Tips for handling head lice

Your child starts scratching his or her head more often than usual. Then you find out that your child's best friend has head lice. Now what?

First, don't panic.

Dr. Jennifer Lynch, a pediatrician with Amita Health Medical Care Group Pediatrics in Hoffman Estates, noted that head lice are mostly annoying.

In rare cases, children can scratch so much that they get an infection. "But generally, it's more of a stigma," Lynch said. "No one likes having bugs on them."

The Centers for Disease Control offers some information on head lice:

• In the U.S., there are 6 million to 12 million infestations of head lice among children ages 3 to 11 annually.

• An infestation occurs when live lice get into the hair and lay eggs on the hair follicles. These eggs, called nits, then hatch and begin to feed on blood from the scalp. The itching is an allergic reaction to the bites. Most infestations occur around the hairline at the neck and ears.

• Lice usually are spread by hair-to-hair contact, such as when children are working together with their heads touching. They also can be spread by wearing a hat or scarf belonging to a person with lice, using a brush, comb, pillow or blanket used by a person with lice, or in similar fashion.

• Head lice do not fly or hop, so close contact with a person with lice or that person's belongings is the only way to get head lice. They also can't live for more than a day or so away from their human host.

• Having head lice is not a sign of poor personal hygiene or poor housekeeping. "Actually, the opposite is more true," Lynch said. "Lice like clean, dry hair."

If you suspect your child might have lice, check the hair very carefully for an adult louse or the smaller nymph. Also check for nits, which look like tiny pieces of white rice attached to the hair shaft.

"The best way is to use a flashlight," Lynch said. "The light will make the live lice move, which makes it easier to see them." You also can use a lice comb or magnifying glass to look for an infestation.

What if you find evidence of lice?

"We typically recommend using over-the-counter treatments such as Rid and Nix first," Lynch said. These treatments kill only live lice, so after treating the hair, you need to check for and remove any nits.

Lynch recommends checking regularly for live lice and, if necessary, retreating. "You have to be diligent," she said.

If the over-the-counter treatments don't work, there are prescription medications you can discuss with your doctor.

In addition to treating anyone with lice, you should wash bedding, towels, clothes, etc., in hot water and dry on high heat. Vacuum upholstered furniture and rugs. Store non-washable items in an airtight plastic bag for two weeks, and soak combs and brushes for five to 10 minutes in water that is at least 130 degrees.

And whether your household has lice or not, remind your children not to put their heads up against another child's head and not to share hats and scarves or brushes and combs.

That way, you might avoid playing host to unwelcome guests.

• Children's health is a continuing series. This week's article is courtesy of Amita Health, which is comprised of 19 hospitals and more than 230 sites of care, including Amita Health Alexian Brothers Women & Children's Hospital Hoffman Estates. Amita Health has 900 providers in its medical groups, more than 26,000 associates and 7,000 physician partners and serves over 4.3 million residents in the greater Chicago area. For more information about Amita Health's pediatric programs, visit www.amitahealth.org.