How can my child get rid of head lice?

Friday, January 12, 2007

Tribune Staff Report

Many preparations exist to help children rid themselves of head lice, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Local school officials have named, but not endorsed, a number of brands including RID. Many of these shampoos contain permethrin or pyrethrin - insecticides safe for use on human hair - and an ingredient known to kill many types of lice.

Directions are included with purchase at most drug stores. A second treatment is often necessary after 10 days to target lice that hatch after the initial treatment, according to the Harvard School of Public Health.

Nits or eggs can be removed by daily combing with a louse or nit comb, available at most pharmacies.

"An infestation can be eliminated by combing each day to remove the live lice (including those that have hatched since the previous day," according to the Harvard School of Public Health. "Comb daily until no live lice are discovered for about two weeks."

Bright light and magnification help with the combing. Hair should be cleaned and well-combed or brushed to remove tangles before attempting to use a louse comb. The comb should be cleaned frequently to remove any caught lice or eggs. This may require several hours a night for several nights to tackle the problem, and an entertaining video for the child could be helpful.

Parents doing the combing should stand behind the child and comb one small section at a time. Some parents say water, vegetable oils or hair conditioners help lubricate the hair and ease combing; others say these lubricants make it more difficult to see the eggs.

Although hair may appear "peppered" with eggs, there generally are fewer than a dozen active lice on the head at any time.

Adult female lice usually cement each egg to the base of a hair shaft near the skin. As the hair grows, these attached eggs are transported away from the scalp. Eggs more than one-half of one inch away from the scalp are nearly always hatched and do not, by themselves, indicate an active infestation.

While researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health did a preliminary test to measure the effectiveness of olive oil on killing lice, they did not recommend it. They found active lice died after being submerged in olive oil for two hours, but not one hour.

Hot air from a standard hand-held hair dryer "may suffice to kill lice and their eggs on a person's hair," according to the Harvard School of Public Health. Great care should be used if this method is tried, as heated air from devices can easily scald hair and the scalp. No precise times, temperature and distance from the hair dryer are available for treatment. Heated curling irons, hair straighteners and similar devices may kill some lice and eggs, but may not be safely applied to hair nearest the skin where viable eggs are most abundant.

Pillowcases, sheets, nightclothes, towels and stuffed animals may be washed and dried (with heat) and may possibly eliminate lice and eggs that might otherwise reinfest a family member. Combs, brushes and hats should be washed in hot water each day.

Lice and eggs on inanimate objects such a toys may be killed by placing in the freezer for several days or outdoors if it's cold enough. Such treatment would rarely, if ever, be required.

A child's car seat may be benefit from vacuuming, but it's not necessary for the rest of the vehicle. Removed lice survive just a day or so, and eggs generally lose viability within a week.

Things to avoid:

*"Electronic" louse combs that resemble small bug "zappers," or those oscillating teeth. These would seem to offer little advantage, if any, over a well-designed louse comb. Teeth of these devices may not effectively reach to the scalp and may not kill or remove eggs.

*Avoid preparations not prescribed by a physician. Do not use anything not specifically labeled for people. Well-intentioned parents treating their children with toxic or flammable substances have caused several deaths and poisonings.

*Several commercial products claim to "dissolve" eggs or the cement by which the eggs are attached to the hair. The Harvard School of Public Health is not convinced of the usefulness or safety of these products.

*The Harvard School of Public Health opposes the use of prescribed antibiotics such as trimethoprim and sulfamethoxazone (i.e. "Bactrim," "septra") to combat head lice. Their use for treating such an innocuous condition as lice may accelerate the emergence or spread of bacterial resistance, thereby diminishing the usefulness of these antibiotics.

*Ivermectin is widely used in veterinary medicine as an antiparasitic drug and is available for human use for treating certain worms. The Harvard School of Public Health states it is not approved for use against human head lice, and such treatments should be avoided.

*Pets do not need to be treated for head lice.

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