their human host, they can only survive a day or so, and the eggs generally dry up and die within a week. The chances of a live head louse or egg becoming reunited with a person is most likely not possible. Therefore steps to clean lice from the car by intensive washing or vacuuming will result in a cleaner car, but will not help you reach the goal of eliminating the lice from those living in the home. A child’s car seat cover will benefit from vacuuming, as a few stray lice or eggs may be there temporarily and survive for a day or so.

*More Info: Myths, Misconceptions and Truths about Lice

What do I use to get rid of lice?
Your child's doctor or school nurse can recommend a medicated shampoo, cream, or lotion to kill the lice. If the person you are treating has really long hair you may need to use a second bottle.

Who should be treated in our home?
Only those with live lice or viable eggs should be treated. Each person (adults and children) within the home should be inspected to determine if live lice are present. All those found to be infested should be treated at the same time.

How do I know they are gone?
After treatment, check, comb, and remove nits and lice from the hair every 2-3 days. Re-treat in 7-10 days if necessary. Check all treated persons for 2-3 weeks until you are sure all lice and nits are gone.

*More Info: Lice Information Resources

Remove nits and lice
from the hair shaft
using a nit comb,
often found in lice-killing medicine packages.
Flea combs used for cats and dogs can also be used.

Am I in danger if someone is swimming in the same pool as me and they have head lice?
Any lice or nits that might wash off in a swimming pool would likely be removed by the pool filter or will otherwise die before they have a chance to contact a person. There is no need to close a swimming pool because of head lice.

Lice are also unlikely to wander far from their preferred home (your head)

Nits:
Nits are head lice eggs. They are hard to see and are often mistaken for dandruff or droplets of hairspray. Nits are found firmly attached to the hair shaft. They are oval and usually yellow to white. Nits take about 1 week to hatch.

Nymphs:
Nits hatch into nymphs. Nymphs are immature adult head lice. Nymphs mature into adults about 7 days after hatching. To live, nymphs must feed on blood.

Adults:
An adult louse is about the size of a sesame seed, has six legs, and is tan to greyish- white. In persons with dark hair, adult lice will look darker. Adult lice can live up to 30 days on a person's head. To live, adult lice need to feed on blood. If a louse falls off a person, it dies within 2 days.

*Info provided by: Texas Dept. of State Health

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